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Blonde Venus

7.0

1,179

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Original title

Blonde Venus

Year

1932

Running time

93 min.

Country

United States

Director

Josef von Sternberg

Screenwriter

Jules Furthman, S.K. Lauren

Cast

Music

W. Franke Harling, John Leipold, Paul Marquardt, Oscar Potoker

Cinematography

Bert Glennon (B&W)

Producer

Paramount Pictures

Genre

Drama

Synopsis

Marlene Dietrich is Helen, a former nightclub entertainer married to scientist Herbert Marshall. Their idyllic family life is shattered when he becomes disabled, and she must return to the stage to support him and their son (Dickie Moore). Enter millionaire Cary Grant, a man who will lavish any amount of money on what (or who) he wants. Dietrich is luminously hypnotic here, whether swimming nude or singing "Hot Voodoo" in a gorilla suit! One of the best of the von Sternberg/Dietrich collaborations, milking every bit of charisma from its two gorgeous stars and miraculously steering the high voltage melodramatics into poignant revelation by the last frame.

Critics' reviews

"Atmospheric and visually stimulating but Josef von Sternberg's morality tale is a little thin."

David Parkinson: Empire
"The film is certainly a mess at one level, with damaging fluctuations in tone and pace, and some ropey supporting performances, but it remains enough of a visual triumph to earn its place in the series of Dietrich movies."

Tony Rayns: Time Out
"'Blonde Venus' gives the impression constantly that the director (Josef von Sternberg) has been placed in the embarrassing position of a man who has been asked to squeeze a quart of liquid into a pint pot."

Sydney Morning Herald
"'[Blonde Venus]' is redeemed by the fine acting of Marlene Dietrich."

The Age
"A muddled, unimaginative and generally hapless piece of work, relieved somewhat by the talent and charm of the German actress and Herbert Marshall's valiant work in a thankless rle."

Mordaunt Hall: The New York Times
"A disappointer. Much of the blame is to be laid at director Josef von Sternberg's doorstep."

Variety Staff: Variety

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User history

Blonde Venus

1932

Josef von Sternberg

7.0

(1,179)