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Josef von Sternberg - Wikipedia

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id="toc-Early_life_and_education" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Early_life_and_education"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.1</span> <span>Early life and education</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Early_life_and_education-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Early_career" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Early_career"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1.2</span> <span>Early career</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Early_career-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Assistant_director:_1919–1923" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Assistant_director:_1919–1923"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Assistant director: 1919–1923</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Assistant_director:_1919–1923-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-United_Artists_–_The_Salvation_Hunters:_1924" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#United_Artists_–_The_Salvation_Hunters:_1924"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>United Artists – <i>The Salvation Hunters</i>: 1924</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-United_Artists_–_The_Salvation_Hunters:_1924-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer:_1925" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer:_1925"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer: 1925</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer:_1925-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Chaplin_and_A_Woman_of_the_Sea:_1926" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Chaplin_and_A_Woman_of_the_Sea:_1926"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Chaplin and <i>A Woman of the Sea</i>: 1926</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Chaplin_and_A_Woman_of_the_Sea:_1926-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Paramount:_1927–1935" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Paramount:_1927–1935"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Paramount: 1927–1935</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Paramount:_1927–1935-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Paramount: 1927–1935 subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Paramount:_1927–1935-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Silent_era:_1927–1929" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Silent_era:_1927–1929"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.1</span> <span>Silent era: 1927–1929</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Silent_era:_1927–1929-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Sound_era:_1929–1935" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Sound_era:_1929–1935"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.2</span> <span>Sound era: 1929–1935</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Sound_era:_1929–1935-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Magnum_opus:_The_Blue_Angel:_1930" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Magnum_opus:_The_Blue_Angel:_1930"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.2.1</span> <span>Magnum opus: <i>The Blue Angel</i>: 1930</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Magnum_opus:_The_Blue_Angel:_1930-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Sternberg-Dietrich_Hollywood_Collaborations:_1930–1935" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Sternberg-Dietrich_Hollywood_Collaborations:_1930–1935"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.3</span> <span>The Sternberg-Dietrich Hollywood Collaborations: 1930–1935</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Sternberg-Dietrich_Hollywood_Collaborations:_1930–1935-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Morocco_(1930)_and_Dishonored_(1931)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Morocco_(1930)_and_Dishonored_(1931)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.3.1</span> <span><i>Morocco</i> (1930) and <i>Dishonored</i> (1931)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Morocco_(1930)_and_Dishonored_(1931)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Literary_contretemps_–_An_American_Tragedy:_1931" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Literary_contretemps_–_An_American_Tragedy:_1931"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.3.2</span> <span>Literary contretemps – <i>An American Tragedy</i>: 1931</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Literary_contretemps_–_An_American_Tragedy:_1931-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Shanghai_Express:_1932" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Shanghai_Express:_1932"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.3.3</span> <span><i>Shanghai Express</i>: 1932</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Shanghai_Express:_1932-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Blonde_Venus:_1932" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Blonde_Venus:_1932"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.3.4</span> <span><i>Blonde Venus</i>: 1932</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Blonde_Venus:_1932-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Scarlet_Empress:_1934" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Scarlet_Empress:_1934"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.3.5</span> <span><i>The Scarlet Empress</i>: 