Customer Reviews

Marlene Dietrich 6 Disc Box Set ( Shanghai Express / Destry Rides Again / The Devil Is a Woman / A Foreign Affair / Blonde Venus / The Lady Is Willing ) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2.4 Import - Great Britain ]

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This 6-disc boxset collection can be picked up for an amazingly cheap price in the UK at the moment. It contains six of Marlene Dietrich's most beloved films (several of them are still unavailble in the US), all in beautiful, authorized studio transfers. Collected together they create an effective cross-section of Marlene's various screen guises.

BLONDE VENUS (1932): When her husband (Herbert Marshall) is struck down with a potentially-fatal illness, housewife and mother Helen Faraday (Dietrich) reluctantly returns to the music-hall stage in order to fund his medical journey to Europe. Separated from her husband, Helen finds comfort in the arms of a kind millionaire (Cary Grant). Dietrich performs "Hot Voodoo" whilst wearing a gorilla costume!

SHANGHAI EXPRESS (1932): The setting is a train en route from Peking to Shanghai; it's occupants include Chinese prostitute Hui Fei (Anna May Wong), American millionaire Sam Salt (Eugene Pallette), physician Captain Donald Harvey (Clive Brook) and notorious 'coaster' Shanghai Lily (Marlene Dietrich). When the journey is interrupted by a deadly Chinese uprising led by Chang (Warner Oland), the past romance enjoyed between Lily and 'Doc' Harvey comes back into the light when she saves him from Chang's henchmen.

THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN (1935): Antonio (Cesar Romero), a political prisoner on the run, becomes entranced by fiery carnival dancer Concha Perez (Marlene Dietrich), but is strongly cautioned by his old friend Don Pasquale (Lionel Atwill). As one of Concha's former lovers, "Pasqualito" knows all too well the tricks and deceptions that Concha eagerly creates for her male conquests, which the audience members also discover during several entertaining flashback sequences.

DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (1939): Marlene's first big comedy role, that of saloon singer Frenchy in a rowdy western parody starring Jimmy Stewart in the title role. Noteworthy for the musical number "The Boys in the Back-Room"; and an hilarious catfight between Dietrich and Una Merkel.

THE LADY IS WILLING (1942): Flamboyant musical theatre star Liza Madden (Marlene Dietrich) stuns her personal assistants and staff members when she returns from a shopping spree with an extra, unexpected piece of merchandise...a nine-month-old baby. Apparently abandoned by it's parents, Liza decides to keep it, despite the fact that unmarried and financially-unstable Liza won't be seen as a fit parent. She decides to enter into a marriage of convenience with paediatrician Dr. Corey McBain (Fred MacMurray). In exchange for helping her keep the baby, she'll help fund his rabbit-breeding experiments. But how long will it be until Liza and Corey really DO find love?

A FOREIGN AFFAIR (1948): Post-war Berlin is the setting for this fascinating Billy Wilder movie which is equal parts romantic comedy and stinging attack on WW2's evil corruption. Nazi sympathiser Erika Von Shluetow (Dietrich) is protected by an American soldier (John Lund), until a no-nonsense Government worker (Jean Arthur) intervenes.

Definitely a must-buy for those with multi region players.