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Morocco (1930 film)
Encyclopedia
Morocco is a 1930
film in which a Foreign Legion
naire meets and falls in love with a singer. It was directed by Josef von Sternberg
and stars Gary Cooper
, Marlene Dietrich
and Adolphe Menjou
. The story was adapted by Jules Furthman
from the novel Amy Jolly by Benno Vigny. Today, the film is most famous for the scene in which Dietrich performs a song dressed in a man's tuxedo and kisses another woman, both of which was rather scandalous for the period.
It 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). In 1992, Morocco was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
by the Library of Congress
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Also in the audience is appreciative ladies man Legionnaire Private Tom Brown (Gary Cooper). During her first performance, after kissing a woman in the audience, Amy slips Tom her key. He takes her up on her offer that night, and they become acquainted. He discovers that she has become embittered with life and men, but, as they talk, she finds herself coming to like him. Unwilling to risk heartbreak once again, she asks him to leave before anything serious happens.
On the street, Tom encounters Legionnaire Adjutant Caesar's wife (Eve Southern
). It is clear that she has a past clandestine relationship with him, which she desires intensely to maintain. Her husband, Tom's commanding officer, watches undetected from the shadows, as Tom rejects her. Meanwhile, Amy changes her mind and seeks Tom out. Madame Caesar then hires two street ruffians to attack the couple. Tom manages to seriously wound both, while he and Amy escape unscathed.
The next day, Tom is brought before Adjutant Caesar on the charge of injuring two allegedly harmless natives. Amy clears him, but Caesar makes him aware that he knows about Tom's involvement with his wife. Tom is ordered to leave for Amalfi Pass with a detachment commanded by Caesar; he suspects that Caesar intends to rid himself of his romantic rival.
That night, Tom overhears La Bessiere, who has been courting Amy all along, offer to marry her. Though he has fallen in love with her himself, Tom decides that she would be better off with a rich man than with a poor Legionnaire. When Tom hides the depth of his feelings for her before his departure, Amy eventually accepts La Bessiere's proposal.
On the march to Amalfi Pass, the detachment runs into a machine gun nest. Caesar orders Tom to deal with it, then decides to accompany him. Caesar is killed by the enemy.
Later, at their engagement party, La Bessiere and Amy learn that what's left of Tom's detachment has returned. Frantic, Amy rushes outside, but learns that Tom was wounded and left behind to recuperate in a hospital. She informs La Bessiere that she must go to Tom that very night; wanting only her happiness, he drives her there.
She finds that he has not been injured at all. Because he feigned being wounded to avoid returning, he has been assigned to a new unit, which is about to march away into the desert. Amy is torn, but when she sees a handful of native women stubbornly following the Legionnaires they love, she joins them.
According to Robert Osborne
of Turner Classic Movies
, Cooper and von Sternberg did not get along. Von Sternberg filmed so as to make Cooper look up at Dietrich, emphasizing her at his expense. Cooper complained to his studio bosses and got it stopped.
The final scene is recreated in the 1946's Mexican film Enamorada
, directed by Emilio Fernández
.
1930 in film
-Events:* November 1: The Big Trail featuring a young John Wayne in his first starring role is released in both 35mm, and a very early form of 70mm film and was the first large scale big-budget film of the sound era costing over $2 million. The film was praised for its aesthetic quality and realism...
film in which a Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
naire meets and falls in love with a singer. It was directed by Josef von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg — born Jonas Sternberg — was an Austrian-American film director. He is particularly noted for his distinctive mise en scène, use of lighting and soft lens, and seven-film collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich.-Youth:Von Sternberg was born Jonas Sternberg to a Jewish...
and stars Gary Cooper
Gary Cooper
Frank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
, Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
and Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Menjou
Adolphe Jean Menjou was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies, appearing in such films as The Sheik, A Woman of Paris, Morocco, and A Star is Born...
. The story was adapted by Jules Furthman
Jules Furthman
Jules Furthman was a magazine and newspaper writer before working as a screenwriter.Born in Chicago, Illinois, during World War I he wrote under the name "Stephen Fox." Furthman wrote screenplays for a number of important or popular films, including: The Docks of New York , Thunderbolt , Merely...
from the novel Amy Jolly by Benno Vigny. Today, the film is most famous for the scene in which Dietrich performs a song dressed in a man's tuxedo and kisses another woman, both of which was rather scandalous for the period.
It was nominated for four Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
in the categories of Best Actress in a Leading Role
Academy Award for Best Actress
Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
(Marlene Dietrich), Best Art Direction
Academy Award for Best Art Direction
The Academy Awards are the oldest awards ceremony for achievements in motion pictures. The Academy Award for Best Art Direction recognizes achievement in art direction on a film. The films below are listed with their production year, so the Oscar 2000 for best art direction went to a film from 1999...
, Best Cinematography
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
and Best Director
Academy Award for Directing
The Academy Award for Achievement in Directing , usually known as the Best Director Oscar, is one of the Awards of Merit presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to directors working in the motion picture industry...
(Josef von Sternberg). In 1992, Morocco was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry is the United States National Film Preservation Board's selection of films for preservation in the Library of Congress. The Board, established by the National Film Preservation Act of 1988, was reauthorized by acts of Congress in 1992, 1996, 2005, and again in October 2008...
by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".
