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25 out of 26 people found the following review useful: Stunning Ending, 9 February 2003 Author: Bryce David
MOROCCO is first and foremost an atmospheric film. Anyone who looks for more didn't understand what Josef von Sternberg created here. It's pure atmosphere. A reverie. The film is at times creaky but it's understandable because it was made over 70 years ago! There are several stand-out scenes in MOROCCO, including the famous kiss scene and the one when Marlene breaks a pearl necklace but what makes this Sternberg film so memorable is the stunning ending. Suddenly, the creaky film looks positively contemporary. Are we really in 1930s and not the wild 1970s?!?! The brilliant ending MAKES the movie. Without it, it would probably have been an enjoyably moody but average 1930s flick. With it, MOROCCO becomes a timeless classic. It's probably the most stunning ending ever made, with so many layers of meaning with that one prolonged static shot. It's visually brilliant and sexy on so many levels.
21 out of 22 people found the following review useful: Marlene Comes to America, 11 March 2006 Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York
After her stunning international success in The Blue Angel, Marlene Dietrich was open to all kinds of film offers from all countries. She shrewdly negotiated with Adolph Zukor at Paramount Pictures in the USA and made her feature film debut in Morocco co-starring with Paramount's number one leading man Gary Cooper. She couldn't have predicted it, but it was a permanent move away from Germany.Dietrich was a package deal for with her came the director of The Blue Angel Joseph Von Sternberg. No doubt Von Sternberg created the image that we now know her for, sensual, alluring, and standing by her man when she does make her choice.One thing about Morocco I found different than most of the films I've seen of Dietrich is that she's not in control of the situation. In most films she usually is, but in Morocco Cooper's very much in charge. She's got a wealthy man in Adolphe Menjou panting after her, but she can't see him for beans. It's Gary Cooper an ordinary dogface Foreign Legionaire that she's fallen for. Cooper in fact plays a part Tyrone Power would affect great success with later, a hero/heel. Cooper is carrying on an affair with the wife of one of the officers at his post when he meets Dietrich. The man must have had something going for him. Von Sternberg did a great job in creating the atmosphere of not only Morocco, but of the Foreign Legion. Men with forgotten pasts and dubious futures, living only for the moment. Although I think Marlene Dietrich did better films than Morocco in her Hollywood years, Morocco was a grand and auspicious beginning for her.
20 out of 22 people found the following review useful: That Hot Kiss!, 18 September 2003 Author: Piafredux from United States
Of course Morocco has dated - mostly in its scripting, yet if one is willing to fantasize a little, to place oneself in a 1930 sensibility, the film works brilliantly. Even without taking that delicious mindstep Morocco is a delectable cinema classic, even if it isn't the finest of the Sternberg-Dietrich collaborations.That hot kiss the white-tie-and-tails-clad Dietrich plants on the lips of a woman seated, helplessly, at a cabaret table is still breathtaking. Seeing that kiss still sizzle nowadays makes one wonder why so much hubbub ensued after 2003's gratuitous, lackluster liplock shared by Madonna and Britney Spears (which, as it made me yawn also made me think of Madeline Kahn's Dietrich-parodying Lilli von Shtupp dismissing Hedley Lamar's bouquet offering: "Oh. How odinawy."). Moreover, Dietrich's Amy Jolly deliberately ignores the luststruck man who handed a flower to her following her cabaret act, and instead humiliates him by kissing his startled, but not at all displeased - and rather persuaded to complaisance, date. No penis envy nonsense here: its all Marlene being woman almighty flexing woman's timeless power.One ought not, as one amateur reviewer has, to judge myopically this film by today's anal PC standards by dint of sanctimonious judgments about colonialism - and by taking a badly mistaken swipe at Gary Cooper's character speaking American English instead of affecting a French accent when, in fact, Cooper was playing an American in the Foreign Legion (did the character's name, Tom Brown, not clue that reviewer to Brown's nationality?); further, the uniform of enlisted legionnaires wasn't tailored to fit handsomely - it was made mostly of coarse wool and issued "as-is," quite often ill-fitting, to men who volunteered for arduous service. Instead one ought to see Morocco's characters for what they are: broadly-painted archetypes of white colonialists behaving as white colonialists behaved, indeed as people in archetypal roles since Sophocles still behave - albeit in the cinematic mannerist modality of the film's period.Missed too often, but not to be missed here is how Morocco, in its own stylized Sternbergian way, deals with enduring human nature: lust and love; jealousy and covetousness; pettiness and spite, anger and beneficence; harshness and tenderness; not to mention the ineffable human wont to go head over heels, round the bend, over a lover: what we have in Morocco is not a didactic narrative but an epoch-bridging fable. And despite the dated dialect of its dialogue language, it's remarkable how much and exactly what this 1930 film dared to show and got away with showing. (Anyone with a matured world-view ought to be aware that, seventy years hence, rap star films of the two thousand-aughts - as well as films employing the standard English of the early twenty-first century - are likely to be ridiculed or dismissed for their peculiarities of dialect.)Give yourself a huge wink and watch Morocco, and savor its seductive lenswork, its atmopsheric sets and and costumes and lighting, and its timeless, classical themes which, over all these years since its shooting, remind us that "Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose."
