VeteranLight
I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.
Nessieldwi
Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.
Humaira Grant
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
weezeralfalfa
The opening scene has a bunch of guys in a South Seas cabaret go berserk, hitting each other and tearing up the furnishings. We don't see nor hear Marlene, but it's clear she just finished singing. Unfortunately, this is a standard response of men to Marlene(as Bijou). So why she has been banned from city after city in Indonesia and the South Seas. She brings in business to cabarets, but not enough to replace the destroyed furnishings or reputation of the establishment. Move over Sinatra. Even his bobby soxers weren't this ecstatic. At nearly 40y.o., Marlene looks and acts amazing. And those big soulful eyes. If you are typically bewitched by Marlene's typical screen persona, you should not be disappointed by her performance here.Marlene has tall, broad-shouldered, handsome, John Wayne to romance her on occasion, but it's decided that marriage to her would probably destroy his naval career. Thus, in the finale, they are shown going their separate ways: a bittersweet conclusion to a love affair. Wayne is a lieutenant in the US navy. Just what a US naval vessel is doing exploring Indonesia's many islands isn't pursued. In any case, in Wayne's first encounter with Marlene, he hugs her as he lifts her from the ship to the wharf. By the look on her face, she's quite agreeable to this treatment. This sets the stage for more romantic encounters between the two. Later, Wayne initiates a mega-barroom brawl between two groups, in which the room is totally destroyed, with men leaping around the room. It's mean to be largely a comical performance. This is the action climax of the film.If you like Billy Gilbert's extreme brand of wild befuddled humor, you will find plenty of it here, especially in the first half. He plays the proprietor of the 7 sinners cabaret, which was torn up the last time Marlene performed there. Hence, he's not anxious for a repeat performance. Nonetheless, he is bullied into allowing her to perform there. She sings several songs penned by the combination of Friedrich Hollaender and frank Loesser: "I've Been in Love Before", and "The Man's in the Navy". But, her most memorable performance is the classic from the '20s: "I Can't Give You Anything but Love", composed by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields. Besides Billy Gilbert, and the climactic brawl, humor is sprinkled here and there. For example, a man grabs Marlene's arm roughly. She presses her lite cigarette into his hand, and he immediately releases her. A young Broderick Crawford, as Finnegan, serves as Marlene's voluntary protector, providing a bit of comedy here and there, as does Mischa Auer, as his companion magician and kleptomaniac. In a comical scene, Marlene holds up various items stolen by Auer, one by one, to a group of men, asking who they belong to. The men are embarrassed that these were stolen without their knowledge.This film is presently available at YouTube.
MARIO GAUCI
Fond memories I had of watching this movie on Italian TV as a kid made me spring for the rather lackluster "John Wayne: An American Icon" 2-disc collection from Universal; the film itself reunites four actors (Marlene Dietrich, Mischa Auer, Billy Gilbert and Samuel S. Hinds) from Universal's successful Western comedy of the previous year – DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (1939).Co-star John Wayne had just re-achieved stardom with John Ford's seminal STAGECOACH (1939) – the nine years following his impressive turn in Raoul Walsh's THE BIG TRAIL (1930) had mostly been spent in Grade Z Westerns; while he would eventually make this boisterous type of entertainment his own, he's likable enough but still somewhat stiff here. Dietrich, on the other hand, has a ball with her role of an exotic cabaret singer (she even does a number in full naval uniform, recalling her famous top hat 'n' tails routine ending in a lesbian clinch in Josef von Sternberg's MOROCCO [1930]) – who effortlessly turns the head of every man that crosses her path and, consequently, is the cause – or, should I say, prize? – of many a row (but which leads to her deportation from one Pacific island to the other).Again, the supporting cast is marvelous – not just the three character actors I mentioned earlier (Auer is a pickpocket-cum-magician who tags along with Dietrich's Bijou, Hinds the stern Governor of the island, and Gilbert actually steals the show with his typically amiable flustered shtick as the boss of the titular café), but also Albert Dekker (a brief but very interesting role as a ship's doctor with whom Dietrich ends up – I dare say that the subtle relationship between them is more believable than the central one between her and Wayne!), Oscar Homolka (a mobster with pretenses to Dietrich's favors, he makes for a particularly strong villain), Broderick Crawford (who is terrific as a rough ex-sailor who purports to be Dietrich's bodyguard – however, his loyalty to the navy is even greater, and this brings about an unexpected dramatic scene towards the end where he nearly beats up Dietrich because she's disrupting naval officer Wayne's career chances!), Vince Barnett (amusing as the taciturn but resourceful bartender of the "Seven Sinners" whose recurring loud jeering at Homolka's expense could prove fatal at any moment), Reginald Denny (appearing all too briefly as Wayne's understanding superior officer) and Richard Carle (as the judge appointed to run Dietrich, Auer and Crawford out of town at the start of the picture – despite his owlish demeanor, he doesn't flinch from carrying out his duty when confronted with the wiles of the legendary femme fatale, the sleight-of-hand of the Russian émigré, or the uncouth manners of the seaman). As would also prove to be the case in their subsequent teamings – THE SPOILERS (1942) and PITTSBURGH (1942) – Wayne and Dietrich's romance is interrupted by his involvement with another woman of higher standing; here, it's Anna Lee in her American debut – and, even if the role doesn't amount to very much, the actress invests it with a quiet gracefulness that is typically British.The film (which was remade in 1950 as SOUTH SEA SINNER) runs a bit thin on plot, but is kept on track most of the time by director Garnett – who made other ensemble pieces in exotic settings, namely CHINA SEAS (1935) and BATAAN (1943). It also benefits from expert shadowy lighting courtesy of the great Rudolph Mate', but the undeniable highlight of SEVEN SINNERS is the climactic bar-room brawl – which is really no less elaborate (or uproarious) than the one featured in DODGE CITY (1939), which is often singled out as the quintessence of this type of sequence.
notmicro
Its fun and spunky enough, but it has the schizophrenic feel of a "B" film with "A-list" actors. It was made by Universal, which had taken a chance the year before, and cast Dietrich in "Destry Rides Again" following her inclusion in the famous "box-office poison" list. Wayne was just transitioning from shoestring Republic Pictures; he had made zillions of minor films, and his career was just starting to take off. Dietrich often seems to be in a different film altogether; the way she looks and acts goes way above what the material calls for - she was always extremely conscious of her "look" and image. Her musical numbers are fun, especially the awesome nightclub number in Navy uniform drag - who else could pull THAT one off so successfully!
smatysia
An OK Marlene Dietrich film. I didn't find her as beautiful and talented as a lot of others must have. John Wayne looks very young and earnest. It was interesting to see Broderick Crawford in a role like this. But, again, this film was just OK. Grade: C-
