From Publishers Weekly
Attansio's translation from the German echoes the voice of the actress, famous since the 1930s as the quintessence of glamor and beauty. Yet Dietrich herself and the intimates she writes about remain obscure in the narrative, despite some deeply moving images: she makes palpable, for example, her bewildered pain as a child in Germany during the World War I, experiences that contributed to her sturdy independence. And there is enormous pathos in her recollections of platonic friendship with her beloved Hemingway and with the doomed "sparrow," Edith Piaf. Dietrich writes of entertaining the allied troops during WW II, of her SRO concerts around the world and of her performances on stage and TV. She expresses admiration for Joseph von Sternberg, the director who starred her, an "unknown," in the film classic The Blue Angel. But only by indirection does the memoir disclose the personhood of Dietrich, mother of Maria and wife to the late Rudolf Sieber: "I've done my duty. I've assumed my responsibilities. That's all that counts for me." Photos not seen by PW. First serial to Cosmopolitan.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Dietrich takes pleasure in frequently pointing out mistakes made by her previous "biographers" (she always disparagingly puts the words in quotes), but while Hollywood memoirs have never been known for their accuracy, hers sets a new low standard. To give but two examples: she says (twice) that Ernst Lubitsch wrote the script for the film Desire . He didn't. She writes of starring in Rancho Notorious and then says, "After that, I made Manpower ," when , in fact , Manpower was made 11 years before Rancho Notorious. Shelley Winters's Shelley: Also Known as Shirley ( LJ 5/15/80) showed that an entertaining memoir can be written even with a blithe disregard for facts, but Dietrich also fails on this count. Winters's follow-up memoir, The Best of Times, The Worst of Times , will be published this July . -- Ed. Dietrich refused to appear in the 1984 documentary Marlene; she should have refused to do an autobiography, too.
- John Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
- John Smothers, Monmouth Cty. Lib., Manalapan, N.J.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
