Now I understand why you started with Marlene, who else
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Oh, glad you didn't think I am German. We Austrians are not... really... pleased if anyone mistakes us for German.charliechaplinfan wrote:I did have my suspicions Libertine, I was pretty sure you weren't German but thought you were from a country that either spoke the language or was perhaps used to it as a second language. My brother at the moment lives in Prague, his girlfriend is from Madeburg (hope I got that one right) he teaches English as a foreign language and travels around as the jobs dictate. We are holidaying near the Austrian border in a month or two, near to Salzburg, any hints or tips for travel would be useful. If you haven't guessed already, I'm English.
You know,. I've read some books about her already several years ago. Like the Riva book in 2003, the Bach book in 2007, etc. Actually I started with Tallulah, but I didn't watch her movies at the same time... so, yes, maybe we could say I started with Marlene, but to be honest I just did, because I was going to visit a friend and with him Berlin and Marlene. I wanted to be prepared.charliechaplinfan wrote:Now I understand why you started with Marlene, who else
The sister was just a "follower", but later in her life, she once said something like Hitler wasn't so bad... anyhow, follower or not, it's worse enough. I can understand Marlene so well. I don't have any siblings, but I am very much anti-Nazi.charliechaplinfan wrote: I'm glad you've filled in the gap about Marlene's sister, Spoto's book just says that she denied her and nothing more, I knew there must have been a reason. Perhaps her sister's close links to the Nazi's made Marlene work all the harder during the during the war. It's interesting that two sisters could have very different idealogy and still stay friends. It must have been very different looking at Germany from the safety of the US to actually living within the regime, perhaps with that in mind Marlene forgave her sister and her homeland.
charliechaplinfan wrote:We've been to Salzburg some years ago when it was just two of us, I didn't get to go on the Sound of Music tour bus and I don't think I will this time either. Nevermind, this time we have with us our children who are 8 and 5. We are staying at Ruhpolding and then moving further west. My children want to tick off as many countries as they can so we might nip into Switzerland too. I agree, I should PM you if we think of anything we need to know.
For sure a risky situation, but if you are sensitive enough you can reply to such question. But I bet at first it was justcharliechaplinfan wrote:My brother who has been with his lovely German girlfriend for two years brought her to meet us and my daughter said to her straight away 'Your country was on the losing side during the war' thankfully Fran is good with children because my daughter followed it up with 'So why did you all believe Hitler? How could you not tell he was bad?' first thing we tried to do was apologise for her questions but Fran answered them very well and was thankfully charmed by her inquistiveness and childhood logic. She didn't shirk from the question but answered it directly. It was quite an icebreaker.
Her mother.. I don't know. She didn't want to leave Berlin, though Marlene often enough tried to get her to come to the US. It's difficult to understand. Of course if you stayed somewhere all your life you do not want to leave, and the older you are, the harder it gets, but heck, living in Berlin... having a war... all these Nazi's.. having the chance to leave, and not going.. I wonder why. I do not know what her mother did believe. Interestingly there are hardly any letters between Marlene and her mother featured in the Riva book.charliechaplinfan wrote:I think it's to Marlene's credit that she did look after her sister, although she must have felt some shame, was her later statement niavety or incendiary? I suppose we'll never know. How about her mother, did she just try to survive during the war years, doing what was necessary in order to survive. I know she was close to her mother.
Same here. I wished I could had seen this movie. I adore Dietrich.kingrat wrote:Thanks for those ravishing photographs.
Well, in some ways you are right, of course, but I don't think a movie like this could get made without a studio system backing it, either.Let's not wear the rose-colored glasses when we think of the "Golden Age" of Hollywood and the studio system. The studios were factories. And Louis B., Warners, Laemmle, Goldwyn etc., would have done their darnedest to break von Sternberg. His creativity wouldn't have stood a chance in the face of "Andy Hardy Gets Horny-Pt. III."
Dietrich and Brook are like two opposing armies aren't they? He is perfect in his uprightness, and completely offsets Marlene. I was wracking my brains for who might have played him better, and I could NOT think of a single actor, except maybe for Ronald Colman, and I think he might not have taken the role. The more she teases, the more upright he becomes.... if he were to waver, it would not be so much fun. It's about Doc's fall from the mountaintop, and the further he has to fall, the better we like it.To me, "Shanghai Express" is like the immovable object facing the irresistable force...a beautiful nonsensical paradox. (I'm saying the paradox is nonsensical...not the emotions of "Shanghai Express"
I agree about the Oland/Wong sequence - it made me just a tad squeamish to see Anna May as second to anyone, even Dietrich. She was every bit as strong, and I like that the themes were all heavy duty, but were touched on in a jaggedly humorous and fairly light way, never dwelt upon. Oland was I thought very good as the slightly corrupt bureaucrat seeking power, who would eventually have his way no matter what. Were his motivations because of race, or because of being second fiddle in his job? I found the most fascinating thing about the Wong/Oland scenes was that they shared the same cultured but bitter outlook toward the westerners.Might I throw in one more point about "Shanghai..."? Warner Oland makes a pass at Anna May Wong first in the beginning and is rebuffed, thrown out of her cabin. But remember when he makes a play for Dietrich, and Clive Brook saves her honor? Well, when Oland goes for Anna May this time...and succeeds, I'm afraid to say, it was like he made this transference from what he couldn't get from Dietrich...and WOULD get from Anna; any port in the storm would have sufficed for him at that moment. I felt really bad for Anna though I thought she looked pretty sexy all angered and disheveled...and with that knife in her hand. Just to be clear: No, I do not condone violence against women...let me put that out there. Do you know what I mean...I only say that 'cuz everything was such a heightened state of eroticism throughout that whole movie, Dietrich...the train...those sloooooooow dissolves.