1934</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Scarlet_Empress:_1934-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_Devil_is_a_Woman:_1935" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Devil_is_a_Woman:_1935"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.3.6</span> <span><i>The Devil is a Woman</i>: 1935</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Devil_is_a_Woman:_1935-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Columbia_Pictures:_1935–1936" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Columbia_Pictures:_1935–1936"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Columbia Pictures: 1935–1936</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Columbia_Pictures:_1935–1936-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Columbia Pictures: 1935–1936 subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Columbia_Pictures:_1935–1936-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Crime_and_Punishment:_1935" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Crime_and_Punishment:_1935"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.1</span> <span><i>Crime and Punishment</i>: 1935</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Crime_and_Punishment:_1935-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-The_King_Steps_Out:_1936" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_King_Steps_Out:_1936"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.2</span> <span><i>The King Steps Out</i>: 1936</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_King_Steps_Out:_1936-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-London_Films_–_I,_Claudius:_1937" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#London_Films_–_I,_Claudius:_1937"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>London Films – <i>I, Claudius</i>: 1937</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-London_Films_–_I,_Claudius:_1937-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-M-G-M_redux:_1938–1939" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#M-G-M_redux:_1938–1939"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>M-G-M redux: 1938–1939</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-M-G-M_redux:_1938–1939-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle M-G-M redux: 1938–1939 subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-M-G-M_redux:_1938–1939-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Sergeant_Madden:_1939" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Sergeant_Madden:_1939"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.1</span> <span><i>Sergeant Madden</i>: 1939</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Sergeant_Madden:_1939-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-United_Artists_redux_–_1940–1941" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#United_Artists_redux_–_1940–1941"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>United Artists redux – 1940–1941</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-United_Artists_redux_–_1940–1941-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle United Artists redux – 1940–1941 subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-United_Artists_redux_–_1940–1941-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Shanghai_Gesture:_1941" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Shanghai_Gesture:_1941"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10.1</span> <span>Shanghai Gesture: 1941</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Shanghai_Gesture:_1941-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Department_of_War_Information_–_&quot;The_American_Scene&quot;:_1943–1945" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Department_of_War_Information_–_&quot;The_American_Scene&quot;:_1943–1945"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">11</span> <span>Department of War Information – "<i>The American Scene</i>": 1943–1945</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Department_of_War_Information_–_&quot;The_American_Scene&quot;:_1943–1945-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Department of War Information – "<i>The American Scene</i>": 1943–1945 subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Department_of_War_Information_–_&quot;The_American_Scene&quot;:_1943–1945-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-The_Town:_1943" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Town:_1943"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">11.1</span> <span><i>The Town</i>: 1943</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Town:_1943-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-RKO_Pictures:_1949–1952" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#RKO_Pictures:_1949–1952"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">12</span> <span>RKO Pictures: 1949–1952</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-RKO_Pictures:_1949–1952-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle RKO Pictures: 1949–1952 subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-RKO_Pictures:_1949–1952-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Jet_Pilot:_1951" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Jet_Pilot:_1951"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">12.1</span> <span><i>Jet Pilot</i>: 1951</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Jet_Pilot:_1951-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Macao:_1952" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Macao:_1952"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">12.2</span> <span><i>Macao</i>: 1952</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Macao:_1952-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Later_career" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Later_career"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">13</span> <span>Later