oscaralbert Review of Seven Sinners

Seven Sinners (1940)

On the eve of World War Two, a Fraulein named . . .

[6/10 · 17 April 2016]

. . . Marlene Dietrich frequently wormed her way onto the Hollywood Big Screen, cavorting blatantly in the forefront of Hitler's Fifth Columnist Gang out to undermine American Values and corrupt Yankee heroes such as rising USAF Gen. James Stewart (in DESTRY RIDES AGAIN) and future USMC water-boy John Wayne, here in SEVEN SINNERS. In this latter flick, Dietrich island-hops--foreshadowing German ally Japan's Real Life Campaign of Terror the following year--bringing loose morals, violence, and destruction to each community in which she sets foot and wiggles her can. Aided by an American Rich People's Party riddled with Nazi Sympathizers (politely referred to in the day as "Isolationists" or "Appeasers") allowing U.S. film censors to turn a blind eye upon her wily shenanigans, Dietrich batted about .500 in persuading able-bodied "Role Models" to plead "4F" (such as Wayne--and remember, VD was NOT accepted as a legitimate grounds for military deferment at this time), while failing to dissuade others--even card-carrying ARPP members such as Stewart--from eventually dropping bombs on Berlin. Even today, when you watch DESTRY, you can see Stewart holding his own against Dietrich's wiles on behalf of her Fuhrer. On the other hand, Wayne is a tongue-tied puppy around Mistress Marlene throughout SINNERS. This is no surprise, as in the movie his role calls for him to ALMOST give up serving in the U.S. Navy, as he ALMOST gets it on with Dietrich. In Real Life, of course, John DID do the deed with this notorious Femme Fatale, and subsequently ducked out of WWII.