Seven Sinners (1940)

Director:

Tay Garnett

Writers:

Ladislas Fodor (story)
John Meehan (writer)

Release Date:

25 October 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

She's Dynamite...Tearing Through A Lawless Pacific Paradise! (1948 rissue poster)

Plot:

Bijou, a saloon singer with a reputation for insighting brouhahas, is one of several deportees from a south Pacific island to arrive at another U.S...

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Saloon | Jealousy | Dance | Deportation

Cast

Marlene Dietrich	...	Bijou Blanche
John Wayne	...	Lt. Dan Brent
Albert Dekker	...	Dr. Martin
Broderick Crawford	...	Edward Patrick 'Little Ned' Finnegan
Anna Lee	...	Dorothy Henderson
Mischa Auer	...	Sasha Mencken
Billy Gilbert	...	Tony
Richard Carle	...	District Officer
Samuel S. Hinds	...	Governor Harvey Henderson
Oskar Homolka	...	Antro (as Oscar Homolka)
Reginald Denny	...	Captain Church
Vince Barnett	...	Bartender
Herbert Rawlinson	...	First Mate
James Craig	...	Ensign
William Bakewell	...	Ensign Judson

Also Known As:

Café of the Seven Sinners (UK) (reissue title)

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | Germany:6 (DVD release) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #6795)

Filming Locations:

Saugus Airfield, Saugus, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Quotes:

Lt. Dan Brent: Imagine finding you here.
Bijou: I'm the type of girl you're liable to find anywhere.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Band of Brothers: Crossroads (#1.5)" (2001)

Soundtrack:

I'VE BEEN IN LOVE BEFORE

Delicious satire of Sadie Thompson dramas

This rowdy South Seas romp is the high point of Marlene Dietrich's more user-friendly populist period: she plays "Bijou", a "singer" who gets deported from island after island because she innocently enflames both locals and sailors into brawling and destroying the nightclubs. Bijou values handsome guys, diamonds, and good friends, not to mention her wardrobe of feathers, flounces, silks, lace parasols, and even a sailor's uniform. As the object of Bijou's attention, John Wayne is at his freshest and most appealing, sheepishly bringing her armloads of orchids. The supporting cast is unusually deep: dense but loyal Broderick Crawford, sneaky Mischa Auer, menacing Oscar Homolka, perpetually befuddled Billy Gilbert, world-weary Albert Dekker, pretty Anna Lee. The lavish production includes sunny lighting and dynamic camera moves from Rudolph Mate. For once, director Tay Garnett gets it all right: the tropical atmosphere, the teasing romance, the broad comedy, the bittersweet edge [see Bijou's exchanges with the ship's doctor], plus four good musical numbers.