Success story of Marlene Dietrich
When director Joseph von Sternberg brought the 29-year-old actress to Hollywood, no one recognized the star of the film “The Blue Angel” in this short, plump brown-haired woman. She was 165 cm tall, with a flat chest, wide hips and an upturned nose.
This German woman did not fit into Hollywood beauty standards. Therefore, it did not arouse any interest from the producers. However, Sternberg knew the art of transformation well, and he had pliable material in his hands.
It all started back in Berlin, when he noticed a girl on the cabaret stage. Unlike other actresses, she showed icy indifference to the Hollywood director sitting in the hall. And then she even dared to twice refuse him to have dinner together.
Before meeting Sternberg, she had already appeared in ten silent German films and gained extravagant fame in the decadent circles of Berlin. From the very morning she could wrap herself in a boa, put on a monocle and walk around the city in very high-heeled shoes, which were in great short supply.
Her legs have been her pride since she was young. Her mother considered thin calves and wrists signs of being “stable.” When the mother thought that little Maria had crooked legs, she forced her daughter to sleep in heavy steel stocks for two years and walk only in tightly laced high boots.
But later the actress showed off only in high-heeled shoes and recognized only such shoes. Maternal concern about her legs brought the future star her first earnings. The girl got a job at a local theater, on stage she lay on her back and spun a “bicycle” with her legs.
Along the way, she starred in advertisements for nylon tights and underwear. Subsequently, her fantastic legs will be insured for $1 million. Not a single film featuring her would be complete without close-ups of her legs.
Instagram and Wikipedia Marlene Dietrich
Yes, fans of the greatest actress and singer were very unlucky that at the time in which she lived there were no Internet resources. But today, when we enter “Instagram and Wikipedia Marlene Dietrich” into the search, we can read a lot of interesting information about celebrities, and in particular about our heroine.
Admirers of her talent maintain an Instagram page where you can find very rare footage and information from the life of the actress, see feature films with her participation, and watch documentaries about her life and work. And Wikipedia offers us, in chronological order, to get acquainted with the biography, career, family and personal life of the actress.
Pygmalion and Galatea
The mystery that Marlene became for the whole world was created by the lighting, makeup and genius of director von Sternberg. For the filming of The Blue Angel, he forced her to pull out four molars to make her cheeks hollow and her face elongated.
He raised his eyebrows and highlighted his high cheekbones. The lower lip, which was too fleshy, was reduced with the help of cosmetics and the lips were drawn with a thin heart. And the play of light and shadow turned the wide nose into something like the fragile wings of a butterfly. Since then, she was photographed only under lighting from above - it seemed that her face was shining in the moonlight.
However, this was not enough to conquer Hollywood, and Pygmalion continued to improve his Galatea. He put the barley soup and cake lover on a strict diet. As a result, she lost 15 kg.
Epsom salts in liters of hot water, coffee and cigarettes became her daily food. A few months later, in the film Morocco, Dietrich stunned everyone. The smooth wave of blond hair, thin, raised eyebrows, the mysterious sparkle of her eyes and sunken cheeks gave her a melancholy and mysterious look.
Instead of a plump German woman, a fatal woman appeared on the screen. But the biggest shock was her outfit and behavior - Dietrich in a tailcoat, in a top hat, with a cane, sang a French song on a man’s behalf and frivolously kissed a woman at a table.
For Hollywood of the 30s, where high morals still reigned, this was too much. Behind the scenes were the grueling lessons at the acting school: English and Swedish gymnastics, lessons in rhythm, fencing, public speaking, exercises for voice training.
For the next 50 years, she diligently polished her image both in films and in life. She herself set the lights on the set long before other actors appeared there.
Her energy and efficiency captivated everyone around her. She knew everything about lenses and spotlights, understood editing, and selected the props herself. She paid her loved ones' bills for the rest of her life. Since childhood, she was instilled with a sense of duty, discipline and self-control - this became the foundation of her legend.
Marlene Dietrich in cinema and music
Marlene often performed on stage with a violin and sometimes sang. Dancing lessons allowed her to earn a little extra money as a dancer in one of the clubs in Berlin. Marlene Dietrich's acting debut happened on the stage of the Deutsches Theater in the play “Pandora's Box”.
