“Marlene Dietrich actually was rather modest in a very appealing way. [She] was fortunate, as was the man who found her [Josef Von Sternberg]. This is one of the great collaborations—for five years Dietrich was willing to subject herself to one man’s guidance, at the risk of destroying the very success he offered her with their first films [The Blue Angel and Morocco].

“People wanted to see more of her, [and] the clever thing would have been to have made her work with other people and develop her personality. Instead, she stuck with Von Sternberg… She was everything he needed. Over fifty years have gone by, and of course there’s no replacement for her.” — John Kobal*

Three Dietrich–Von Sternberg collaborations will screen at LACMA through the end of April, 2017.

SHANGHAI EXPRESS 

Tuesday, April 11 at 1 pm.

THE SCARLET EMPRESS 

Tuesday, April 18 at 1 pm.

THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN

Tuesday, April 25 at 1 pm.

Bing Theater, LACMA, 5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles

* John Kobal, interview by Vicky Wilson, Interview, April 1992, 112–114.

Top: Marlene Dietrich in The Devil is a Woman (1935).

Above: Dietrich in The Scarlett Empress (1934).

Below: Clive Brook and Dietrich in Shanghai Express.