Customer Reviews

Seven Sinners [VHS]

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i really didn't expect much when i first watched this movie. As many Dietrich fans will attest, Miss Dietrich is normally by far the best part of many of her movies. This one, however, is an exception. All parts are played by able actors, and the story itself is quite good. John Wayne is good in his role, even if he really doesn't have to stretch much in the role. Miss Dietrich offers one of her best, yet subtle, presentations. Her Bijou is pert, tart, flirty, romantic, and finally resigned to her fate. This movie has developed into one of my favorite oldies. Perhaps it's not Gone With the Wind or Wizard of Oz, but it's still a very good movie, with many fine points to recommend it.

Marlene Dietrich plays the sexy saloon girl Bijou Blanche in SEVEN SINNERS, which, in my opinion, is one of her finest films.

She plays opposite John Wayne and Anna Lee, in a story of love, revenge and retribution, and she sizzles with the songs 'I've Been In Love Before' and 'The Man's In The Navy', co-written by Frederick Hollander, who also co-wrote songs for her in THE BLUE ANGEL and A FOREIGN AFFAIR.

Bijou gets deported off more islands than she can get on, mainly through the way she inflames men to start riots, and she breaks more hearts than she does her nails.

She soon falls in love with Lt. Brent (John Wayne) and begins a torrid love affair, and when they are torn apart by a former lover of Bijou, she discovers that she will do anything for the man she loves.

Available seperately or in a box set with PITTSBURGH and GOLDEN EARRINGS.

BIJOU BLANCHE is Dietrich's name in this show. It means White Jewel. And, the fact that she plays a white woman and a 'coaster' (a woman of dubious virtue who travels up and down the Asian coast) in this guy flick, means that wherever she goes, she is certain to be like a blonde lighthouse in a sea of dark brown bodies and faces. One blonde bombshell in a country of millions of short, black-haired women! She's the kind of woman any red-blooded white man -- especially an American service man -- would want. John Wane sees her and wants her. So, that's the premise.

SEVEN SINNERS is one of three perfect examples of commercial American film-making. All three are Dietrich - Wayne movies.

You cannot watch the comedy-romance of SEVEN SINNERS and leave unsatisfied. It has a simple, interesting story; two mis-matched but passionate lovers; colorful secondary characters; an exotic setting; and the presence of the US Navy's officer corps. Two of three great musical numbers. And a dazzling, thrilling and amazingly choreographed brawl.

Dietrich played Bijou well. She looked the part because she never allowed the sun to tan her very pale, very delicate skin. That's why she never had any wrinkles.

Wayne was perfect as her Navy Lover. Discovered by Clara Bow when he was a football player at UCLA, he was big, tall and resolutely straight. He was sometimes seen being driven around Los Angeles by Clara, a redhead, and Lucile LeSeur (later Joan Crawford) another redhead in Clara's red Ford Model A convertible. His sex appeal never diminished, and Dietrich liked and wanted him. Literally.

And then she got him. 1940. It was her 33rd movie and she was 39 years old. At this stage in her career, Dietrich needed a leading man who could make her look younger and more desirable.

After a long series of oaters, Wayne, caught in the "Cowboys never kiss the girls, they kiss their horses" trap, needed/wanted a career change that would lift him into a more lucrative and interesting category; that of Leading Man.

Their strategy worked. Their sexual chemistry electrified the simple story and propelled it far past it's obvious limits. He looked like a sailor out for a good time, and she looked interested and available. He looked like the kind of guy who would knock anybody down if they got in his/their way. Bang!

THE STORY: She's a notorious woman moving from island to island in the South Pacific, one step ahead of arrest or deportation. She finds herself again, in Boni Kumba, an island she loves. She's a part-time singer, and full-time pool shark, and the owner of the Seven Sinner bar is not pleased to see her again. Men go crazy when they see her. There are always brawls. Police raids. Trials. There's what appears to be a soviet villain, one who's unsuccesfully pursued her, and he persuades the bar-owner to hire her again. But, despite his menace, Bijou maintains her independence, her freedom. She always travels with a bodyguard.

