Marlene Dietrich Books

WOW! 800 pages.....I have only begun to dig into this book.....
but it is worth it if you love bios and Marlene......

In this astonishingly honest biography of Marlene Dietrich from birth to age 73, her daughter Maria Riva reveals the truth about her mother as it contrasts with the sometimes embellished stories of the Dietrich legend. She does this with love, a sense of understanding of the needs of this complex woman, and with a surprising humor which is never deprecating. The resulting biography shows Dietrich in an almost heroic light--but not for the actions which have become part of her show-biz mystique. Her real life and her real commitments, many of which are far less celebrated, often prove to be more remarkable than the stories promulgated by the press.

Dietrich began keeping diaries and journals at age ten, and her daughter uses these and her personal knowledge to show Dietrich's life in three phases. The first part includes her family background, childhood, acting studies, early career, and decision to pursue a film career in Hollywood, and also incorporates her marriage to Rudolf Sieber (which lasted fifty years) and the birth of her daughter. In Part II, her decision to become an American citizen, help actively with the American war effort, and work tirelessly for the USO in America, Europe, and Africa shows a commitment to helping others that belies her cold, sexy image. In Part III, her postwar career in Las Vegas and on tour, despite her undiagnosed health problems, reveal her dedication to remaining a "goddess" on stage and in the public imagination.

Throughout the biography, Riva's honesty, including her awareness of her mother's faults, is always tempered by her respect for Dietrich's integrity and her commitment to entertaining--Dietrich, she says, was "the embodiment of other people's dreams." She details Dietrich's long love affairs with director Josef von Sternberg, with whom she made seven films, with French actor Jean Gabin during the war, and with Yul Brynner in the 1950s, along with shorter relationships with many other show business personalities, generals during the war, and composers and directors.

Though Kenneth Tynan once referred to the fact that Dietrich oozed "sex without gender," Riva pays little attention to the interest Dietrich may have had in other women, and to Dietrich's boast that she had slept with three members of the Kennedy clan. Her "inside look" at Dietrich as she grows older and keeps performing despite serious circulatory and cardiac problems, and her ability to share the "secrets" Dietrich used to enhance her image and hide her flaws, make Dietrich-the-Legend come to life. Written in an informal, straightforward style, Riva continues the legend despite her revelations--she just revises it a bit and makes it more realistic. n Mary Whipple

Maria Riva writes this "insider" book in exquisite detail and detachment. She definitely loves her mother and has forgiveness skills beyond a saint. She is her mother's toy, her audience, her confidant and her one and only friend. Marlene is a narcissistic arrogant mother who had a strong will to succeed and used everyone around her to create the "Marlene Diethrich" goddess myth.

Throughout the book I see a sad but smart only child; who looks for love in her mother, as well as Marlene's many lovers, and her father's mistress. She desperately wants a normal life, but accepts what she has. To write in this great detail Marlene's diaries were used, and I had the feeling throughout the book that Maria must have kept a daily record of events and feelings. It mercilessly exposes Dietrich who only feels alive when she is in "Love" and many affairs carried on at the same time. Marlene loves women and men and hides very little from her daughter. She dominates, and even puts pictures aside and marks them "for Maria's book". Marlene had typical German personality, and my bet is she modeled mostly after her father, a Prussian officer. He was military, and must have bequeathed her with his high intelligence, strong will, discipline and eye for drama.

The book is long, 790 pages, full of dialogue and inside stories. The first half is Maria's childhood and the second half is when Marlene becomes the child to Maria. She needs constant attention, management of health problems, her career, and her life in general.

After Riva is raped by one of her mother's female lovers, the book begins to feel like a horror story, including the nanny Marlene hired, a lesbian who tries to seduce Riva. Marlene hopes to turn her daughter into a lesbian herself. Riva conjectures that her mother would therefore always have her and never have to compete with men - maybe Diethrich herself could love Maria that way as an adult. As you see, it almost becomes a Stephen King Novel. Diethrich's personality sounds so far off the Bell Curve but the way it is described and details around all the other drama throughout the book - it sounds possible to me.

Riva is overwhelmed and at one point turns into an alcoholic, but conquers this. She goes on to get married, have children and a fairly normal life. She manages and helps her mother until her mother dies. For all the craziness there is a love of some sort between the two women. It is one that accepts each other despite not quite living up to the others expectations.

