The Song of Songs *** (1933, Marlene Dietrich, Brian Aherne, Lionel Atwill) – Classic Movie Review 8831

Marlene Dietrich, finally separated by her Paramount Pictures studio from her Svengali director Josef Von Sternberg after a string of hits, fares only modestly with the highly respected director Rouben Mamoulian in the 1933 love story The Song of Songs.

It is a romantic drama tale of a shiftless young country woman, Lily Czepanek, who moves to Berlin, and from man to man – artist Richard Waldow (Brian Aherne) and rich patron Baron von Merzbach (Lionel Atwill) – and from job (artist’s model) to job (singer). This allows Dietrich to sing Heideroslein and Jonny.

The gorgeous Dietrich and Mamoulian give it some considerable style, but perhaps not quite as much as Von Sternberg might have achieved. It is enjoyable, but remains one of Dietrich’s lesser and less well known movies from her golden period. Dietrich is the whole show, and she is a showstopper. Aherne, replacing Randolph Scott, is dull, but Atwill adds interest. Victor Milner’s black and white cinematography and Hans Dreier also add allure in in the style department.

Also in the cast are Alison Skipworth, Hardie Albright, Helen Freeman, Morgan Wallace, Wilson Benge, Hans Schumm, Eric Wilton, Richard Bennett and James Marcus.

The screenplay by Leo Birinsky and Samuel Hoffenstein is based on the novel by Hermann Sudermann and the play by Edward Sheldon.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8831

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