Marlene Dietrich Filmography | The German-Hollywood Connection

German-Hollywood Connection >
MARLENE DIETRICH > DIETRICH in BERLIN > FILMOGRAPHY

Filmography

Marlene Dietrich appeared in 17 silent films, all made in Germany, before co-starring with Emil Jannings in the 1930 “talkie” The Blue Angel (Der blaue Engel), which was filmed in both German and English versions. (The German version is considered superior.) After 1930, she worked in Hollywood.

Selected Silent Films (Germany)

So sind die Männer | The Little Napoleon (1923)
Director: Georg Jacoby

Tragödie der Liebe | Love Tragedy (1923)
Dietrich met her future husband during the filming of this movie, directed by Joe May, who later also ended up in Hollywood.

Der Mensch am Wege | Man by the Roadside (1923)
Director: Wilhelm Dieterle (later William Dieterle in Hollywood; see Kismet, 1944)

Marlene Dietrich’s star on Hollywood Boulevard. PHOTO: Hyde Flippo

Der Sprung ins Leben | Leap into Life (1923)
Director: Johannes Guter

Eine Dubarry von heute | A Modern DuBarry (1926)
Director: Alexander Korda

Madame wünscht keine Kinder | Madame Doesn’t Want Children (1926)
Director: Alexander Korda. Dietrich is an uncredited dancer.

Ich küsse Ihre Hand, Madame | I Kiss Your Hand, Madame (1928)
Director: Robert Land.

Die Frau, nach der man sehnt | The Woman One Longs For (1929)
Director: Kurt Bernhardt

Gefahren der Brautzeit | Dangers of the Engagement Period (1929)
Director: Fred Sauer. Dietrich co-stars with Willi Forst.

Das Schiff der verlorenen Menschen | The Ship of Lost Men (1929)
Director: Maurice Tourneur. Dietrich stars in this story of a sailing ship for fugitives.

Selected Hollywood Films

Der blaue Engel | The Blue Angel (1930)
Directed by Josef von Sternberg in Germany, this film made Dietrich world famous. Like many early sound films, it was filmed in two versions: German and English. Her next film, Morocco, would be made in Hollywood — also with von Sternberg. DVD > Buy Der blaue Engel (with English and German versions)

Morocco (1930)
Director: Josef von Sternberg. Dietrich’s first Hollywood film, with Gary Cooper. DVD set: Marlene Dietrich: The Glamour Collection (5 films, including Morocco)

Dishonored (1931)
Director: Josef von Sternberg. Dietrich as a peasant.

Shanghai Express (1932)
Director: Josef von Sternberg

Blonde Venus (1932)
Director: Josef von Sternberg. DVD set: Marlene Dietrich: The Glamour Collection (5 films, including Blonde Venus)

The Song of Songs (1933)
Director: Rouben Mamoulian. Country orphan Lily (Dietrich) goes to Berlin to stay with her aunt and finds romance.

The Scarlett Empress (1934)
Director: Josef von Sternberg. Dietrich as Catherine the Great.

The Devil is a Woman (1935)
Director: Josef von Sternberg. With Cesar Romero. Devil was not a big hit, but a 1975 Italian remake was a true disaster. Dietrich’s last film with von Sternberg.
DVD set: Marlene Dietrich: The Glamour Collection (5 films, including The Devil is a Woman)

Desire (1936)
Director: Frank Borzage

The Garden of Allah (1936)
Director: Richard Boleslawski. With Charles Boyer.

Knight without Armour (1937)
Director: Jacques Feyder. Dietrich and Robert Donat in the Russian revolution.

Angel (1937)
Director: Ernst Lubitsch. Dietrich (as Angel) and her husband take separate vacations, and she falls in love with another man.

Destry Rides Again (1939)
Director: George Marshall. Dietrich (as the feisty “Frenchy”) and James Stewart. A good comeback for Dietrich, highlighted by the now-classic catfight with Una Merkel.

Seven Sinners (1940)
Director: Tay Garnett. With John Wayne and Broderick Crawford in the South Seas. Contains the classic Dietrich line: “I’m a b-a-a-d influence.”

Dietrich played opposite Emil Jannings in the picture that made her a star.

The Flame of New Orleans (1941)
Director: René Clair

Manpower (1941)
Director: Raoul Walsh

The Spoilers (1942)
Director: Ray Enright. Alaska gold miners tale with Randolph Scott and John Wayne.

Pittsburgh (1942)
Director: Lewis Seiler. Dietrich again teams up with Randolph Scott and John Wayne.

Kismet (1944)
Director: William Dieterle

Golden Earrings (1947)
Director: Mitchell Leisen. With Ray Milland. Some claim Dietrich actually pulled off the dark-faced gypsy role. The title song became something of a hit.

A Foreign Affair (1948)
Director: Billy Wilder. Filmed in post-war Berlin, starring Jean Arthur. A forgotten Wilder classic that deserves more respect.

Stage Fright (1950)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock

No Highway in the Sky (1951)
Director: Henry Koster. Teamed with James Stewart again.

Rancho Notorious (1952)
Director: Friz Lang. Technicolor.

Around the World in Eighty Days (1956)
Director: Michael Anderson. Cameo role as a saloon girl in the wild west.

Touch of Evil (1958)
Director: Orson Welles. A modern film noir set in Mexico — with Charlton Heston.

Witness for the Prosecution (1958)
Director: Billy Wilder. A mystery with a surprise ending. A true success for both Dietrich and Wilder.

Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Director: Stanley Kramer. Dietrich has a key role opposite judge Spencer Tracey.

Just a Gigolo (1978)
Director: David Hemmings. Set in Berlin after the First World War. Her last feature film.

Marlene (1984)
Director: Maximilian Schell. This documentary about Dietrich was filmed in Paris using only her voice, under the condition that she would not be seen on camera.

Related Films

Marlene Dietrich: Shadow and Light (1996, TV)
Director: Chris Hunt. This documentary about Dietrich was originally produced for the American Movie Classics (AMC) channel. It features archival footage and interviews with people who knew her, including her daughter Maria Riva and director Billy Wilder.

Marlene (2000)
Director: Joseph Vilsmaier. This German biopic starred the well-known German actress Katja Flint as Dietrich.

Marlene Dietrich: Her Own Song (2001)
Director: David Riva (Dietrich’s grandson). “The films, affairs and struggles of the iconic star ... as told by Rosemary Clooney, Roger Corman, Deanna Durbin and many more.” - from IMDb

BACK > Dietrich Bio
BACK > Dietrich in Berlin

MORE > The German-Hollywood Connection

DVD > Marlene Dietrich: The Glamour Collection (five of her films)