Dietrich appeared in the cinema not without outside help. Her uncle had a good friend, a director, whom he introduced her to. So Marlene got a small role in the film “That’s How Men Are.” Then the actress received another cameo role in the film “The Tragedy of Love” (1923).
Due to her marriage, Marlene took a break from acting for two years. In 1925, the actress again appeared on the theater stage and with small roles in films. Marlene Dietrich received her first leading role in the film “Cafe Electric” (1927), and she was followed by another in the film “I Kiss Your Hand, Madame” with actor Harry Liedtke.
Cafe "Electric"
In 1928, Marlene Dietrich's voice was heard from her first record, “It's in the Air.”
Director Joseph von Sternberg saw Marlene Dietrich in one of the films and offered her cooperation. “The Blue Angel” in 1930 opened the doors to big cinema for her. The film was shot in two languages - German and English and was being prepared for worldwide distribution. Marlene managed to outshine everyone and become the highlight of the film, and the songs she performed in the film became hits. After the release of The Blue Angel, Marlene leaves for Hollywood. There she enters into a contract with a famous actress and continues to work with director Sternberg.
Her first Hollywood film was the melodrama “Morocco.” After the film was released, everyone was shocked - Marlene appeared on the screen in a men's trouser suit. For that time it was a real revolution. Many women followed the example of the film actress and also began to introduce men's clothes into their wardrobe. Marlene Dietrich received her only Oscar nomination for her role in Morocco.
Marlene Dietrich in the film "Morocco"
After Morocco, Marlene and Shtenberg made 5 more films. All of them received good ratings from critics and viewers. The last joint film between the actress and director was released in 1935 under the title “The Devil is a Woman.”
While Marlene was shining in Hollywood in her homeland, the rule of the Third Reich and active propaganda of National Socialism began in Germany. Adolf Hitler saw Marlene Dietrich as the face of the Third Reich. German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels offered the actress 200,000 Reichsmarks for a film with her participation. Marlene herself could choose which film to shoot and who would be the director. Dietrich refused and applied for American citizenship.
In 1937, Marlene Dietrich starred in the film “Angel.” The film turned out to be a failure, and the actress decided to take a break from her career for 2 years.
In 1943, Marlene Dietrich again made a choice not in favor of cinema. The actress sang for Entente soldiers in France, Africa and Italy for three years. For this, Marlene Dietrich received honorary awards: the Medal of Freedom, the title of knight, and then officer and commander of the Legion of Honor.
After traveling with concerts, Marlene returned to the cinema. Her most successful role after her return was the main role in the film “Foreign Romance”. Dietrich's former popularity returned - her voice was heard on the radio, and glossy magazines published her articles.
In the 50s, Marlene nevertheless decided to perform as a performer. She toured America and then came to her native Germany.
There the artist was met with hostility. In Germany, Dietrich was considered a traitor to her homeland for the fact that she so demonstratively renounced German citizenship. Marlene went through humiliation - they threw eggs at her during a performance, and after one of the concerts some girl spat right in the singer’s face. But Marlene Dietrich was warmly received in the USSR. She came with concerts to Moscow and Leningrad. During a performance in Moscow, Marlene met her favorite writer Konstantin Paustovsky.
Marlene Dietrich played her last film role after a 16-year break in the film “Beautiful Gigolo, Poor Gigolo.” But critics considered the role a failure. In 1982, Maximilian Schell made a documentary about Marlene Dietrich, Marlene. The actress refused to appear on camera, but agreed to an off-screen interview.
Queen of shocking
“I dress for myself. Not for image, not for the public, not for fashion, not for men.” M.D.
The trouser suit that took her name was a shock to the whole world, but to her it was just a comfortable kind of pajamas. She was the first to use a new stage costume - high boots, short shorts and a white top hat.
But the fame of an icon was brought to her by the “naked” dress from Jean Louis under a mantle of swan down: myriads of sequins on the flesh-colored fabric created the effect of a naked body in a dazzling radiance. With the help of a fan, the thin fabric fluttered as Marlene walked up the long staircase, dragging the train of her robe behind her.