15 out of 18 people found the following review useful: Dietrich, given us by von Sternberg--could it get better than this?, 20 October 2002 Author: gaityr from United Kingdom
MOROCCO is the second of seven collaborations between Marlene Dietrich and the director that discovered her and probably photographed her the best, Josef von Sternberg. In fact, it is Dietrich's first English-language film, and she stars in it as the world-weary, man-weary French entertainer Amy Jolly. She's never had a reason to trust a man, much less love one, until she sees Legionnaire Tom Brown (Gary Cooper) defend her honour the first time she arrives onstage--this is surely a classic movie moment, Marlene Dietrich arriving in full top hat and tails. Tom is just as cynical about women as Amy is about men, but from their first encounter over the price of an apple, you know that these two have met the one person of the opposite sex who could change everything. Much as he loves her, however, Tom believes that Monsieur La Bessiere (Adolphe Menjou) could bring Amy more happiness and stability through his marriage proposal... so he leaves, to march off with the Foreign Legion. To be frank, the story really isn't all that important--it's pretty one-note, with the sole amusement being provided by the zings Amy and Tom trade each time they meet. That's a nice touch, the slightly wry way in which they both approach the budding relationship, both because they've been hurt before, and because there's also no conventional way for the two of them to stay together. This is brought out very nicely by the ending of the film.Whatever other reason you might have to watch MOROCCO, there's no denying that Marlene Dietrich is very clearly the star of the entire enterprise. The way von Sternberg photographs and captures her makes her appear mysterious, beautiful and yet achingly vulnerable at the same time. You couldn't talk about Dietrich in this film without also mentioning von Sternberg in the same breath, since she is so very evidently portrayed in the way he sees her at her best. Some shots of Dietrich, more than others, are breathtaking. Even if her character isn't particularly well-fleshed-out and her lines not too great (von Sternberg fed her most of her lines during filming, partly because that's how he works and partly because Dietrich apparently knew very little English), Amy/Dietrich--both creations of the same directorial genius--is a fine work of art. Whether it's Dietrich creating a furore of gasps when she emerges in her tux, or when she plants a firm kiss on another lady's mouth (this film was made in *1930*!), she is a simply captivating screen presence--Cooper seems bland in his role in comparison, and Menjou is adequate but certainly doesn't steal the picture. The sound for the whole film isn't that great, and Dietrich does have to sing over the noise of the crowd so you really have to struggle to make out what she's saying... but just looking at her really is enough in this film.Watch this film for Dietrich, the meticulously-created Moroccan atmosphere (von Sternberg excels at this, and evidently took great pains to make it as authentic as possible--to the detriment of plot and character), the sweet romance with a nice final twist... but mostly for Dietrich. She makes it all worth it. 7.5/10.
9 out of 9 people found the following review useful: You'll fall for her..., 10 June 2003 Author: Artemis-9 from Portugal
Either if you're a man or a woman, you'll fall for Amy Jolly, that would be read 'amie jollie' = beautiful friend, in French speaking Morocco. Marlene Dietrich not exactly at her best, but very sexy, playing gracefully from a man-eater 'Carmen' (plenty of suggestions linking both characters) to a female sutler, following 'her man' into the desert. First, on high heels shoes, than taking her shoes off, and going on naked feet, along with a handful of native women, and donkeys, and she-goats. One tends to forget the great director (von Sternberg) behind this great woman-star, and that's unjust. The script may have been good, but it would not develop onto this smooth running 90 minutes of relative inaction (for 21st century standards), but for the cleverly devised sequences, photography, and dialogues.I'm so glad I finally saw this movie yesterday on the big screen, at a special session. Those who can't afford this luxury, certainly can afford renting, nay, buying this video?
