Blonde Venus

"What could she do but flee from love? She loved two men at once!"

1932 1h 33m EN

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 152

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In an effort to be able to afford expensive treatment for her gravely ill American husband, a retired German entertainer returns to the cabaret as Blonde Venus and catches the eye of a wealthy politician.

“What could she do but flee from love? She loved two men at once!”

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Cast

Marlene Dietrich
Helen Faraday, aka Helen Jones
Herbert Marshall
Edward 'Ned' Faraday
Cary Grant
Nick Townsend
Dickie Moore
Johnny Faraday
Gene Morgan
Ben Smith
Rita La Roy
'Taxi Belle' Hooper
Robert Emmett O'Connor
Dan O'Connor
Sidney Toler
Detective Wilson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Josef von Sternberg
Writers: Jules Furthman, S.K. Lauren, Josef von Sternberg
Languages: English, French, German
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

94 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, German.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Josef von Sternberg, shot by Bert Glennon. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by W. Franke Harling. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Josef von Sternberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Marlene Dietrich and Herbert Marshall and Cary Grant carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "What could she do but flee from love? She loved two men at once!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0022698 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Josef von Sternberg directs. Bert Glennon behind the camera. W. Franke Harling scores. Josef von Sternberg cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, French, German.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

194 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, German.
3Directed by Josef von Sternberg, shot by Bert Glennon. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by W. Franke Harling. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Josef von Sternberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Marlene Dietrich and Herbert Marshall and Cary Grant carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "What could she do but flee from love? She loved two men at once!".
8IMDB entry: tt0022698 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 19 themes, including "prostitute", "love triangle", "germany", "nightclub".

The technical file

Cinematography: Bert Glennon
Original score: W. Franke Harling
Editing: Josef von Sternberg
Costume design: Charles Gemora
Sound: Harry D. English
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Blonde Venus (1932)

Also by

Josef von Sternberg

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-02-26
★ 9/10
It's mesmerizing to watch von Sternberg and Dietrich at work in this melodrama, and fun to watch both her and Cary Grant in early roles before they became household names and cinematic legends. One can't help but sense the parallel between this story (Helen giving up her family to be a star) and her real life, as von Sternberg told her to give up her family and life in Germany as he would take her to America and make her a star.
CinemaSerf2022-06-13
★ 7/10
Definitely one of Marlene Dietrich's more sensitive and powerful - though not sentimental - performances as a wife and mother whose husband (Herbert Marshall) becomes ill with Radium poisoning. Faced with mounting bills for his expensive treatment in Germany, she returns to her previous work as a cabaret singer and is soon involved with millionaire "Nick Townsend" (Cary Grant). Marshall is heartbroken to discover her infidelity and there ensues a sort of cat-and-mouse game as she and her son flee and try to stay one step ahead of her chasing husband and authorities. The three principals deliver strong performances and who will ever forget "Hot Voodoo" performed in the gorilla costume? The son (Dickie Moore) is quite cute and albeit briefly, contributes to the tensions later in the film quite convincingly. Allegedly, the censors had a field day with this but what is left still flows well under Von Sternberg's able, if not exactly flamboyant, direction.