Arabella & CO

September 11th, 2001
We will not forget...

A Memorial to the heroes of 9/11 in this their silent spring...

Where is he? The one I knew in that beautiful yesterday?
He had such a smile,that one.
You could almost believe todays were created just for him
By some benevolent Father,
to weave into magic tomorrows or clutch tightly to himself
until he had savored every drop!
Where is he? I have called his name
on a thousand nights in a thousand dreams
and the echo of the silence is more than I can bear.
Could it be he has just lost his way
in the unfamiliar byways of the night
And I will find him somewhere
smiling and waiting for the sun?
(from "Phoenix" 1970)

No, dear hearts, they have all gone on ahead to that wonderful promised place.May we all be together again someday, brave heroes

Hollywood’s Ultimate Legend

Marlene Dietrich
December 27th, 1901 May 6th, 1992

Sex was her trademark but her face, her voice and her fabulous legs were her most bankable assets. She was considered to be the world’s most beautiful woman. But contrary to the boasts of her mentor, Josef von Sternberg, who claimed he designed and molded her himself, it was Dietrich alone who created the famous mystique that was “Marlene”.

She was born Marie Magdalene Dietrich on December 27th, 1901 in Schoneberg, Germany (near a village square that would later be renamed John F, Kennedy Platz), the second daughter of Louis Erich and Josephine Felsing Dietrich. Louis, an officer in the Royal Prussian Police, died when Maria was six ( a death noted only by a change in Josephine’s status to widow in the Berlin phone book).Even with her father’s long absences, Maria always identified with her father and often asked to be called ‘Paul” at home to be closer to him in gender. Her mother complied. It was a male-female dichotomy that would last her entire life. To others she became “Marlene” a name she created from a combination of her first and second name. Later she confessed it was the perfect mating of the Virgin (Maria) and the tramp (Magdalene).

One constant in Marlene’s life was her love of music and singing. Even though money was tight in the now father-less household Josephine managed to buy Marlene a violin (she has already learned to play the piano) and she practiced her fingering diligently looking forward to a career as a concert violoinist. But a war and a wrist injury put an end to that. Marlene decided the next best thing was the theater. But ironically her first theater job was playing the violin in movie houses, just one of her life's strange twists and turns.

.

In 1921 Marlene auditioned for the Max Reinhardt drama school but was rejected. Undaunted she found a sponsor and tried again successfully. Then small stage and screen parts came her way, growing into bigger parts as her talents were recognized. The best by far, was a supporting role in “Tragedy of Love” in 1923. It was on the set while she was doing this picture that she met Rudi Seiber and within a year, they were married. Even though it produced Marlene’s only child, Maria, it was a very unusual relationship because, while they never divorced, they lived apart for almost forty years until Rudi died in 1976.

Then, in 1929, Hollywood film director Josef von Sternberg was in Berlin looking for just the right actress to play a sexy vamp in “The Blue Angel”.When he happened to catch Marlene’s performance in a musical comedy “Two Bow Ties”, film history was made. It would be forever called a Svengali-Trilby relationship and lasted until 1935 but in the years between Dietrich refused to work with any other director and credited von Sternberg with all her success. Mrs. von Sternberg became increasingly unhappy.

So Marlene sailed for America leaving Rudi and Maria behind. She was now Paramount’s new star, P#1167(secrecy, you know) three years younger and touted as the daughter of an heiress ( the studio publicity buzz, you know). But, just in case, she had a round trip ticket so she could get back to Berlin.

The dream lasted until 1937 when Paramount dropped her contract after a series of box office also-rans. She went to London to make a film. Meanwhile, back in Berlin, a housepainter and his motley crew were make serious changes and he thought it would be a great idea if Marlene would come home and help him. Hitler sent an envoy (rumored to be either von Ribbentrop or Goebbels) to England and got his answer, a resounding “No!” Thereafter, all Dietrich’s fims were banned in Germany and she was branded a traitor. Rudi and Maria were in Paris but Marlene’s sister and mother were still in Germany. She wouldn’t see them again until after the Allies marched into Berlin. Many of Marlene’s friends fled Germany for France and America. and she opened her home and her pocket book to them. She became an American citizen in 1939.

It was the role of Frenchy in “Destry Rides Again” that really put Marlene back on top. She was in London when she got the call from director Joe Pasternak that he wanted her for his next picture. When she heard it was to be a Western, she replied “Not for anything in the world!”. But when she told von Sternberg about the offer, he told her to reconsider. Frenchy’s song “The Boys in the Back Room” became a permanent part of the Dietrich repetoire. About this time, her love affairs were also a hot topic. There were , of course, numerous distaff liasons (that gender dichotomy I mentioned). On the other hand, Michael Wilding, Eddie Fisher and Mike Todd were all Marlene's boys before Taylor got them. So was Yul Brynner after he lost his hair in "The King and I". A lengthy and torrid affair with French actor Jean Gabin had her neighbor, Greta Garbo, standing on garbage cans to peek over the bushes trying to catch them skinny dipping in the pool.

But in 1941, Marlene’s adopted country went to war and she went with it. She made anti-Nazi propaganda broadcasts in German, went on bond drives and USO tours and literally “followed the boys” often into war zones only liberated moments before and, on two occasions, Marlene became so ill she had to be hospitalized. She spent more time at the front than almost any other non-combatant and received the Medal of Freedom. She also was named Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor.

