“Watching Dietrich occupy cinematic space is one of the most intoxicating experiences that movies afford.”
Companion screening to The Celluloid Closet
Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper star, respectively, as a cabaret singer and a Legionnaire who fall in love during the Rif War. Their relationship is complicated by his womanizing and the appearance of a rich man who wants Dietrich all for himself. Morocco was nominated for four Academy Awards in the categories of Best Actress in a Leading Role (Marlene Dietrich), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography and Best Director (Josef von Sternberg) and is most famous for the scene in which Dietrich performs a song dressed in a man's tailcoat and kisses another woman (to the embarrassment of the latter), both of which were rather scandalous for the period.