7 out of 7 people found the following review useful: Luminous, 11 April 2006 Author: noilie from Johannesburg, South-Africa
My favourite Sternberg-Dietrich vehicle will always be "The Scarlet Empress", but all their films are worth more than a cursory glance. They're, to my mind, the most interesting thing to come out of the early thirties (and, although dated, far less so than more recognized classics of the era because of their unadulterated FUN).Sternberg made art department COUNTRIES for Dietrich to languish in, true in all their Hollywood films, and still dazzling today. Plot, narrative are shaky, sometimes almost nonexistent, allowing for spectacle to take over, and what a spectacle it all is! Dietrich is probably one of the most macabre, knowingly lewd feminine manifestations ever to grace the silver screen (well, at least Sternberg was knowing, Dietrich herself....?). Highly recommended.
9 out of 12 people found the following review useful: Best film by Dietrich-Sternberg team., 5 November 2005 Author: jmanuelsl from Spain
A classic. One of those magic films in which everything works. The casting is a miracle: Dietrich and Cooper, the hottest couple in film history. Marlene never was better than in this film (well, in Shangay express perhaps), even if she looks too big (anyway not as much as in Der blaue engel). It retains the atmospheric brilliance and fascination of that famous (and overrated) first collaboration. Improuvements since that film: much better rhythm (the main problem with Der Blaue Engel, which at times looks completely dead), it gives more importance on gestures, faces and PEOPLE (not just icons or characters). One wonderful song and one of the best love scenes in all history (the one in the bedroom with Cooper playing with a fan and Dietrich showing her legs, neither of them were ever better than in here). The ending is appropriate, and you feel that after all that beauty and magical scenes, in that one hour and a half three people have changed, they just have a different attitude in life and a better understanding of what they need and what they look for). From my point of view the other masterpiece by Sternberg-Dietrich is Shangai Express.
5 out of 5 people found the following review useful: An early masterpiece., 1 August 2005 Author: René (rfak) from Vienna, Austria
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
This was Marlene Dietrichs second film for Von Sternberg and her first American movie. Here we still see a rather plump Dietrich, a far cry from the epitome of chick she would become in her later parts. But she also already had done a remarkable change from the bawdy nightclub singer from "The blue angel". Von Sternberg already had started to shape her screen image as a goddess.The story is quickly told and thin as paper. In Morocco the nightclub singer Amy Jolly (Dietrich) meets two men, a soldier, Tom Brown (Gary Cooper) and a millionaire, La Bessiere(Adolphe Menjou). She falls in love with the soldier, though the millionaire wants to marry her. He even accepts her relationship with Brown. Brown must leave for the front and Amy first accepts La Bessieres proposal, but finally abandons all security and follows her lover into the desert.Von Sternberg couldn't have been less interested in the story, for him it was all about mood. As he was such a master in this realm, the movie is still a great achievement despite it's weak story. His carefully photographed images are a feast for the eye, when the camera focuses on Dietrichs face, it's almost like caressing her skin.It's also easy to see that the movie was made before the production code gained real power in 1934, there are some references and provocative images, that wouldn't have been allowed after 1934.Gary Cooper and Adolphe Menjou are delightful in their respective parts, but of course it's Dietrich (though she was only second billed after Cooper), who we see mostly on screen. She spoke hardly any English, when this movie was made. A German accent like in "The blue angel" wasn't acceptable in this movie, so she learned her lines phonetically. It also seems, that some of her lines where cut in order to make filming easier for her. As a result she quite often very quiet and seems to feel a little bit uneasy. She's marvelous in some scenes, but she lacks the fire, she usually displays in her later movies.
6 out of 8 people found the following review useful: Marlene wears a tux, 3 February 1999 Author: Fourstar from NYC
The above one-line summary is the only reason to watch this movie - a great reason, too. Forget the story. Forget Gary Cooper's most lame acting ever. The ten-minute nightclub scene packs more unabashed eroticism with Marlene fully clothed, than any two hours of Demi Moore completely undressed.
4 out of 5 people found the following review useful: Who can forget that kiss?, 26 November 2001 Author: tategarbo (tategarbo@hotmail.com) from Cheltenham England
This is without a doubt the film that set Marlene Dietrich up as a Major American star, THE BLUE ANGEL was released after MOROCCO in the USA and was a hit for both her and her director Joseph Von-Sternberg, From Marlene's first scene in the film the transformation from Berlin cabaret girl to sophisticated woman of the world was startling. MOROCCO gave Dietrich some fine songs to croon including "When love dies" in that infamous Nightclub scene where Dietrich plants a kiss on the lips of another woman whilst dressed in her soon to be trademark Tuxedo. The film got all women over America jumping into there husbands suits, as Paramount publicity said "The woman even women can lust after".
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