Blonde Venus (1932)
Different kind of Sternberg and Dietrich film, and yet with many familiar elements. Dietrich is a bit more “normal” or conventional portrayed, at least to begin with, as a housewife in a poorer household. She willingly sacrifices herself for her husband so he can get treatment for his illness, which she does with her magical stage persona. Of course we get some fantastic night club scenes and memorable songs, and plenty of Dietrich in great looking dresses and attire. However, she is not so much in control as in her other films. Here men are controlling her fate, and she founds herself forced to react to that with her own strengths. In a way, the film works sort of as a dethronization of the Dietrich persona, and the cost of the powers she holds. She is not without strings attached here. She has a child and a husband, which completely reframes her character from what we are used to. It is an engaging narrative from start to finish, several memorable scenes - but it lacks a bit of that otherworldly magic. Though there is a point in that itself.
Rating: 3.5