Blue Angel: The Life of Marlene Dietrich (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992) dedicated her energies to maintaining the Garbo-like image of a mysterious, alluring, remote creature, a glamour-queen role crafted by her mentor and sometime lover, director Josef von Sternberg. But the earthy German-born actress we meet in Spoto's marvelous, elegantly written biography was "entirely a woman of the moment"--a sexual libertine with lovers of both sexes, a frequent cross-dresser, a neglectful mother who condescended to her troubled daughter, an astrology addict, a " Hausfrau who put a towel around her head" and constantly "complained about almost everything." Spoto ( Laurence Olivier ) tells how Dietrich wrapped herself in illusions and deceptions, denying the existence of her sister and obscuring the details of her long marriage to Rudolf Sieber, a man she rarely saw. She paid the price, Spoto writes, through emotional imbalance, loneliness, decades of self-imposed isolation and "a spiritual vacuum at the core of herself." He also details her many sexual conquests, among them Yul Brynner, Eddie Fisher, John Wayne and Gen. George Patton. An empathetic, demystifying portrait, heartbreakingly beautiful and sad, this biography blends astute film criticism with backstage and bedroom lore. Photos.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Having previously published a photo-essay on Dietrich ( Falling in Love Again: Marlene Dietrich , Little, Brown, 1985. o.p.), Spoto has now completed a full-scale biography of the star of screen and stage. Blue Angel evidences extensive research, as did Spoto's recent Laurence Olivier: A Biography ( LJ 2/15/92) and his books on Alfred Hitchcock. News of Dietrich's bisexuality isn't likely to astound knowledgeable film buffs, but Spoto goes further than previous biographers in naming sexual partners (usually without citing his sources). Spoto also seems to have penetrated farther behind Dietrich's public persona than have other writers; he is taken with her, but not taken in. A good choice for most public libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 7/92.
- John Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Cooper Square Press; 1st Cooper Square Press Ed edition (August 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815410611
• ISBN-13: 978-0815410614
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #575,800 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Yeah, well, August 30, 2001

By	Lambchops N. Sweaters (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

An enjoyable and informative read, though at times presented too romantically and subjectively. A fine job of portraying Dietrich from many angles, fleshing her out (though the author is irritatingly fond of the word "plump")... Spoto seems to approach his subject with celestial reverence, as though trying to conceal his own crush behind historical voyeurism (the discussion of debauched 1920s Berlin is particularly gratifying). Sometimes he speculates too much on possible motivations instead of simply offering facts, but he also makes good use of others' reminiscences of Dietrich to back up some of his insightful conjectures. Enjoyable but not riveting.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars No "Angel", April 16, 2004

By	E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Donald Spoto tends to write pleasant, sometimes very insightful biographies that tend to look at different aspects of the stars they focus on. "Blue Angel," however, is not up to par. While his biography of actress Marlene Dietrich is well-written, he seems too disconnected from his subject.

Marlene Dietrich was a dominant sex symbol alongside the distant Greta Garbo. Her big break came with Josef von Sternberg, a German director who found the struggling actress and made her his muse, lover and inspiration. Dietrich kept spreading her wings in Hollywood, and in the 1940s she entertained Allied troops for her adopted country.

Spoto does a pretty good job of covering Dietrich's many-faceted life. Hausfrau and actress, Berlin cabaret and Hollywood, he checks it all out and describes it with a fair amount of detail. And despite the varied nature of Dietrich's love life, he at least tries to keep his tone professional and detached. (Even when describing Dietrich placing a bouquet of violets in a rather, um, intimate place)

What's Spoto's biggest problem? He seems to have no idea what made Dietrich tick. When describing the real Dietrich -- the woman behind the image -- he seems genuinely befuddled by her real personality, and spends too much time speculating on her motivations. However, he sheds a great deal of light on Dietrich's mystique, and how it was created by von Sternberg.

Donald Spoto's "Blue Angel" sheds some light on the not-so-angelic Marlene Dietrich, but his lack of insight into Dietrich's mind makes it a somewhat frustrating read.