Review of Morocco (1930) by Alexandria M — 23 Aug 2006

Directed by Josef von Sternberg.

Starring Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper.

Almost every scene in the movie is unbearable to watch with the cardboard characters and dialogues, thus ending with raised eyebrows after every cuts and fade outs. The only thing worthy is Dietrich in her song numbers which are halfway between being novelty or a treasured act. Cooper is cartoonish as a foreign legion who defies his superiors because he can get away for being macho and cool. When Dietrich is not singing, her arms seemed to be affixed upon her waist. There is a well-known ending with Dietrich following the Legionnaires march in the desert and a long tracking shot of soldiers but that needed rapport between the two leads was severely lacking. And the movie fails in that respect.

Best Scene: Dietrich?s apples.