career</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Later_career-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Comments_by_contemporaries" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Comments_by_contemporaries"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">14</span> <span>Comments by contemporaries</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Comments_by_contemporaries-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Filmography" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Filmography"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">15</span> <span>Filmography</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Filmography-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Filmography subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Filmography-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Silent_films" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Silent_films"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">15.1</span> <span>Silent films</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Silent_films-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Sound_films" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Sound_films"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">15.2</span> <span>Sound films</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Sound_films-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Other_projects" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Other_projects"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">15.3</span> <span>Other projects</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Other_projects-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">16</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Sources" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Sources"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">17</span> <span>Sources</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Sources-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">18</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Josef von Sternberg</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 39 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-39" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">39 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%81_%D9%81%D9%88%D9%86_%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%BA" title="جوسيف فون ستيرنبيرغ – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="جوسيف فون ستيرنبيرغ" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-an mw-list-item"><a href="https://an.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Aragonese" lang="an" hreflang="an" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Aragonés" data-language-local-name="Aragonese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Aragonés</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bn mw-list-item"><a href="https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%87%E0%A6%AF%E0%A6%BC%E0%A7%8B%E0%A6%9C%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%AB_%E0%A6%AB%E0%A6%A8_%E0%A6%B8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%9F%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%87%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%97" title="ইয়োজেফ ফন স্টার্নবের্গ – Bangla" lang="bn" hreflang="bn" data-title="ইয়োজেফ ফন স্টার্নবের্গ" data-language-autonym="বাংলা" data-language-local-name="Bangla" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>বাংলা</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%99%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%84_%D1%84%D0%BE%D0%BD_%D0%A9%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B1%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B3" title="Йозеф фон Щернберг – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Йозеф фон Щернберг" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-da mw-list-item"><a href="https://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Danish" lang="da" hreflang="da" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Dansk" data-language-local-name="Danish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Dansk</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%93%CE%B9%CF%8C%CE%B6%CE%B5%CF%86_%CF%86%CE%BF%CE%BD_%CE%A3%CF%84%CE%AD%CF%81%CE%BD%CE%BC%CF%80%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%B3%CE%BA" title="Γιόζεφ φον Στέρνμπεργκ – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Γιόζεφ φον Στέρνμπεργκ" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ελληνικά</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eu mw-list-item"><a href="https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Basque" lang="eu" hreflang="eu" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Euskara" data-language-local-name="Basque" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Euskara</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%B2%D9%81_%D9%81%D9%88%D9%86_%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%A8%D8%B1%DA%AF" title="جوزف فون اشترنبرگ – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="جوزف فون اشترنبرگ" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gl mw-list-item"><a href="https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Galician" lang="gl" hreflang="gl" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Galego" data-language-local-name="Galician" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Galego</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%A1%B0%EC%85%89_%ED%8F%B0_%EC%8A%A4%ED%84%B4%EB%B2%84%EA%B7%B8" title="조셉 폰 스턴버그 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="조셉 폰 스턴버그" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hy