Marlene the Great

I queued up The Scarlet Empress (1934) some time after re-watching Destry Rides Again. I remembered that there was at least one classic Dietrich movie that I'd never seen - and directed by von Sternberg!

It begins with Dietrich as an innocent, wide-eyed enthusiastic girl. Her snooty parents have arranged to have her marry Peter of Russia, heir to the throne. Dashing Count John Lodge is tasked with bringing her to Moscow. Along the way, he flirts with her mercilessly, and she, very wide-eyed, is influenced. 

When she gets to Moscow, she discovers that the Empress Louise Dresser is overbearing and, well, imperious - she renames the girl Catherine. Worse, Peter, her betrothed, is a grinning idiot, played by Sam Jaffe. He looks somewhat like he's doing a Harpo Marx impression.

Logan continues to pitch woo, but the empress lets Dietrich spy on her when she receives Logan has her lover. This disillusions her greatly. She is no longer wide-eyed. She makes a point of being friendly with her ladies-in-waiting, and letting them be friendly with the soldiers. Then, she becomes friendly with some of the soldiers herself, and soon Peter has an heir - although he doesn't seem happy about it. 

No longer wide-eyed, she is now bedroom-eyed. She replays the empress' joke on Logan - lets him spy on her when she takes a captain of the guard into her bedroom. This is the kind of sweet perversity we expect and cherish from von Sternberg. 

The whole movie is a fever dream. The palace has walls of great upright logs, doors twelve-feet high and three thick, with handles at head height. It is filled with grotesque statues of worshippers writhing in agony, with outstretched arms and bent backs. There are great candles everywhere. When Logan wants to make love to Dietrich, there is always a candle between them, and he always blows it out. Von Sternberg often films Dietrich behind nets and gauzy veils, and his camera is always moving. And, as the credits state, there are thousands of extras. 

My only complaint is that it ends when she becomes empress, and doesn't get into the horse thing. No, I changed my mind - that's a good thing.