"Baxter, 1993. p. 77, p. 86: Sternberg "cross as a bear" and "thrown her out of her own home.
P. 17 "... Sternberg joined the [US] Army Signal Corps" in 1917 [when the United States entered WWI], stationed at eh G.H.Q. And "To his credit, Sternberg labored valiantly on the project ..."Sarris, 1966.
Il quitte le plateau de Cette série noire s'interrompt quand il rejoint la L'arrivée du parlant n'interrompt pas la lancée du réalisateur qui dirige notamment La carrière de von Sternberg prend un nouveau tour alors qu'il se rend en Allemagne pour y diriger Dans ses souvenirs, Sternberg affirmera avoir créé de toutes pièces le mythe de MarlèneSuite à sa rupture professionnelle avec Dietrich, von Sternberg tourne Sternberg déclare avoir « cessé de faire du cinéma en 1935 », faisant allusion à la fin du cycle Marlène.
"Sarris, 1966. p. 46: "... the casting was impeccable ..."Baxter, 1971. p. 140: Laughton could be "sulky, intractable, fitfully brilliant but baulking at a role he was unable to see in Sternberg's terms. In Sternberg's hands the "journalistic observations" provided by Hecht's narrative are abandoned and substituted with a fantasy gangsterland that sprang "solely from Sternberg's imagination. p. 176: "Blonde Venus broke the [formerly successful] pattern of Sternberg's films with Dietrich at Paramount [changing] the course of his creative career. "Baxter, 1971. p. 133: Columbia wished to "capture some of the lushness and scope of his successful Paramount romances [counting upon his] Austrian background and skill with female stars."
"Sarris, 1966. p. 47:"... all the depravity [of Colton's play] could not be spelled out exactly ... Gene Tierney's nickname Poppy ... is the only clue of her degradation ..."Sarris, 1966. p. 48-49: "Sternberg added two crucial characters ... Omar ... is an inspired comic creation, a languid sybarite ... was it possible [Sternberg] recognized something of himself in Omar [and saw] the humor and rendered it artistically. "Baxter, 1971. p. 154: With Sergeant Madden "Sternberg was at least re-established in Hollywood as a man who could, if handled carefully, produce a saleable piece of work." "Baxter, 1993. p. 32: "In 1932, no director seemed more suited to [keep] the public going to the movies than Josef von Sternberg" and p. 33: "February 1932 ... Sternberg's position at Paramount's roster of directors ... seemed unassailable. The central conflict in Stylistically, Sternberg's film techniques mimic the dark, gray atmosphere of the Sternberg's restrained directorial performance at Metro reassured Hollywood executives and United Artists provided him with the resources to make the last of his classic films: To satisfy censors, the story is set in a Shanghai casino, rather than a brothel; the name of the proprietress of the establishment is softened to "Mother Sternberg augmented the original story by inserting two compelling characters: Doctor Omar (The veiled parental confrontation between Charteris and Gin-Sling revives only past humiliations and suffering, and Poppy is sacrificed on the altar of this heartless union.
Regarder Endroits. P. 15, p. 34: Sternberg regarded The Sea Gull episode as a "failure" and an "unpleasant experience" and p. 36-37: "... a damaging blow ... depressed by failure. "Sarris, 1966.
Paramount feared that restrictions would encourage the establishment of a Spanish film industryBaxter, 1993. p. 59: "... refugees from a Paramount that gone through bankruptcy and reorganization ... S. K. Lauren, Sternberg, Schulberg [all] working for Harry Cohn.
"Baxter, 1993. p. 46: "Shanghai Express ... the most profitable film yet made by Sternberg.
"Baxter, 1971. p. 120: "... images of infantile revenge and retribution on the adult world" and "The Scarlett Empress is a grotesque reflection of Sternberg's childhood." "Dixon, 2012 p. 2: "Like all of Sternberg's work, [his movies at Paramount were] an entirely personal project over which the director had almost complete control; that the film[s] made money was almost immaterial to the director, though certainly not to Adolph Zukor, the head of Paramount.
When the collegial system of production controls that had worked under Schulberg broke down, Sternberg took the bit between his teeth and created his most ambitious, critical portraits of the corrupting effect of power even on the most personal of relations. "Baxter, 1993. p. 174: "... Paramount had been banking on Blonde Venus having a success comparable to Shanghai Express." "Sarris, 1993. p. 210: "Unfortunately, the Svengali-Trilby publicity that enshrouded The Blue Angel [and Sternberg's other collaborations with Dietrich] obscured the more meaningful merits not only of these particular works but Sternberg's career as a whole. P. 25-26: see footnote "October 8, 1924" reviewSilver, 2010: "... in essence an independent film ..."Weinberg, 1967. ... it would be difficult to argue that Sternberg's few visual coups constitute a triumph of form over content [showing] how superficial mere style can be. "Baxter, 1971. And p. 176: "Blonde Venus might have been thought a reasonably successful film, but recriminations [among executives] began to fly." "Baxter, 1971. p. 147: As an index to Sternberg's methods, the existing I, Claudius material is more revealing then anything that remains of his work.
"Sarris, 1966. p. 34: "recurring water images as stylistic determinates of ... destiny [and] characterization.
The opening sequence examines the young Sophia (later Catherine II) early sexual awareness, conflating eroticism and torture, that serves as a harbinger of the sadism that she will indulge in as an empress.Despite withholding distribution of the film for eight months, so as not to compete with the recently issued United Artists film Sternberg embarked on the final film of his contract knowing that he was finished at Paramount.