mw-list-item"><a href="https://hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D5%8B%D5%B8%D5%A6%D5%A5%D6%86_%D5%87%D5%BF%D5%A5%D5%BC%D5%B6%D5%A2%D5%A5%D6%80%D5%A3" title="Ջոզեֆ Շտեռնբերգ – Armenian" lang="hy" hreflang="hy" data-title="Ջոզեֆ Շտեռնբերգ" data-language-autonym="Հայերեն" data-language-local-name="Armenian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Հայերեն</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hr mw-list-item"><a href="https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Croatian" lang="hr" hreflang="hr" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Hrvatski" data-language-local-name="Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Hrvatski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_von_Sternberg" title="Joseph von Sternberg – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Joseph von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%99%D7%95%D7%96%D7%A3_%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%9F_%D7%A9%D7%98%D7%A8%D7%A0%D7%91%D7%A8%D7%92" title="יוזף פון שטרנברג – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="יוזף פון שטרנברג" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lb mw-list-item"><a href="https://lb.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Luxembourgish" lang="lb" hreflang="lb" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Lëtzebuergesch" data-language-local-name="Luxembourgish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lëtzebuergesch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hu mw-list-item"><a href="https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Hungarian" lang="hu" hreflang="hu" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Magyar" data-language-local-name="Hungarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Magyar</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mk mw-list-item"><a href="https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%88%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%84_%D1%84%D0%BE%D0%BD_%D0%A8%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B1%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B3" title="Јозеф фон Штернберг – Macedonian" lang="mk" hreflang="mk" data-title="Јозеф фон Штернберг" data-language-autonym="Македонски" data-language-local-name="Macedonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Македонски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-mg mw-list-item"><a href="https://mg.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Malagasy" lang="mg" hreflang="mg" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Malagasy" data-language-local-name="Malagasy" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Malagasy</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-arz mw-list-item"><a href="https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AC%D9%88%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%81_%D9%81%D9%88%D9%86_%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%8A%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%AC" title="جوسيف فون ستيرنبيرج – Egyptian Arabic" lang="arz" hreflang="arz" data-title="جوسيف فون ستيرنبيرج" data-language-autonym="مصرى" data-language-local-name="Egyptian Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>مصرى</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-nl mw-list-item"><a href="https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Dutch" lang="nl" hreflang="nl" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Nederlands" data-language-local-name="Dutch" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Nederlands</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A7%E3%82%BB%E3%83%95%E3%83%BB%E3%83%95%E3%82%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%83%BB%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%83%B3%E3%83%90%E3%83%BC%E3%82%B0" title="ジョセフ・フォン・スタンバーグ – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="ジョセフ・フォン・スタンバーグ" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%A8%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B1%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B3,_%D0%94%D0%B6%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%84_%D1%84%D0%BE%D0%BD" title="Штернберг, Джозеф фон – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Штернберг, Джозеф фон" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sh mw-list-item"><a href="https://sh.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Serbo-Croatian" lang="sh" hreflang="sh" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски" data-language-local-name="Serbo-Croatian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fi mw-list-item"><a href="https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Finnish" lang="fi" hreflang="fi" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Suomi" data-language-local-name="Finnish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Suomi</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Josef von Sternberg – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Josef von Sternberg" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D0%B6%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%84_%D1%84%D0%BE%D0%BD_%D0%A8%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B1%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B3" title="Джозеф фон Штернберг – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Джозеф фон Штернберг" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%BA%A6%E7%91%9F%E5%A4%AB%C2%B7%E5%86%AF%C2%B7%E6%96%AF%E5%9D%A6%E4%BC%AF%E6%A0%BC" title="约瑟夫·冯·斯坦伯格 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="约瑟夫·冯·斯坦伯格" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q78719#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit interlanguage links" class="wbc-editpage">Edit links</a></span></div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="vector-page-toolbar"> <div class="vector-page-toolbar-container"> <div id="left-navigation"> <nav aria-label="Namespaces"> <div id="p-associated-pages" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs mw-portlet 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(1894–1969)</div> <p class="mw-empty-elt"> </p> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1257001546">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme)>div:not(.notheme)[style]{background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data:not(.notheme) div:not(.notheme){background:#1f1f23!important;color:#f8f9fa}}@media(min-width:640px){body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table{display:table!