They say most geniuses are also crazy. This book proves that point. Marlene was a genius as far as promoting her image, however, like the Wizard of Oz - mostly smoke and mirrors (and of course lighting!)

Not a fluff piece by any means, and very well told story. This is no "Mommy Dearest" The complexities-- the ups and downs, the good and bad both-- of a compelling and original 20th century star.

There are great autobiographies or memoirs written by friends of celebrities that consist of personal information and small tidbits that greatly interest readers. Then there are biographies, often more informational and objective than autobiographies. This book is composed of both which makes it one of the best books about a celebrity around.

Maria Riva is the daughter of legend Marlene Dietrich, an androgynous star of the 1930s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. One would believe that a daughter would be the most biased person to write a biography but this is not the case in this book. Riva has moments where she shares personal information but she always cites when she does so as to not confuse readers from fact and observation. She has included diary entries, letters from lovers, and a bevy of other sources including other acquaintances of Dietrich in the book. She reveals things that her mother made up for the press and what her mother really thought about things like films, other stars, and sex.

Riva always remains objective and portrays her mother respectably even in embarrassing or hateful situations because she is aware of the multitude of fans of Dietrich. She does not praise simply to praise though; she seems to understand the adoration of the facade Marlene Dietrich showed the world. Riva talks about how she had to trick her mother into being treated for a cancer she swore she didn't have. She writes about her mother forcing her to get fitted for a diaphragm before she traveled overseas to entertain the troops during the second World War. Even when she speaks of when Dietrich told Riva's sons that their mother had stolen them from her, she does not try to persuade readers to hate her mother.

This is an incredible book. Enjoy this jewel of writing.

As Marlene Dietrich's youngest Grandson, I am often made aware of books written, or even legends told that involve the often herculian efforts and opinions of my Grandmother. I was both pleased and saddened in the case of "I wish you love". Tragically, my Grandmother chose to remain without the care our family intended for her, and as a result spent these years very much without supervision or even basic human contact. The author was one of many people, hardly known, with whom she continued a correspondence or schedule of phone calls to fill this void. For the comfort this gave her, I am grateful. For the chronicled accounts of her comments, I have less gratitude. While there is great enjoyment in seeing her rendered opinions so fathfully in print, one might also understand the sobering reality that they changed oftan, sometimes within a single sentence. Because of her on-going pain associated with her hip and legs, she drank and took pain medication to excess. While this is reflected by her manner in many parts of the book, the natural reverence of the author for Marlene's celebrity has failed to firmly place these conversations in what was, regrettably, the tragic context of her condition. Regardless, for those of us who had the benefit of this insight, the book remains an honest portait of Marlene's style, if not her truth.

An unusually fine celebrity memoir surfaces in Eryk Hanut's I WISH YOU LOVE-CONVERSATIONS WITH MARLENE DIETRICH.for several years before Dietrich's death, in 1992, at the age of 91, Hanut, a young dane living in Paris,carried on wide-ranging phone chats with the aged star.Hanut's records of these talks reveal Dietrich as an intelligent woman of fiery opinion, and the author as a sensitive soul who here offers neither hagiography nor indictment ,but a tender,thoughtful appreciation of a woman turned legend PUBLISHERS WEEKLY April 1996

First it must be said that take what Marlene Dietrich says literaly, without reporting ourselves to the particular humour of germans intelectuals of her generation, Brecht included, is misunderstand it all. It it also well to remember the habits of a class that had "épater les bourgeois" as a habit. With Marlene ich word has many meanings and, some times, a little box contains a bigger one inside and then another, and another one. Few knew how to deal with the notion that truth is the multiple illusions of truth, and play so sharply with it. Most of the times for will of good, even if this good was her path towards the liberty of a precipice edge.
Then it is remarkable the incredibly effective way she educates Hanut by telephone. And, for one time, Marlene achieves her education efforts. Hanut, after she was no more there to scream at him, became not a suicidal desperate boy, but a quite interessing man publishing a series of books, with titles that seem the fruit of a research of himself and wisdom. It is not important if Marlene should agree with the conclusions of this books. It is important that she got him from the pit and made him meet the force to continue to live with dignity and to discover his way. One has to admire the cleverness of her method, hidden in apparent casuality. To do this one may drink, take pills, but one must be more lucid than most of humanity has the privilege to be.

