Review of Dishonored (1931) by Gregory W — 06 Oct 2010

Dietrich's second Hollywood movie, and third of six with von Sternberg. His then very European style and tempo are evident in this movie and I can imagine it was a breath of fresh air at the time. Dietrich acts more with one eyelid than the cast of 90210 combined, and the imagery is impressive.

So this movie deserves to be seen, it's a piece of film history, and it perhaps saved Dietrich from a career playing a sleazy barmaid/singer.

All that being said, I found the plot painfully thin and could barely keep my eyes open at times. Dietrich still mesmerizes in her grand scenes, but her obviously not quite learned English speaking way of she does has, tends to take the wind out of certain dramatic moments. The leading man in this movie is furthermore unconvincing and miscast.

Out of the 3 Dietrich-Sternberg collaborations I've seen (The Scarlet Empress & Der Blaue Engel) being the others) this easily ranks the lowest.