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>caption{display:table-caption!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table>tbody{display:table-row-group}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table tr{display:table-row!important}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table th,body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .infobox-table td{padding-left:inherit;padding-right:inherit}}</style><table class="infobox biography vcard"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="font-size:125%;"><div class="fn">Josef von Sternberg</div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="/wiki/File:Dishonored_(film)_1931_On_set,_BW_photo,_L_to_R_Josef_von_Sternberg,_Marlene_Dietrich_(cropped-1).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d2/Dishonored_%28film%29_1931_On_set%2C_BW_photo%2C_L_to_R_Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_Marlene_Dietrich_%28cropped-1%29.jpg/220px-Dishonored_%28film%29_1931_On_set%2C_BW_photo%2C_L_to_R_Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_Marlene_Dietrich_%28cropped-1%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="291" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Dishonored_%28film%29_1931_On_set%2C_BW_photo%2C_L_to_R_Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_Marlene_Dietrich_%28cropped-1%29.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="265" data-file-height="350" /></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">Josef von Sternberg on the set of <i><a href="/wiki/Dishonored_(film)" title="Dishonored (film)">Dishonored</a></i> (1931)</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Born</th><td class="infobox-data"><div style="display:inline" class="nickname">Jonas Sternberg</div><br /><span style="display:none">(<span class="bday">1894-05-29</span>)</span>May 29, 1894<br /><div style="display:inline" class="birthplace"><a href="/wiki/Vienna" title="Vienna">Vienna</a>, <a href="/wiki/Austria-Hungary" title="Austria-Hungary">Austria-Hungary</a> (present-day Austria)</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Died</th><td class="infobox-data">December 22, 1969<span style="display:none">(1969-12-22)</span> (aged&#160;75)<br /><div style="display:inline" class="deathplace"><a href="/wiki/Los_Angeles" title="Los Angeles">Los Angeles</a>, <a href="/wiki/California" title="California">California</a>, U.S.</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Years&#160;active</th><td class="infobox-data">1925–1957</td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Spouses</th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><div class="plainlist"> <ul><li><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1151524712">.mw-parser-output .marriage-line-margin2px{line-height:0;margin-bottom:-2px}.mw-parser-output .marriage-line-margin3px{line-height:0;margin-bottom:-3px}.mw-parser-output .marriage-display-ws{display:inline;white-space:nowrap}</style></li></ul> <div class="marriage-display-ws"><div style="display:inline-block;line-height:normal;margin-top:1px;white-space:normal;">Riza Royce</div> <div class="marriage-line-margin2px">&#8203;</div>&#32;<div style="display:inline-block;margin-bottom:1px;">&#8203;</div>&#40;<abbr title="married">m.</abbr>&#160;1926&#59;&#32;<abbr title="divorced">div.</abbr>&#160;1930&#41;<wbr />&#8203;</div> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1151524712"></li></ul> <div class="marriage-display-ws"><div style="display:inline-block;line-height:normal;margin-top:1px;white-space:normal;">Jean Annette McBride</div> <div class="marriage-line-margin2px">&#8203;</div>&#32;<div style="display:inline-block;margin-bottom:1px;">&#8203;</div>&#40;<abbr title="married">m.</abbr>&#160;1945&#59;&#32;<abbr title="divorced">div.</abbr>&#160;1947&#41;<wbr />&#8203;</div> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1151524712"></li></ul> <div class="marriage-display-ws"><div style="display:inline-block;line-height:normal;">Meri Otis Wilner</div>&#32;<div style="display:inline-block;">&#8203;</div>&#40;<abbr title="married">m.</abbr>&#160;1948&#41;<wbr />&#8203;</div> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Children</th><td class="infobox-data">Nicholas Josef von Sternberg</td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Josef von Sternberg</b> (<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1177148991">.mw-parser-output .IPA-label-small{font-size:85%}.mw-parser-output .references .