In 1948 Marlene became big news again as Hollywood’s most glamourous grandmother, and again in 1950 when she became a sensation in Las Vegas with her new nightclub act and that famous see-through dress. You see, Marlene never let anything come between her and her designer clothes! And Danny Thomas recalls, in his autobiography “Make Room For Danny”, the time Marlene greeted him au naturel in her dressing room during a USO tour. It was probably the only time Danny was ever rendered speechless. Marlene also helped lower the barriers against women wearing pants (even though she was once almost arrested for wearing mens clothes in Paris).

Marlene Dietrich died in her sleep at the age of 91 on May 6th, 1992 and was mourned worldwide. There were two funeral services, one in France and one in Germany. In Paris, a French tricolor flag lay across her coffin nad her medals adorned the top. Then the coffin, now dressed in America’s red, white and blue, was flown to Berlin to be draped again with the flag of the new Germany (red, gold and black) as she was buried beside her mother in the land of her birth.

Now only the legend remained

For more on Marlene Dietrich's films check out Arabella's notes.

(English titles used where available)

Im Schatten des Glucks (1922)
Little Napoleon (1922)
Tragedy Of Love (or Apache’s Revenge) (1922)
Man By The Wayside (1923)
Leap Into Life (1923)
The Monk From Santeren (1924)
Die Gluckliche Mutter (1923)
Dancing Mad (1925)
Chin Up, Charly (1926)
Madame Wants No Children (1926)
Manon Lescaut (1926)
A Modern DuBarry (1926)
The Bogus Baron (1926)
Cafe Electric (1927)
The Big Bluff (1927)
Princess Olala (1928)
I Kiss Your Hand, Madame (1929)
The Ship of Lost Souls (1929)
Dangers of the Engagement (1929)
The Woman One Longs For (1929)
The Blue Angel (1930)
Morocco (1930)
Dishonored (1931)
Shanghai Express (1932)
Blonde Venus (1932)
The Song of Songs (1933)
The Scarlet Empress (1934)
The Devil is a Woman (1935)
Desire (1936)
The Garden of Allah (1936)
Knight Without Armour (1937)
Angel (1937)
Destry Rides Again (1939)
Seven Sinners (1940)
The Flame of New Orleans (1941)
Manpower (1941)
The Lady Is Willing (1942)
The Spoilers (1942)
Pittsburgh (1942)
Follow the Boys (1944)
Kismet (1944)
The Room Upstairs (1946)
Golden Earrings (1947)
A Foreign Affair (1948)
Jigsaw (1949)
Stage Fright (1950)
No Highway in the Sky (1951)
Rancho Notorious (1952)
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
The Monte Carlo Story (1956)
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
It Only Happened Once (1958)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Judgement at Nuremberg (1961)
The Black Fox (1962)
Paris When It Sizzles (1964)
Just a Gigolo (1979)

Star power can get the people to the theater but it takes a good story and a talented ensemble to keep them in the seats. It is the character actors and bit players that make up the ensemble.
A character actor is usually a specialist in secondary roles demanding unique physical or vocal characteristics,ethnic or regional dialects. They can literally transform themselves into whatever"look" and "body language" each part requires. Bit players round out the ensemble in smaller roles and "cement" the package together.

In 1929, when Harry Davenport played a role in his first “talkie”, he was 63 years old. He went on to make over 134 films before his death of a heart attack August 9th, 1949 at age 83 with his last picture “Riding High” yet to be released. He was considered to be one of the most highly respected character actors of his time. If the script called for a kindly country doctor (he played 20 doctor roles), a trusted judge (he sat on the bench 11 times) or even a crusty old caretaker, the studio sent for Harry! Perhaps he is best known for his portrayal of the beleaguered Dr. Mead in the war-torn Atlanta of “Gone With the Wind”.

Harry George Bryant Davenport was born in New York City on January 19th, 1866 but grew up in Philadelphia, Pa. He was the son of Edward Loomis Davenport, the celebrated stage actor and could boast a maternal link to Jack Johnson, the famed Irish actor of the 18th century. Harry made his stage debut at age 5 in the play “Damon and Pythias”, the beginning of a successful stage career that would span over three decades. In 1914, Harry added films to his resume, teaming up with Rose Tapley to make a series of comedy shorts as Mr. and Mrs. Jarr and then went on to act and direct in over 12 silent films. The first, in 1915, was called “The Jarr Family Discovers Harlem”.

Davenport married twice to actresses, first to Alice Davenport and then to Phyllis Rankin (making him the brother-in-law of Lionel Barrymore since they married sisters). His daughters, Dorothy, Ann and Kate Davenport all became actresses. His son was actor Arthur Rankin.

On any given night, Harry Davenport can be found somewhere on a classic movie channel dispensing justice, healing the sick or just hanging around to give sage counsel. Here are some of his films and the roles that he played:

Doctor Remington ........... “Her Unborn Child” (1929)
The customs inspector...... “His Woman” (1931)
Senator Morton................ “Legion of Terror” (1936)
Opera Director................. “Maytime” (1937)
The butler....................... “First Lady” (1937)
Chief of Staff............... “The Life of Emile Zola” (1937)
The caretaker............... “The Rage of Paris” (1938)
The Judge.................... “You Can’t take It With You” (1938)
King Louis XI............... “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (1939)
Colonel Skeffington....... “Kings Row” (1942)
Arthur Davies................ “The Ox Bow Incident” (1943)
Professor Hilliard........... “Jack London” (1943)
Grandpa........................ “Meet Me In St. Louis” (1944)
Old John ...................... “The Enchanted Forest” (1945)
Squire Kirby.................. “A Boy and His Dog” (1946)

Email me!

Ask questions! Make comments! Talk to me!
Use email link above or post a question to my guestbook