In Marlene, Hollywood legend Marlene Dietrich is vividly brought to
life. In the mid-1970s Charlotte Chandler interviewed the reclusive
actress in Dietrich's Paris apartment. The star's career was all but
over, but she agreed to meet because Chandler hadn't known her earlier,
when âDietrichã was young and very beautiful. Marlene is further
enriched by Chandler's interviews with others who knew Dietrich well,
including Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and Burt Bacharach. Chandler relates
how Dietrich began her career in her native Berlin as a model, then a
stage and screen actress during the silent era, becoming a star with The
Blue Angel, then moving on to become one of the brightest lights in
Hollywood. Prior to World War II, the fiercely anti-Nazi Dietrich
resisted Hitler's flattering invitations to return to Germany and became
an American citizen instead, later entertaining Allied troops on the
front lines. After the war, she embarked on a new, outstanding second
career as a stage performer. Dietrich had a strict Prussian upbringing,
but she refused to be constrained by society's expectations. She spoke
candidly with Chandler about her unconventional marriage; she and her
husband both had affairs, each with the other's consent. She even
expressed warm feelings toward her husband's mistress. Marlene Dietrich
lived an extraordinary life, and Marlene relies extensively on the
star's own words to reveal how intriguing and fascinating that life
really was.