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .infobox .IPA-label-small,.mw-parser-output .navbox .IPA-label-small{font-size:100%}</style><span class="IPA-label IPA-label-small">German:</span> <span class="IPA nowrap" lang="de-Latn-fonipa"><a href="/wiki/Help:IPA/Standard_German" title="Help:IPA/Standard German">&#91;ˈjoːzɛf<span class="wrap"> </span>fɔn<span class="wrap"> </span>ˈʃtɛʁnbɛʁk&#93;</a></span>; born <b>Jonas Sternberg</b>; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-born filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the <a href="/wiki/Silent_film" title="Silent film">silent</a> to the <a href="/wiki/Sound_film" title="Sound film">sound</a> era, during which he worked with most of the major Hollywood studios. He is best known for his film collaboration with actress <a href="/wiki/Marlene_Dietrich" title="Marlene Dietrich">Marlene Dietrich</a> in the 1930s, including the highly regarded Paramount/UFA production <i><a href="/wiki/The_Blue_Angel" title="The Blue Angel">The Blue Angel</a></i> (1930).<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg's finest works are noteworthy for their striking pictorial compositions, dense décor, <a href="/wiki/Chiaroscuro" title="Chiaroscuro">chiaroscuro</a> illumination, and relentless camera motion, endowing the scenes with emotional intensity.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> He is also credited with having initiated the gangster film genre with his silent era movie <i><a href="/wiki/Underworld_(1927_film)" title="Underworld (1927 film)">Underworld</a></i> (1927).<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Sternberg's themes typically offer the spectacle of an individual's desperate struggle to maintain their personal integrity as they sacrifice themselves for lust or love.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>He was nominated for the <a href="/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Director" title="Academy Award for Best Director">Academy Award for Best Director</a> for <i><a href="/wiki/Morocco_(film)" title="Morocco (film)">Morocco</a></i> (1930) and <i><a href="/wiki/Shanghai_Express_(film)" title="Shanghai Express (film)">Shanghai Express</a></i> (1932).<sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1998._p._499_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1998._p._499-6"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Shortly before his death in 1969, his autobiography, <i><a href="/wiki/Fun_in_a_Chinese_Laundry" title="Fun in a Chinese Laundry">Fun in a Chinese Laundry</a></i>, was published. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Biography">Biography</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=1" title="Edit section: Biography"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Early_life_and_education">Early life and education</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=2" title="Edit section: Early life and education"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Josef von Sternberg was born Jonas Sternberg to an impoverished <a href="/wiki/Orthodox_Jewish" class="mw-redirect" title="Orthodox Jewish">Orthodox Jewish</a> family in <a href="/wiki/Vienna" title="Vienna">Vienna</a>, at that time part of the <a href="/wiki/Austria-Hungary" title="Austria-Hungary">Austro-Hungarian Empire</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> When Sternberg was three years old, his father Moses Sternberg, a former soldier in the army of Austria-Hungary, moved to the United States to seek work. Sternberg's mother, Serafine (<i>née</i> Singer), a circus performer as a child <sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> joined Moses in America in 1901 with her five children when Sternberg was seven.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> On his emigration, von Sternberg is quoted as saying, "On our arrival in the New World we were first detained on Ellis Island where the immigration officers inspected us like a herd of cattle."<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Jonas attended public school until the family, except Moses, returned to Vienna three years later. Throughout his life, Sternberg carried vivid memories of Vienna and nostalgia for some of his "happiest childhood moments."<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The elder Sternberg insisted upon a rigorous study of the Hebrew language, limiting his son to religious studies on top of his regular schoolwork.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Biographer Peter Baxter, citing Sternberg's memoirs, reports that "his parents' relationship was far from happy: his father was a domestic tyrant and his mother eventually fled her home in order to escape his abuse."<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Sternberg's early struggles, including these "childhood traumas" would inform the "unique subject matter of his films."<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Early_career">Early career</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=3" title="Edit section: Early career"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In 1908, when Jonas was fourteen, he returned with his mother to <a href="/wiki/Queens" title="Queens">Queens</a>, New York, and settled in the United States.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> He acquired American citizenship in 1908.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> After a year, he stopped attending <a href="/wiki/Jamaica_High_School" title="Jamaica High School">Jamaica High School</a> and began working in various occupations, including <a href="/wiki/Hatmaking" title="Hatmaking">millinery</a> apprentice, door-to-door trinket salesman and stock clerk at a <a href="/wiki/Lace" title="Lace">lace</a> factory.