Desire **** (1936, Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, John Halliday, William Frawley, Akim Tamiroff, Alan Mowbray) – Classic Movie Review 5409

‘LOVE WAS HER PRECIOUS LOOT!’

Marlene Dietrich stars in the 1936 American film Desire as cultivated sultry European gem thief Madeleine de Beaupré and she is paired with Gary Cooper as simple, down-home American automobile engineer/ designer Tom Bradley.

The glittering star duo pursue each other round Spain in co-producer/ director Frank Borzage’s sparkling, witty, vivaciously bubbly 1936 escapist romantic comedy-drama.

Dietrich keeps bumping into the holidaying Cooper as she tries to make her getaway after nicking a pearl necklace from a French shop. When Cooper accidentally ends up with the gems, Dietrich has to make out she fancies him to try to get them back.

The two great stars (who were first paired in 1930’s Morocco) are at their lighthearted best, playing off each other perfectly. The screenplay is always bright, bubbly and vivacious. And co-producer Ernst Lubitsch’s production has his famous golden touch.

Amusing players like William Frawley (Mr Gibson), Akim Tamiroff (police official Avilia), Ernest Cossart (jeweller Aristide Duvalle) and Alan Mowbray (psychiatrist Dr Maurice Pauquet) eagerly fill in the script’s occasional little gaps. All in all, this is a bright, shining, delightful vintage gem.

Also in the cast are John Halliday as Carlos Margoli, Zeffie Tilbury as Aunt Olga, Stanley Andrews, George Davis, Harry Antrim, Rollo Lloyd, Marc Lawrence, Oliver Eckhardt, Gaston Glass, Enrique Acosta and Harry Depp.

Desire is directed by Frank Borzage, runs 94 minutes, is made and released by Paramount, is written by Edwin Justus Mayer, Waldemar Young and Samuel Hoffenstein, is shot in black and white by Charles Lang and Victor Milner, is produced by Frank Borzage and Ernst Lubitsch, has music by Frederick Hollander [Friedrich Hollaender], and is set designed by Hans Dreier and Robert Usher.

Desire is a remake of the 1933 German film Happy Days in Aranjuez. It is based on the play Die Schönen Tage von Aranjuez by Hans Székely and Robert A Stemmle.

Dietrich’s wardrobe is designed by Travis Banton.

George MacQuarrie and Robert Emmett O’Connor had their scenes deleted.

The cast are Marlene Dietrich as Madeleine de Beaupre, Gary Cooper as Tom Bradley, John Halliday as Carlos Margoli, William Frawley as Mr Gibson, Ernest Cossart as jeweller Aristide Duvalle, Akim Tamiroff as police official Avilia, Alan Mowbray as psychiatrist Dr Maurice Pauquet, Zeffie Tilbury as Aunt Olga, Stanley Andrews, George Davis, Harry Antrim, Rollo Lloyd, Marc Lawrence, Oliver Eckhardt, Gaston Glass, Enrique Acosta and Harry Depp.

It was released on 11 April 1936 in the US.

John Gilbert had a comeback role as Carlos Margoli but he had a heart attack in his dressing room after a few weeks and was replaced by John Halliday. Gilbert died of alcohol-induced heart failure a few days later.

Some scenes in the were directed by Lubitsch while Borzage was fulfilling a prior commitment at Warner Bros.

The film was shot at Paramount Studios and at the Iverson Movie Ranch, Chatsworth, California and on location in France and Spain, which was unusual for the time.

Dietrich opined: ‘The only film I need not be ashamed of is Desire. I found Gary Cooper a little less monosyllabic than before. Desire became a good film and proved a box-office success. The script was excellent, the roles superb – one more proof that these elements are more important than actors.’

© Derek Winnert 2017 Classic Movie Review 5409

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