Plot
Wealthy La Bessiere (Adolphe Menjou) tries to strike up an acquaintance with disillusioned nightclub singer Amy Jolly (Marlene Dietrich) on a ship bound for Morocco. Though polite, she later tears up and tosses away his calling card. They meet again at the nightclub where she is the headliner.Also in the audience is appreciative ladies man Legionnaire Private Tom Brown (Gary Cooper). During her first performance, after kissing a woman in the audience, Amy slips Tom her key. He takes her up on her offer that night, and they become acquainted. He discovers that she has become embittered with life and men, but, as they talk, she finds herself coming to like him. Unwilling to risk heartbreak once again, she asks him to leave before anything serious happens.
On the street, Tom encounters Legionnaire Adjutant Caesar's wife (Eve Southern
Eve Southern
Eve Southern was an American film actress. She appeared in 38 films between 1916 and 1936.-Filmography:-External links:...
). It is clear that she has a past clandestine relationship with him, which she desires intensely to maintain. Her husband, Tom's commanding officer, watches undetected from the shadows, as Tom rejects her. Meanwhile, Amy changes her mind and seeks Tom out. Madame Caesar then hires two street ruffians to attack the couple. Tom manages to seriously wound both, while he and Amy escape unscathed.
The next day, Tom is brought before Adjutant Caesar on the charge of injuring two allegedly harmless natives. Amy clears him, but Caesar makes him aware that he knows about Tom's involvement with his wife. Tom is ordered to leave for Amalfi Pass with a detachment commanded by Caesar; he suspects that Caesar intends to rid himself of his romantic rival.
That night, Tom overhears La Bessiere, who has been courting Amy all along, offer to marry her. Though he has fallen in love with her himself, Tom decides that she would be better off with a rich man than with a poor Legionnaire. When Tom hides the depth of his feelings for her before his departure, Amy eventually accepts La Bessiere's proposal.
On the march to Amalfi Pass, the detachment runs into a machine gun nest. Caesar orders Tom to deal with it, then decides to accompany him. Caesar is killed by the enemy.
Later, at their engagement party, La Bessiere and Amy learn that what's left of Tom's detachment has returned. Frantic, Amy rushes outside, but learns that Tom was wounded and left behind to recuperate in a hospital. She informs La Bessiere that she must go to Tom that very night; wanting only her happiness, he drives her there.
She finds that he has not been injured at all. Because he feigned being wounded to avoid returning, he has been assigned to a new unit, which is about to march away into the desert. Amy is torn, but when she sees a handful of native women stubbornly following the Legionnaires they love, she joins them.
Cast
- Gary CooperGary CooperFrank James Cooper, known professionally as Gary Cooper, was an American film actor. He was renowned for his quiet, understated acting style and his stoic, but at times intense screen persona, which was particularly well suited to the many Westerns he made...
as Legionnaire Tom Brown - Marlene DietrichMarlene DietrichMarlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
as Amy Jolly - Adolphe MenjouAdolphe MenjouAdolphe Jean Menjou was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies, appearing in such films as The Sheik, A Woman of Paris, Morocco, and A Star is Born...
as La Bessiere - Ullrich Haupt as Adjutant Caesar
- Eve SouthernEve SouthernEve Southern was an American film actress. She appeared in 38 films between 1916 and 1936.-Filmography:-External links:...
as Madame Caesar - Francis McDonaldFrancis McDonaldFrancis McDonald was an American actor whose career spanned 52 years. Although never really a headlining actor, he made 41 film and television appearances between 1913 and 1965, appearing in films such as The Temptress in 1926 with Greta Garbo...
as Sergeant - Paul PorcasiPaul PorcasiPaul Porcasi was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 142 films between 1917 and 1945.He was born in Palermo, Sicily and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:* Broadway...
as Lo Tinto, nightclub owner
Production
Dietrich knew little English at the time and spoke her lines phonetically.According to Robert Osborne
Robert Osborne
Robert Jolin Osborne is an American actor and film historian best known as the primary host for Turner Classic Movies, and previously a host of The Movie Channel.-Life and career:...
of Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a movie-oriented cable television channel, owned by the Turner Broadcasting System subsidiary of Time Warner, featuring commercial-free classic movies, mostly from the Turner Entertainment and MGM, United Artists, RKO and Warner Bros. film libraries...
, Cooper and von Sternberg did not get along. Von Sternberg filmed so as to make Cooper look up at Dietrich, emphasizing her at his expense. Cooper complained to his studio bosses and got it stopped.
The final scene is recreated in the 1946's Mexican film Enamorada
Enamorada (1946 film)
Enamorada is a 1946 Mexican drama film directed by Emilio Fernández and starring María Félix and Pedro Armendáriz.-Plot summary:...
, directed by Emilio Fernández
Emilio Fernández
Emilio "El Indio" Fernández was an actor, screenwriter and director of the cinema of Mexico. He is best known for his work as director of the film Maria Candelaria which won the Grand Prix at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival.-Early life:Fernández was born in Mineral del Hondo, Coahuila...
.