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> At the Fifth Avenue lace outlet, he became familiar with the ornate textiles with which he would adorn his female stars and embellish his <a href="/wiki/Mise-en-sc%C3%A8ne" title="Mise-en-scène">mise-en-scène</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._P._5_23-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._P._5-23"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 1911, when he turned seventeen, the now "Josef" Sternberg, became employed at the <a href="/wiki/World_Film_Company" title="World Film Company">World Film Company</a> in Fort Lee, New Jersey. There, he "cleaned, patched and coated motion picture stock" – and served evenings as a movie theatre projectionist. In 1914, when the company was purchased by actor and film producer <a href="/wiki/William_A._Brady" title="William A. Brady">William A. Brady</a>, Sternberg rose to chief assistant, responsible for "writing [inter]titles and editing films to cover lapses in continuity" for which he received his first official film credits.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>When the United States entered <a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a> in 1917, he joined the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Army" title="United States Army">U.S. Army</a> and was assigned to the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Army_Signal_Corps" title="United States Army Signal Corps">Signal Corps</a> headquartered in Washington, D.C., where he photographed training films for recruits.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._23_26-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._23-26"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._P._5_23-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._P._5-23"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Shortly after the war, Sternberg left Brady's Fort Lee operation and embarked on a peripatetic existence in America and Europe offering his skills "as cutter, editor, writer and assistant director" to various film studios.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._23_26-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._23-26"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._P._5_23-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._P._5-23"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Assistant_director:_1919–1923"><span id="Assistant_director:_1919.E2.80.931923"></span>Assistant director: 1919–1923</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=4" title="Edit section: Assistant director: 1919–1923"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1224211176">.mw-parser-output .quotebox{background-color:#F9F9F9;border:1px solid #aaa;box-sizing:border-box;padding:10px;font-size:88%;max-width:100%}.mw-parser-output .quotebox.floatleft{margin:.5em 1.4em .8em 0}.mw-parser-output .quotebox.floatright{margin:.5em 0 .8em 1.4em}.mw-parser-output .quotebox.centered{overflow:hidden;position:relative;margin:.5em auto .8em auto}.mw-parser-output .quotebox.floatleft span,.mw-parser-output .quotebox.floatright span{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .quotebox>blockquote{margin:0;padding:0;border-left:0;font-family:inherit;font-size:inherit}.mw-parser-output .quotebox-title{text-align:center;font-size:110%;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .quotebox-quote>:first-child{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .quotebox-quote:last-child>:last-child{margin-bottom:0}.mw-parser-output .quotebox-quote.quoted:before{font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;font-weight:bold;font-size:large;color:gray;content:" “ ";vertical-align:-45%;line-height:0}.mw-parser-output .quotebox-quote.quoted:after{font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;font-weight:bold;font-size:large;color:gray;content:" ” ";line-height:0}.mw-parser-output .quotebox .left-aligned{text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .quotebox .right-aligned{text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .quotebox .center-aligned{text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .quotebox .quote-title,.mw-parser-output .quotebox .quotebox-quote{display:block}.mw-parser-output .quotebox cite{display:block;font-style:normal}@media screen and (max-width:640px){.mw-parser-output .quotebox{width:100%!important;margin:0 0 .8em!important;float:none!important}}</style><div class="quotebox pullquote floatright" style="width:30em; ; font-size: 100%; color: #202122;background-color: cornsilk;"> <blockquote class="quotebox-quote left-aligned" style=""> <p><b>The Origins of the Sternberg "von"</b> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Nobiliary_particle" title="Nobiliary particle">nobiliary particle</a> "von" – used to indicate a family descending from nobility – was inserted gratuitously to Sternberg's name on the grounds that it served to achieve an orderly configuration of personnel credits.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._P._24-25_28-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._P._24-25-28"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._P._5_23-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._P._5-23"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The producer and matinee idol <a href="/wiki/Elliott_Dexter" title="Elliott Dexter">Elliott Dexter</a> suggested the augmentation when Sternberg was assistant director and screenwriter for Roy W. Neill's <i>By Devine Right</i> (1923) in hopes that it would "enhance his screen credit" and add "artistic prestige" to the film.<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Director <a href="/wiki/Erich_von_Stroheim" title="Erich von Stroheim">Erich von Stroheim</a>, also from a poor Viennese family and Sternberg's <i>beau idéal</i>, had attached a faux "von" to his professional name. Although Sternberg emphatically denied any foreknowledge of Dexter's largesse, film historian John Baxter maintains that "knowing his respect for Stroheim it is hard to believe that [Sternberg] had no part in the ennobling."