She didn't wear sandals, only closed shoes. It seemed to her that feet were the ugliest part of a woman’s body that should be hidden.
The actress's breasts lost their shape after the birth of her daughter. But her bust looked perfect without a bra, thanks to the adhesive tape attached. She wore a special corset under thin dresses to highlight her curves even at a very late age.
The actress's daughter described the daily ritual of putting on a secret corset. First, Dietrich fastened the belt on the waist, with which the chambermaid helped her. Then she tied her arms and legs with elastic bandages. The breasts were supported with special cups.
This is why not only her every movement and breathing was controlled, but also her excellent appearance and slimness.
The beginning of a film career, marriage and Hollywood
She had a lot of persistence. First there were intensive lessons in tap dancing and cancan, which gave the stubborn Dietrich the opportunity to earn money as a backup dancer in the corps de ballets of night cabarets in Berlin. This immediately allowed me to invest in vocal lessons. Soon, 20-year-old Marlene Dietrich will make her debut at the Deutsche Theater with the play “Pandora's Box”. In the dressing rooms she smoked and talked about the philosophy of Kant and Hegel. Managing to perform in three theater productions in different parts of Berlin in one evening. And a year later he appeared in films for the first time - the 1923 film “That’s How Men Are.” She was terribly dissatisfied with the image on the screen, categorically describing herself: “A hairy potato.” This year will turn out to be fateful in the life of the actress: on the set of “The Tragedy of Love” (symbolically), she meets the handsome 25-year-old assistant director Rudi Siebert. “I immediately realized that he could be my husband,” Dietrich says about this meeting. Both were not embarrassed by the presence of Siebert’s official bride, Eva. That same year they got married, and Eva committed suicide. The following year, 1924, the couple became parents. Their common daughter Maria will surprise the world in the future - she will become famous not as the heiress of the great Dietrich, but as the talented actress Maria Riva. By the way, as of today 2021, she is still alive, she is 94 years old, and lives in the USA.
The Dietrich-Siebert union broke up immediately after the birth of their daughter, but they never divorced - they were married for 53 years, until Rudi's death from cancer in 1976. Little Maria soon moves from Berlin to California with her mother, but lives permanently with her father and his new friend Tamara Nikolaeva. Marlene helped them all her life: getting important medicines for Siebert, resolving issues with documents for Tamara. She paid them for the maintenance of their house and simply gave them money. After all, she arrived in America already as a venerable star - the dream factory seems to have been waiting for her.
Woven from contradictions
The woman who fanatically took care of her appearance and lived to be 90 years old had many bad habits. Marlene smoked a lot and often posed for photographers with a cigarette in her hand. Due to excessive smoking and poor circulation, her legs became very swollen.
After a two-hour concert and a 62-minute standing ovation, she dipped her feet in salt water to relieve pain and fatigue. Then she put on her heels again, climbed onto the roof of the car and signed autographs.
In the end, she still had to see a surgeon. The photo sent as a token of gratitude, with a magnetic cut on the evening dress, testified to the success of the operation. Marlene loved to drink. During performances, she drank Scotch whiskey or champagne backstage during breaks between songs.
One day, without calculating the norm, she fell into the orchestra pit. Dietrich, despite a broken shoulder, completed the concert to the end. She answered the doctors: “I have already survived two world wars. Could some kind of fracture really stop me?”
In her later years, Dietrich drank three glasses of lemon every day. True, instead of tea there was cognac in the glass. But she never gave up sleep for work and was convinced that a woman who slept well looked like a queen.
In the morning, after sleep, she opened the window and breathed deeply. After the air procedures, she lay down on the floor and did a “bicycle” - so her legs looked toned. Before filming, she always went on a strict diet, and after completion, she gorged herself with pleasure.
Pork feet, dumplings and beer soup were her specialties. With them she fed her entire clan, which constantly accompanied her: her lover, her husband, his mistress, her daughter and her maid.
At the end of her life, she did not agree to act in films for any money. Only when there was nothing to pay for the apartment, she agreed to give an interview to Stern magazine for 20 thousand dollars.
