I like the idea of Gary Cooper in the role of a libertine as opposed to some of his 'aw shucks' type parts, but he has a way of delivering his lines that is awkward and slow in Morocco, and unfortunately he doesn't come close to keeping up with Marlene Dietrich. As you might guess she's as electric as ever, and sure, has that moment in top hat and tails kissing a woman in the crowd that gets a lot of attention (as I suppose it should), but there are also many others where her eyes and subtle smile command all attention. I thought she had a little less to work with in this collaboration with Josef von Sternberg, but the message the film offers is touching. von Sternberg gives us a little of the 'exoticism' of the setting, though it's not as beautiful as many of his other films, and has a few problematic bits (e.g. referring to the enemy army as 'those walking bed sheets'). The pacing is also a little on the slow side.
There are a couple of things in the film that caught my eye (you know, aside from Dietrich, who I would pretty much see in anything). When Cooper is sent off on a difficult mission he realizes it might be orchestrated to kill him, since he's also carrying on with the commander's wife. As he's called to go take out a machine gun nest, an officer follows him with a pistol, and Cooper realizes he has to keep an eye on him as well as the enemy. This is a real phenomenon in war that the military doesn't generally want publicized, and I thought the whole scene was handled brilliantly. The other thing, which is more central to the point of the film, is in how Adolphe Menjou deals with his love for Dietrich. He knows he's the weak link in the triangle, and that her real affection lies with Cooper. There is such grace and understanding in his acceptance of her, that if he can have her even knowing this, it's ok with him, and if she wants to leave, he'll let her go. When she's about to rush off to the hospital to see Cooper, leaving behind a dinner party for her engagement with Menjou, he's forced to leave them too. "You see, I love her," he says with such dignity, "I do anything to make her happy."
And that is essentially the message: true love involves sacrifice. In a film that alludes to Cooper's philandering and has Dietrich giving scandalized viewers of 1930 a little taste of bisexuality, it's really about the purity of love, and those pre-code elements are somewhat minor. It was subtle how Cooper abruptly changed his mind, but he had been willing to leave, knowing that she would have more material wealth with Menjou. (We have to set aside the fact that he's enjoying the physical comforts of a bevy of dark-haired local women immediately afterwards, but hey, go with it.) Menjou is then later willing to step aside, knowing that she loves Cooper. Thus the two men show their love by letting love go, and interestingly enough, Dietrich shows it by refusing to let go, even if it means giving up everything and going into the desert barefoot. I guess sometimes you have to let go, and other times you have to cling tight. That big moment is beautiful, though it wasn't quite as powerful for me as it should have been, because I didn't feel the chemistry between the pair, or think Cooper's character was one she would do that for. With a stronger leading man I would have rated it higher, but even as it is, it's worth seeing.
There are a couple of things in the film that caught my eye (you know, aside from Dietrich, who I would pretty much see in anything). When Cooper is sent off on a difficult mission he realizes it might be orchestrated to kill him, since he's also carrying on with the commander's wife. As he's called to go take out a machine gun nest, an officer follows him with a pistol, and Cooper realizes he has to keep an eye on him as well as the enemy. This is a real phenomenon in war that the military doesn't generally want publicized, and I thought the whole scene was handled brilliantly. The other thing, which is more central to the point of the film, is in how Adolphe Menjou deals with his love for Dietrich. He knows he's the weak link in the triangle, and that her real affection lies with Cooper. There is such grace and understanding in his acceptance of her, that if he can have her even knowing this, it's ok with him, and if she wants to leave, he'll let her go. When she's about to rush off to the hospital to see Cooper, leaving behind a dinner party for her engagement with Menjou, he's forced to leave them too. "You see, I love her," he says with such dignity, "I do anything to make her happy."
And that is essentially the message: true love involves sacrifice. In a film that alludes to Cooper's philandering and has Dietrich giving scandalized viewers of 1930 a little taste of bisexuality, it's really about the purity of love, and those pre-code elements are somewhat minor. It was subtle how Cooper abruptly changed his mind, but he had been willing to leave, knowing that she would have more material wealth with Menjou. (We have to set aside the fact that he's enjoying the physical comforts of a bevy of dark-haired local women immediately afterwards, but hey, go with it.) Menjou is then later willing to step aside, knowing that she loves Cooper. Thus the two men show their love by letting love go, and interestingly enough, Dietrich shows it by refusing to let go, even if it means giving up everything and going into the desert barefoot. I guess sometimes you have to let go, and other times you have to cling tight. That big moment is beautiful, though it wasn't quite as powerful for me as it should have been, because I didn't feel the chemistry between the pair, or think Cooper's character was one she would do that for. With a stronger leading man I would have rated it higher, but even as it is, it's worth seeing.