I think that the "Kirkus Review"totally misrepresents (as it does for many good books)the essence of this really interesting account of Dietrich's last years.I have read many books about Dietrich, studied and enjoyed her films and find this a beautifully moving portrayal of a true and wonderful friendship. Howard Kissel, in " The New York Daily News" called it "well written" and "compelling"; Many details in the book about Dietrich's life were unknown to me and I appreciated the author's subtle analysis of her fame and the way she dealt with it; To conclude, I find this book refreshing because it is also mostly about gratitude; and not one more "dysfunctional family saga" as in the Mommie Dearest tradition.

I had the pleasure of being in a writers' group when Michael Brown was writing his tell-all book about the instant connection he had with the legendary star. His book is deeply personal and is a tribute to the deep connections that can take place between strangers. His easy-to-read writing style draws the reader into being part of the mysterious rapport between the old lady and the young assistant who is humbled by those three magnificent days.

Brown's book is great!! In the summer of 1974 the author was an assistant in a small summer theatre group in Columbus, Ohio. Somehow, they got Marlene Dietrich to perform for a "special pre-season gala."
Dietrich was 74 and still wowing audiences with her sultry voice and charismatic seductiveness. Brown's book describes his personal experiences with the legendary performer over a three day period.
Amazingly, Dietrich toys flirtatiously with the lackey assistant throughout the entire engagement, while heaping verbal abuse on all other theatre personnel. Dietrich compliments only "Michael" as she affectionately refers to him, as she invites him to her dressing room for wine and cheese fetes. To the troupe's astonishment, she lures him onstage nightly after each performance to present her with roses, at which time she embraces him, kisses him coyly on the cheek, and invites him to share her bows and applause. It has a surprise ending, which I won't give away.
Brown wisely waited nearly thirty years to write this backstage tell-all. From the vantage of elapsed time, accompanied by thorough research, his account possesses objectity and insight. It's a quick fun read for all Marlene Dietrich fans or for anyone who would vicariously enjoy a proverbial "fifteen minutes of fame" in the spotlight with a legend.

As an adolescent, I must have spent hours studying my mom's copy of this book. On page after page of photos (from films, promotional shoots and other sources) I noted and compared the curve of eyebrows and shape of lips, the placement of beauty marks, the lines of hairstyles and figures, etc. Those images have stayed with me -- the very definition of womanly class and style. This book is full of beautifully done photographs of four strong, sexy women from a time when glamour was glamour. I highly recommend it.

I have started to build up a small collection of film star biographies and memoirs, so when I saw this I seized upon the opportunity to read about one of the more glamorous and beautiful silver-screen stars. And star is really the right word for Marlene Dietrich, as I discovered. The picture Higham paints of her early theatre and film outings, her move to Hollywood, and he live post-World War 2 reads like the plot of a movie. Although there seems to be no official sanction of this book from the lady herself, Higham still manages to make the reader fell as if Marlene is right there, evoking vividly many scenes from movies, her time at the front, and after.
The only problem I found with the book was that...it's not written by Marlene Dietrich. I have read Lauren Bacall's and Esther Williams' autobiographies, and the feeling of real understanding I got from those books was a little lacking in this book. This is primarily due to the fact that Higham frequently has to insert things like 'This surely led Marlene to think...' etc., which reminds the reader sharply that the author was not there, did not experience these things, and is writing from a distance. I was also curious, after seeing many pictures in other books, about the definite change Marlene's physical appearance underwent post-Der Blaue Engel (The Blue Angel), and the reasons for this. But it is passed over mysteriously by Higham.
The writing in this book is generally quite wonderful, but occasionally lapses into tiresome listing: Marlene met so-and-so, and became friends because of this. At this time, she also met so-and-so, and they did this and this and this...this is in contrast to the passages describing pre-World War 2 Berlin and post-war Paris, which ring with a poetic quality which gave me a nice surprise.
Overall, though, an interesting introduction, but it does leave one wanting more...more photos in particular! But Higham's portrayal of Marlene inspired me, and I have now found another film star who is not only fascinating but admirable as well.

I found this book an enjoyable and informative read, though at times presented romantically and subjectively. The author does a fine job presenting Dietrich from many angles, truly fleshing her out (Spoto is irritatingly fond of the word "plump" to describe Dietrich's early adulthood)... Spoto seems to approach his subject with celestial reverence, as though trying to conceal his own crush behind a web of historical voyeurism (the discussion of debauched 1920s Berlin is particularly gratifying and grounding). Sometimes he speculates too much on possible motivations instead of simply offering the facts, but he also makes good use of others' reminiscences of Dietrich to back up some of his insightful conjectures. In short, a charming book, though not riveting.

