Blonde Venus (1932)

Director:

Josef von Sternberg

Writers:

Jules Furthman (written by) and
S.K. Lauren (written by)

Release Date:

16 September 1932 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

From the lips of one MAN to the arms of another!

Plot:

American chemist Ned Faraday marries a German entertainer and starts a family. However, he becomes poisoned...

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Germany | Millionaire | Chemist | Fame

Cast

Marlene Dietrich	...	Helen Faraday, aka Helen Jones
Herbert Marshall	...	Edward 'Ned' Faraday
Cary Grant	...	Nick Townsend
Dickie Moore	...	Johnny Faraday
Gene Morgan	...	Ben Smith
Rita La Roy	...	Taxi Belle Hooper
Robert Emmett O'Connor	...	Dan O'Connor
Sidney Toler	...	Det. Wilson
Morgan Wallace	...	Dr. Pierce
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Clarence Muse	...	Charlie, the Bartender (unconfirmed)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | German | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

Spain:18 | USA:Passed | UK:PG (re-rating) (1987) | UK:A (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Paramount Ranch - 2813 Cornell Road, Agoura, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Cary Grant said Von Sternberg directed him not really much during the filming, but the director taught him the most important thing. On the first day Grant came on the set, Sternberg looked at him and said, "Your hair is parted on the wrong side." So Grant parted it on the other side and kept it that way the rest of his career.

Quotes:

Ben Smith: What'd you say your name was?
Helen Faraday, aka Helen Jones: Helen Faraday.
Ben Smith: Nah, we gotta get something different. Something unusual, something that's easy to say and hard to forget.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Marlene (1984)

Soundtrack:

I Couldn't Be Annoyed

Fascinating Dietrich

Marlene Dietrich is spellbinding as a woman who takes her son and flees her jealous husband who threatens to take him away. The husband (Herbert Marshall) goes to Europe for his health, but on the money Dietrich makes as the Blonde Venus. When he finds out she's also had an affair with Cary Grant, he goes ballistic. Thin plot has Marshall sending detectives around the world to follow Dietrich as she sinks lower and lower. She finally gives up the boy and returns to nightclub stardom. All ends well. Dietrich sings a few songs along the way and looks gorgeous, but it's her "Hot Voodoo" number, emerging from a gorilla suit via a slow strip, that is sexy and mesmerizing. The storyline is not terribly logical, but hell ... it's Marlene Dietrich doing what she did best: hypnotizing her audience with glamorous, allure, and wit.