the notable legendary bond of marlene dietrich/joserf von sternberg in the 30s...particularly the one scene dietrich wears tuxedo strutting imperiously then kisses a woman arrogantly as if she were a man that was deemed defyingly ultra-sexy in a conservative time of 30s...dietrich became the female martini idol who
made millions of closet lesbians drooling endlessly, and also titilated male audience with a provocative sense of vanquishing lust.....except this offbeat gendre-ambiguous breakthru and sternberg's artsy lighting in black and white, the rest of the movie sinks into a conventional mode of love story between cabaret singer and a flippant soldier(gary cooper) trapped by the circumstance of war and seedy past...of course there's an un-requited suave provider (adolpe menjou) who loves her unconditionally but only rewarded with a hasty big hug rushly like an unworthy sap.
could "morcocco" be considered milestone of feministic assertion since dietrich built her self-sufficient vixen facade by this movie?... perhaps not. it might be an intense feministic declaration of self-choasen will for love since she selects to chase behind the soldier barefoot in the desert (who flings around with women and could offer nothing but a wide innocent smile) instead of the selflessly patient gentleman who politely awaits her in the cozy limousine....it is a strong sense of self-chosen will indeed, but ironically it's like being the necglectful queen of an respectful worshiper but an romorseless dedicated slave to a ghetto hulk. somehow sadistically mosochistic. just like one fashion editor once remarks, dietrich combines the dublicity of a queen and a whore.
maybe behind the grandeur facade of every shrewd vixen dwells a soul of petite woman who clings even to the shade silhouette of her beloved man. perhaps ideologically speaking, it's deliberantly arranged so since the bourgeois mass(the majority of movie-goers) would identify more with cooper machismo than the polished chivalry of adolphe menjou.
something worthy a mention, adolphe menjou was spotted as the typecasting of charming rich gentleman since charlie chaplin's "a woman of paris", and menjou was prestigous for his appropritately aristocratic presence...maybe only william power could be the competent equivalent for his rackishly witty image in "the thin man" series.
November 18, 2007