Donald Spoto tends to write pleasant, sometimes very insightful biographies that tend to look at different aspects of the stars they focus on. "Blue Angel," however, is not up to par. While his biography of actress Marlene Dietrich is well-written, he seems too disconnected from his subject.

Marlene Dietrich was a dominant sex symbol alongside the distant Greta Garbo. Her big break came with Josef von Sternberg, a German director who found the struggling actress and made her his muse, lover and inspiration. Dietrich kept spreading her wings in Hollywood, and in the 1940s she entertained Allied troops for her adopted country.

Spoto does a pretty good job of covering Dietrich's many-faceted life. Hausfrau and actress, Berlin cabaret and Hollywood, he checks it all out and describes it with a fair amount of detail. And despite the varied nature of Dietrich's love life, he at least tries to keep his tone professional and detached. (Even when describing Dietrich placing a bouquet of violets in a rather, um, intimate place)

What's Spoto's biggest problem? He seems to have no idea what made Dietrich tick. When describing the real Dietrich -- the woman behind the image -- he seems genuinely befuddled by her real personality, and spends too much time speculating on her motivations. However, he sheds a great deal of light on Dietrich's mystique, and how it was created by von Sternberg.

Donald Spoto's "Blue Angel" sheds some light on the not-so-angelic Marlene Dietrich, but his lack of insight into Dietrich's mind makes it a somewhat frustrating read.

For someone who spent her last years alone,a prisoner,jailed by a vanity so huge,it engulfed her,i didnt expect her to reveal much in this,and she dosent,she tells lie after lie,and contradicts herself time and again,all she gives us is what is left of the astute mind,that lay behind the actress,and you know what,we actually dont want to know, why, becauce everyone knows that fame is as phoney as a seven dollar bill,but now and again there comes along someone who transends this,hypnotising everyone into a trance.It was written that she wrote this only for the money becauce she was broke,unforgivible in another,but not marlene,for a soldiers daughter has to survive somehow,whose to argue maybe she will need all her energy to fight another war,such is the legend of marlene.

For someone who spent her last years alone,a prisoner,jailed by a vanity so huge,it engulfed her,i didnt expect her to reveal much in this,and she dosent,she tells lie after lie,and contradicts herself time and again,all she gives us is what is left of the astute mind,that lay behind the actress,and you know what,we actually dont want to know, why, becauce everyone knows that fame is as phoney as a seven dollar bill,but now and again there comes along someone who transends this,hypnotising everyone into a trance.It was written that she wrote this only for the money becauce she was broke,unforgivible in another,but not marlene,for a soldiers daughter has to survive somehow,whose to argue maybe she will need all her energy to fight another war,such is the legend of marlene.

This is truly the best book out there about Marlene Dietrich. She gives a personal account of many entertaining stories throughout her life. I found this an easy and interesting book to read, and I hope this has been helpful.

If you were looking for just one photographic retrospective on the great Dietrich's life and career, I don't really think this would be it, as it seems to be devoted mostly to her "look" over the decades. For my own taste, it concentrates too much on her postwar singing career - not the part of her life that holds the most interest for me - and gives comparatively short shrift to her movie career in the 1930's and 1940's. On the other hand, the oversize allows for reproduction of gorgeous full-page photographs, and there are some very fine fashion and portrait shots. I recommend getting this as an adjunct to the HIGHLY recommended _Marlene Dietrich: Photographs and Memories_, which I've also reviewed.

Marlene Dietrich is the epitome of glamour even in this day and age. There has never been anyone like her in Hollywood. And in this book we see her in all her glory. Baxt's character depictions are very real and are definitely the strong point in his "silver screen mysteries". We also see many cameo appearances by other favourites - Cary Grant, and my personal favourite, Tallulah Bankhead. In this story one of Marlene's guests at a New Year's Eve party is murdered in front of all her gursts. Marlene sets out with Herb Villon to trap a killer, and instead discovers a huge conspiracy that spans the globe. More murders occur, but the fabulous Dietrich actaully gets her man. As I mentioned, one reads these books for Baxt's character portrayals. They are wonderful. He gives us a real insight into these glorious screen legends. The mystery and the intrigue are not so exciting.