Last years and death
Marlene liked to have a glass or two of whiskey or champagne during her performance and did not really hide it from the public. In 1975, at a concert, she tripped and fell into the orchestra pit, breaking her hip. Treatment and rehabilitation took eight months, after which the actress went to Paris and retired to her apartment on Avenue Montaigne.
Marlene Dietrich in 1975
Shortly before this, her husband Rudolf Sieber died of cancer, and Madeleine was left completely alone. She kept in touch with the outside world by telephone, not wanting to appear old and frail to others. She was looked after by nurses hired by her daughter, but most of the time she was left to her own devices and that suited her quite well. Dietrich sorted through old photos, wrote memoirs, and when she wanted to talk, she called close friends. Only once did she change her rules and star in the documentary “Marlene,” which was released in 1984.
Marden Dietrich in the last years of his life
The actress died suddenly, literally immediately after the departure of the doctor, who determined her state of health to be quite tolerable. Many even believe that Marlene herself hastened her departure, because the next day the Cannes Film Festival, of which she became the face, was to open. The whole of Paris was covered with her photographs - isn’t this the best way to make a statement for the last time?! It was all very Marlene-esque. According to the official version, the actress died on May 6, 1992 as a result of acute heart and kidney failure.
The modest grave of Marlene Dietrich
Farewell to Dietrich took place in the Parisian Church of the Madeleine - the coffin was covered with a French flag, and high government awards were on the pillows. Then the actress’s body was transported to Berlin and solemnly buried in the city cemetery in her native Schöneberg, next to her mother’s grave.
Secrets of the image
Long before the era of plastic surgeons, Marlene did her own face garter using a transparent adhesive plaster. However, she did not hide the fact that, first of all, she contours her face with the help of light and shadows. She never worked on set without a mirror. Every second she was sure that her makeup and hairstyle were perfect.
She paid the most attention to her eyebrows. She plucked them every day with a thin thread and carefully disguised them with powder. Then, a little higher than my own, I drew a second eyebrow line with a pencil.
Her skin was pale, matte, without imperfections, carefully protected from bad weather. She regularly massaged her face. In everyday life, she did not use foundation and avoided any cosmetics that could spoil the natural shine of her skin.
The effect of a languid gaze was achieved with gray shadows. She applied them all over her eyelid. Near the base of the eyelashes, along the entire upper eyelid, she drew a line with a black pencil, which she barely brought out.
The eyelashes on the upper eyelid were generously painted with mascara and artificial ones were added to create a slanted look. To make the eyes look large and open, Marlene drew the inner surface of the lower eyelid with a white pencil. She never applied mascara to her lower eyelashes so as not to create shadows.
Before taking close-ups, Dietrich sucked on a lemon to keep the muscles in her mouth and cheeks tense. She skillfully emphasized her famous cheeks with blush. The contour of the nose was achieved thanks to a light strip of powder from the bridge of the nose to the tip and dark powder on the wings of the nose.
I outlined the lips with a pencil slightly below the natural line and generously painted my lips with dark red lipstick. As her make-up artist recalled, on the set Marlene kissed so passionately that each time she had to apply a completely new layer of lipstick.
"Waterloo" on the head
Marlene called her hair “her Waterloo.” They looked darker on screen due to their red tint. She was persistently recommended to lighten her hair so that in the frame it would be blond, just like in “life.” She stubbornly refused.
Marlene's hair was a complete horror for hairdressers: it could not be curled. At six in the morning the curling began, then drying, which burned the skin, but it was all in vain. Only thanks to hot curling irons were Marlene's curls ready to appear in front of the camera.
For a radiant shine, Marlene ordered real gold dust from Max Factor and sprinkled it on her hair.
On May 6, 1992, the Cannes Festival opened in France, the symbol of which was proclaimed Marlene Dietrich. Paris was covered with posters of her face. On this day, the 90-year-old actress was bedridden. A doctor examined her and confirmed that she was healthy and would live.
A few hours later she was gone. Officially, her heart stopped; unofficially, she took sleeping pills.
