The Song of Songs1933
The Song of Songs (1933)
The Song of Songs Photos
Movie Info
Cast
as Lily Czepanek
as Richard Waldrow
as Baron von Merzbach
as Frau Rasmussen
as Walter Von Prell
as Fraulein von Schwartzfegger
as `Admirer'
as Butler
as Butler
as Butler
Critic Reviews for The Song of Songs
All Critics (6) | Fresh (5) | Rotten (1) | DVD (1)
In Mamoulian's hands Marlene Dietrich gives the performance of her career, achieving through restraint an impressiveness seldom achieved in her former films.
The main pleasure in the film is Dietrich's performance.
The Song of Songs isn't a perfect film by any stretch, and at times its gender relations are extraordinarily problematic, but it does give insight into Dietrich's range, the humor underlying some of her persona, and the nuance underlying her image.
It's hard not to admire the gutsiness of what Mamoulian achieves here, crafting a film that is ultimately a critique of itself and the very audience that's watching it.
There is a fine atmospheric quality to the picture that is tight and consistent, and there is more music underlying the story than you may realize, hut, even so, it is disappointing.
The first Marlene Dietrich film not directed by Josef von Sternberg still has some of the Sternbergian sophisticated romantic touch.
Audience Reviews for The Song of Songs
The plot to this film is pretty simple, but wow, Marlene Dietrich is fantastic in the leading role, and director Robert Mamoulian makes the most of his actors and the script in crafting a beautiful film. Dietrich skillfully handles her role which shifts from a naïve young country girl, to a model and lover of a sculptor, to the unhappy wife of an older man, and lastly to a cabaret girl. Her performance is especially impressive for the time, when over-acting and exaggerated facial gestures were common; Dietrich by contrast is polished and smooth, sexy in a sultry, understated way, and quite a singer on top of all that. Director Robert Mamoulian, who also directed the brilliant Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in 1931, pulls all the right strings here, and there are some beautiful shots, examples of which are shifting clouds in front of the moon and sunlight reflecting off the water as Dietrich is out riding. The movie is also elevated by quotes from the poetry of the Biblical book of the Song of Songs, and it's a nice mix of sophistication and pre-Code naughtiness. The scene when Dietrich disrobes for a nude modeling session, where Mamoulian cuts to sculptures to represent her body, brings a smile. The plot itself isn't going to blow you away, but Dietrich will. Very enjoyable.
Super Reviewer
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