Review of Destry Rides Again (1939) by Joan T — 05 Oct 2009

Caught this classic on late night TV last night. It's one of those golden age treasures about which they say "they don't make them like that anymore." The story is predictable and appropriately hokey, but what makes it a masterpiece is the amazing chemistry between Jimmy Stewart and Marlene Dietrich.

They are great together, but even though he is the hero and the title character, the movie belongs to Dietrich. She is hypnotic. Funny, tragic, masterfully self-aware and whip-smart, her iconic performance set the standard for wise-cracking femme fatales- and drag queens- forever after.

It was the first of many comebacks for a star who made reinvention of herself into an art in itself. Madonna and her fellow contemporary divas are amateurs compared with Dietrich, and this movie is proof beyond doubt of that.