Dietrich Icon

431 Pages·2007·2.97 MB·English

by  Gerd Gemünden and Mary R. Desjardins

Dietrich Icon
gerd gemünden
and mary r. desjardins, editors
Duke University Press Durham and London 2007
p ( p )
© 2007 duke university press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper ♾
Designed by C. H. Westmoreland
Typeset in Adobe Minion with Musee display
by Tseng Information Systems, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
appear on the last printed page of this book.
Duke University Press gratefully acknowledges
the support of Dartmouth College, which provided
funds toward the production of this book.
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contents
Acknowledgments vii
prelude
Mary R. Desjardins and Gerd Gemünden, Introduction:
Marlene Dietrich’s Appropriations 3
Steven Bach, Falling in Love Again 25
i. the icon
Lutz Koepnick, Dietrich’s Face 43
Nora M. Alter, The Legs of Marlene Dietrich 60
Amy Lawrence, Marlene Dietrich: The Voice as Mask 79
ii. establishing the star persona
Joseph Garncarz, Playing Garbo: How Marlene Dietrich Conquered
Hollywood 103
Elisabeth Bronfen, Seductive Departures of Marlene Dietrich: Exile and
Stardom in The Blue Angel 119
Patrice Petro, The Blue Angel in Multiple-Language Versions: The Inner
Thighs of Miss Dietrich 141
Mary Beth Haralovich, Marlene Dietrich in Blonde Venus: Advertising
Dietrich in Seven Markets 162
Erica Carter, Marlene Dietrich: The Prodigal Daughter 186
iii. “marlene has sex but no gender”
Gaylyn Studlar, Marlene Dietrich and the Erotics of Code-Bound
Hollywood 211
vi contents
Alice A. Kuzniar, “It’s Not Often That I Want a Man”: Reading for a
Queer Marlene 239
Mark Williams, Get/Away: Structure and Desire in Rancho
Notorious 259
iv. (auto-) biography and the archive
Amelie Hastie, The Order of Knowledge and Experience:
Marlene Dietrich’s ABC 289
Mary R. Desjardins, Dietrich Dearest: Family Memoir and the Fantasy
of Origins 310
Eric Rentschler, An Icon between the Fronts: Vilsmaier’s Recast
Marlene 328
Judith Mayne, “Life Goes On without Me”: Marlene Dietrich, Old Age,
and the Archive 347
Judith Mayne, Homage, Impersonation, and Magic: An Interview with
James Beaman 364
Werner Sudendorf, “Is That Me?”: The Marlene Dietrich Collection
Berlin 376
Bibliography 385
Contributors 401
Index 405
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acknowledgments
The international conference “Marlene at 100,” out of which this book
developed, was made possible by the financial support of the Depart-
ments of German Studies and Film and Television Studies at Dartmouth,
the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, the Leslie
Center for the Humanities, and the German Academic Exchange Service
(daad), as well as the support of Provost Barry Scherr, chief adminis-
trator for collaborative projects, and Jamshed J. Bharucha, then dean of
the faculty.
Special thanks go to the German Studies Department administrators:
Stephanie Taylor expertly handled the budget, while Karen Petek helped
prepare many of the illustrations for print. Victoria (Vicky) Hoelzer-
Maddox efficiently copyedited the complete first draft of the volume.
Werner Sudendorf and Silke Ronneburg, at the Marlene Dietrich Collec-
tion of the Filmmuseum Berlin, assisted with locating stills and other ma-
terials and were a tremendous resource for all kinds of questions on the
life and career of Marlene Dietrich. Peter Riva, Marlene Dietrich’s grand-
son, generously gave us permission to use images. Barbara Hall and Jenny
Romero of the Special Collections Department of the Margaret Herrick
Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, once again pulled
off some last minute miracles, and we are grateful for their efforts. At
Duke University Press, our editor Ken Wissoker supported the project
from the beginning, while Courtney Berger, Pam Morrison, and Maura
High smoothly guided the copyediting process. We are grateful to Duke’s
two anonymous readers for their criticism and suggestions.
We like to dedicate this book to the memory of our close friend and
colleague Susanne Zantop, who was involved in the planning stages of the
conference and whom a cruel death prevented from enjoying the fruits of
her labor.

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prelude