A band of young naval officers in whites appears. They're playing pool like the boys they are. She invites herself into the game, and they're delighted and astonished. You can almost smell her perfume. Her playing is intimate, expert, fun for everybody, and successful. Soon, Wayne appears and they eye-wrestle. Arc of attraction. Both are in the first throes of high infatuation. She sings. All idolize her.

The Admiral's daughter -- a well-washed debutante -- is in port, and he Admiral assigns Wayne to show her around. They're in a rickshaw when they both see Bijou sauntering along. She sees them and ducks into a novelty knick-knack shop. There, she engages in one of the film's best and shortest conversations, which Wayne overhears.

Shopkeeper: Bijou wantee littie pottie?

Bijou: Bijou no wantee littie pottie.

It goes on and on, each scene topping the scene before it. It doesn't get any better than that. Seven Sinners is a film made for The Greatest Generation, and its a five star knockout. And then there's that incredible scene on the deck of the battle-ship, when Bijou appears in feathers and sequins, all in white, silk crepe, singing "I've Been In Love Before, Haven't You?"

This black and white movie is so colorful, it doesn't need Technicolor. It couldn't be made today because it's too good; too funny, too original, and too terrifically entertaining.

Marlene Dietrich stars as Bijou, a South Seas singer who keeps getting deported from different islands because her allure drives men to fight for her attention. As she moves from place to place, she is accompanied by Broderick Crawford and Mischa Auer. On one island, she meets and falls in love with Navy lieutenant John Wayne. He falls for her as well, but her reputation makes her less than desirable company for those around him. In the end, somebody must make a sacrifice. Director Tay Garnett keeps the film moving along with plenty of action, stunning shots of Dietrich, and lots of South Seas atmosphere. The over-the-top brawl at the end is the film's highlight. Wayne, in one of his early major film appearances, does little more than look earnest, while Dietrich is as exotic as usual. It's not a great film, but it is entertaining.

Marlene Dietrich as Bijou is so fun and such a good entertainer. Her performance of "The Man's In The Navy" in full naval uniform is flawless.

In this first of three movies Marlene made with Wayne, we find the setting being the Seven Sinners caberet in the South Seas. Wayne's part was originally meant for Tyrone Power, but it was discovered that Wayne and Dietrich had a certain (if a little eclectic) chemistry together and this made their love scenes believably passionate. Marlene is marvelous in her role as Bijou as she parodies every South Seas island siren ever known to the hilt for the screen, and John is a fine rugged counterpart to Dietrich's sultry image. Dietrich sings three songs and her throaty voice caresses her numbers with her own brand on smoldering sensuality. The supporting cast is generally good: Broderick Crawford, Oscar Homolka, Albert Dekker, Billy Gilbert and Anna Lee.

i really didn't expect much when i first watched this movie. As many Dietrich fans will attest, Miss Dietrich is normally by far the best part of many of her movies. This one, however, is an exception. All parts are played by able actors, and the story itself is quite good. John Wayne is good in his role, even if he really doesn't have to stretch much in the role. Miss Dietrich offers one of her best, yet subtle, presentations. Her Bijou is pert, tart, flirty, romantic, and finally resigned to her fate. This movie has developed into one of my favorite oldies. Perhaps it's not Gone With the Wind or Wizard of Oz, but it's still a very good movie, with many fine points to recommend it.

I enjoyed this film, especially when Marlene gets to really act. That part comes near the end, when she gets a bit shook up. John Wayne seems rather awed in Marlene's presence (affair, maybe?), but is perfect as a Navy man. My favorite parts are Marlene's song "The Man's in the Navy", which she sings dressed in a Navy uniform, and the part where her character (Bijou. What a name.) is embarrassing the Navy guys with their stolen property. Broderick Crawford and Mischa Auer are in their element, also. The fight near the end is worth the price of the video.

I have been trying for years to get this Seven Sinners to add to my John Wayne Collection. Only needing 26 of 164 of his movies & videos on his life for sometime now. I seen this years ago in the theater but hard to come by to purchase. Probably because do to the fact that John did not have the lead billing. In any case John Wayne is John Wayne & I rate it & view it as tops.

This oldie has one the greatest song ever! The plot is "same old stuff" but to hear Dietrich sing the number and to watch Wayne stumble through another script, bumbling along, it's great. Next time there is a rainy day-call over an old friend, open a bottle of something smooth and kick back.