Dishonored (1931)
More Sternberg plus Dietrich that feels both familiar and different. There is a lot of stylized excess in set design and exaggerated plot narrative, and with Dietrich as a women with strong agency and determination. I had a bit of a difficult time figuring which leg the film wanted to stand on so to speak. Is it a heightened reality fairy tale, a spy thriller, a comedy, a tragic romance or just a display of Dietrich as a star? The answer is all of them, which does make Sternberg unique, but also hard to read. Perhaps the most difficult so far, as The Scarlet Empress clearly leaned into fantasy land, and Shanghai Express was a bit more grounded - though still highly stylized, this is an unstable mix. It is frustrating, but the good kind. The kind that highlights that this is still pre-code narrative, where there are no clear cut moral answers or easily understood character development.
Rating: 3.5