Morocco (1930)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Josef von Sternberg

Writers:

Benno Vigny (play)
Jules Furthman (adaptation)

Release Date:

6 December 1930 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Drama

Plot:

The Foreign Legion marches in to Mogador with booze and women in mind just as singer Amy Jolly arrives from Paris to work at Lo Tinto's cabaret...

Plot Keywords:

Singer | Foreign Legion | Romantic Rivalry | Army | Topless

Awards:

Nominated for 4 Oscars. Another 2 wins

Cast

Gary Cooper	...	Légionnaire Tom Brown
Marlene Dietrich	...	Mademoiselle Amy Jolly
Adolphe Menjou	...	Monsieur La Bessiere
Ullrich Haupt	...	Adjutant Caesar
Eve Southern	...	Madame Caesar
Francis McDonald	...	A Sergeant
Paul Porcasi	...	Lo Tinto, Nightclub Owner
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Emile Chautard	...	French General (uncredited)
Juliette Compton	...	Anna Dolores (uncredited)
Albert Conti	...	Colonel Quinnovieres (uncredited)
Thomas A. Curran	...	(uncredited)
Theresa Harris	...	Camp Follower (uncredited)
Harry Schultz	...	German Sergeant (uncredited)
Michael Visaroff	...	Alexander Barratire (uncredited)

Directed by
Josef von Sternberg

Writing credits
Benno Vigny		(play "Amy Jolly")
Jules Furthman		(adaptation)

Produced by
Hector Turnbull	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Karl Hajos		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Lee Garmes
Lucien Ballard		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Sam Winston		(uncredited)

Production Management
Elizabeth McGreary	....	unit production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Henry Hathaway	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Harry D. Mills	....	sound (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Lucien Ballard	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Homer Plannette	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Travis Banton	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (as Paramount Publix Corporation)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1930) (USA) (theatrical)
• MCA/Universal Pictures (1958) (USA) (TV)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Finland Oy (2006) (Finland) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Amy Jolly (USA) (working title)
Marokko (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Coeurs brûlés (France) [fr]
Herzen in Flammen (Germany) (theatrical title) [de]
Marocco (Italy) [it]
Marocko (Sweden) [sv]
Marokko (Denmark) [da]
Marokko (Finland) (TV title) [fi]
Maroko (Poland) [pl]
Maroko (Greece) [el]
Marrocos (Portugal) [pt]
Marruecos (Spain) [es]
Morocco (Finland) [fi]
Yanik kalpler (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:18 | Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Guadalupe Sand Dunes, Santa Barbara County, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The infamous scene where Marlene Dietrich kisses another woman - which was added to the script at Dietrich's suggestion - was saved from being cut by the censors by Dietrich herself: she came up with the idea of taking a flower from the woman before kissing her and then giving the flower to Gary Cooper, explaining that if the censors cut the kiss the appearance of the flower would make no sense.

Quotes:

Tom Brown: I've told women about everything a man can say. I'm going to tell you something I've never told a woman before: I wish I'd met you ten years ago.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Love-Tails of Morocco (1931)

Soundtrack:

Give Me the Man

Dietrich, given us by von Sternberg--could it get better than this?

MOROCCO is the second of seven collaborations between Marlene Dietrich and the director that discovered her and probably photographed her the best, Josef von Sternberg. In fact, it is Dietrich's first English-language film, and she stars in it as the world-weary, man-weary French entertainer Amy Jolly. She's never had a reason to trust a man, much less love one, until she sees Legionnaire Tom Brown (Gary Cooper) defend her honour the first time she arrives onstage--this is surely a classic movie moment, Marlene Dietrich arriving in full top hat and tails. Tom is just as cynical about women as Amy is about men, but from their first encounter over the price of an apple, you know that these two have met the one person of the opposite sex who could change everything. Much as he loves her, however, Tom believes that Monsieur La Bessiere (Adolphe Menjou) could bring Amy more happiness and stability through his marriage proposal... so he leaves, to march off with the Foreign Legion.

To be frank, the story really isn't all that important--it's pretty one-note, with the sole amusement being provided by the zings Amy and Tom trade each time they meet. That's a nice touch, the slightly wry way in which they both approach the budding relationship, both because they've been hurt before, and because there's also no conventional way for the two of them to stay together. This is brought out very nicely by the ending of the film.

Whatever other reason you might have to watch MOROCCO, there's no denying that Marlene Dietrich is very clearly the star of the entire enterprise. The way von Sternberg photographs and captures her makes her appear mysterious, beautiful and yet achingly vulnerable at the same time. You couldn't talk about Dietrich in this film without also mentioning von Sternberg in the same breath, since she is so very evidently portrayed in the way he sees her at her best. Some shots of Dietrich, more than others, are breathtaking. Even if her character isn't particularly well-fleshed-out and her lines not too great (von Sternberg fed her most of her lines during filming, partly because that's how he works and partly because Dietrich apparently knew very little English), Amy/Dietrich--both creations of the same directorial genius--is a fine work of art. Whether it's Dietrich creating a furore of gasps when she emerges in her tux, or when she plants a firm kiss on another lady's mouth (this film was made in *1930*!), she is a simply captivating screen presence--Cooper seems bland in his role in comparison, and Menjou is adequate but certainly doesn't steal the picture. The sound for the whole film isn't that great, and Dietrich does have to sing over the noise of the crowd so you really have to struggle to make out what she's saying... but just looking at her really is enough in this film.

Watch this film for Dietrich, the meticulously-created Moroccan atmosphere (von Sternberg excels at this, and evidently took great pains to make it as authentic as possible--to the detriment of plot and character), the sweet romance with a nice final twist... but mostly for Dietrich. She makes it all worth it. 7.5/10.