Five years after her phenomenal Hollywood debut with MOROCCO (ACADEMY AWARD nomination for Marlene!), DIETRICH went into the desert again. This time even in the colors of TECHNICOLOR and not for her home studio PARAMOUNT PICTURES, but for the independent producer SELZNICK INTERNATIONAL. The story told was based on a novel by Robert SMYTHE HICHENS and directed by Richard BOLESLAWSKI.
The pious Domini Enfilden (Marlene DIETRICH) inherits a huge fortune after her father's death. Exhausted from long-term care, the young woman doesn't know what to do with her future life. On the advice of Mother Superior Josephine (Lucille WATSON), who raised her, Domini goes to the Sahara to experience the meaning of life through retreats. There she meets Boris Androvsky (Charles BOYER), who is surrounded by a big secret. Only after her wedding to him does the God-fearing Domini find out that she is married to a runaway Trappist monk. After some back and forth, they both make a momentous decision...
In post-Pre-Code Hollywood, films full of religious fervor could once again be made. Unbelievable and close to kitsch, but with beautiful colors and powerful images of the desert near Yuma. Marlene DIETRICH probably didn't get along particularly well with her film partner Charles BOYER (four ACADEMY AWARD nominations). Severe sandstorms also affected the overpriced production.
The later Sherlock Holmes actor Basil RATHBONE (two ACADEMY AWARD nominations) and John CARRADINE can be seen in other roles. The Vienna-born ACADEMY AWARD winner Joseph SCHILDKRAUT (he won the award in 1938 for his role as Alfred Dreyfus in THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA) has a very enjoyable role as Batouch. In 1960, Joseph SCHILDKRAUT also played Anne Frank's father (in THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK), for which he received a GOLDEN GLOBE nomination. The Viennese Tilly LOSCH (1903 - 1975) can be discovered as a dancer in a small role.
The Viennese composer Max STEINER (1888 - 1971) received an ACADEMY AWARD nomination for his beautiful music.
THE GARDEN OF ALLAH is definitely not the strongest film in Marlene DIETRICH's long career! But you can experience the beautiful Berliner in color and at the height of her fame. That alone is worth a viewing, which the BERLINALE recognized a few years ago when it brought this aesthetically impressive film back to the big screen as part of a retrospective.
The pious Domini Enfilden (Marlene DIETRICH) inherits a huge fortune after her father's death. Exhausted from long-term care, the young woman doesn't know what to do with her future life. On the advice of Mother Superior Josephine (Lucille WATSON), who raised her, Domini goes to the Sahara to experience the meaning of life through retreats. There she meets Boris Androvsky (Charles BOYER), who is surrounded by a big secret. Only after her wedding to him does the God-fearing Domini find out that she is married to a runaway Trappist monk. After some back and forth, they both make a momentous decision...
In post-Pre-Code Hollywood, films full of religious fervor could once again be made. Unbelievable and close to kitsch, but with beautiful colors and powerful images of the desert near Yuma. Marlene DIETRICH probably didn't get along particularly well with her film partner Charles BOYER (four ACADEMY AWARD nominations). Severe sandstorms also affected the overpriced production.
The later Sherlock Holmes actor Basil RATHBONE (two ACADEMY AWARD nominations) and John CARRADINE can be seen in other roles. The Vienna-born ACADEMY AWARD winner Joseph SCHILDKRAUT (he won the award in 1938 for his role as Alfred Dreyfus in THE LIFE OF EMILE ZOLA) has a very enjoyable role as Batouch. In 1960, Joseph SCHILDKRAUT also played Anne Frank's father (in THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK), for which he received a GOLDEN GLOBE nomination. The Viennese Tilly LOSCH (1903 - 1975) can be discovered as a dancer in a small role.
The Viennese composer Max STEINER (1888 - 1971) received an ACADEMY AWARD nomination for his beautiful music.
THE GARDEN OF ALLAH is definitely not the strongest film in Marlene DIETRICH's long career! But you can experience the beautiful Berliner in color and at the height of her fame. That alone is worth a viewing, which the BERLINALE recognized a few years ago when it brought this aesthetically impressive film back to the big screen as part of a retrospective.
Tell Your Friends