<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._P._24-25_28-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._P._24-25-28"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg would ruefully comment that the elitist "von" drew criticism during the 1930s, when his "lack of realist social themes" would be interpreted as anti-egalitarian.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._P._6_32-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._P._6-32"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> </blockquote> </div> <p>Sternberg served his apprenticeship years with early silent filmmakers, including <a href="/wiki/Hugo_Ballin" title="Hugo Ballin">Hugo Ballin</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wallace_Worsley" title="Wallace Worsley">Wallace Worsley</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lawrence_C._Windom" title="Lawrence C. Windom">Lawrence C. Windom</a> and <a href="/wiki/Roy_William_Neill" title="Roy William Neill">Roy William Neill</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Weinberg,_1967._P._17_33-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Weinberg,_1967._P._17-33"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> In 1919, Sternberg worked with director <a href="/wiki/Emile_Chautard" class="mw-redirect" title="Emile Chautard">Emile Chautard</a>'s on <i><a href="/wiki/The_Mystery_of_the_Yellow_Room" title="The Mystery of the Yellow Room">The Mystery of the Yellow Room</a></i>, for which he received official screen credit as assistant director. Sternberg honored Chautard in his memoirs, recalling the French director's invaluable lessons on photography, film composition and the importance of establishing "the spatial integrity of his images."<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._23_26-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._23-26"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> This advice led Sternberg to develop his distinctive "framing" of each shot to become "the screen's greatest master of pictorial composition."<sup id="cite_ref-Weinberg,_1967._P._17_33-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Weinberg,_1967._P._17-33"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg's 1919 debut in filmmaking, though in a subordinate capacity, coincided with the filming and/or release of <a href="/wiki/D._W._Griffith" title="D. W. Griffith">D. W. Griffith</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Broken_Blossoms" title="Broken Blossoms">Broken Blossoms</a></i>, <a href="/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin" title="Charlie Chaplin">Charlie Chaplin</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Sunnyside_(1919_film)" title="Sunnyside (1919 film)">Sunnyside</a></i>, <a href="/wiki/Erich_von_Stroheim" title="Erich von Stroheim">Erich von Stroheim</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/The_Devil%27s_Pass_Key" title="The Devil&#39;s Pass Key">The Devil's Pass Key</a></i>, <a href="/wiki/Cecil_B._DeMille" title="Cecil B. DeMille">Cecil B. DeMille</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Male_and_Female" title="Male and Female">Male and Female</a></i>, <a href="/wiki/Robert_Wiene" title="Robert Wiene">Robert Wiene</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/The_Cabinet_of_Dr._Caligari" title="The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari">The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari</a></i>, <a href="/wiki/Victor_Sj%C3%B6str%C3%B6m" title="Victor Sjöström">Victor Sjöström</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Karin_Daughter_of_Ingmar" title="Karin Daughter of Ingmar">Karin Daughter of Ingmar</a></i> and <a href="/wiki/Abel_Gance" title="Abel Gance">Abel Gance</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/J%27accuse_(1919_film)" title="J&#39;accuse (1919 film)">J'accuse</a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._P._6_32-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._P._6-32"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg travelled widely in Europe between 1922 and 1924, where he participated in making a number of movies for the short-lived Alliance Film Corporation in London, including <i><a href="/wiki/The_Bohemian_Girl_(1922_film)" title="The Bohemian Girl (1922 film)">The Bohemian Girl</a></i> (1922). When he returned to California in 1924, he began work on his first Hollywood movie as assistant to director <a href="/wiki/Roy_William_Neill" title="Roy William Neill">Roy William Neill</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Vanity%27s_Price" title="Vanity&#39;s Price">Vanity's Price</a></i>, produced by <a href="/wiki/Film_Booking_Offices_of_America" title="Film Booking Offices of America">Film Booking Office</a> (FBO).<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Sternberg's aptitude for effective directing was recognized in his handling of the operating room scene, singled out for special mention by <i><a href="/wiki/New_York_Times" class="mw-redirect" title="New York Times">New York Times</a></i> critic <a href="/wiki/Mordaunt_Hall" title="Mordaunt Hall">Mordaunt Hall</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="United_Artists_–_The_Salvation_Hunters:_1924"><span id="United_Artists_.E2.80.93_The_Salvation_Hunters:_1924"></span>United Artists – <i>The Salvation Hunters</i>: 1924</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=5" title="Edit section: United Artists – The Salvation Hunters: 1924"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/The_Salvation_Hunters" title="The Salvation Hunters">The Salvation Hunters</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Josef_von_Sternberg,_Mary_Pickford._Pickfair_Estate,_Beverly_Hills,_California._1925.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_Mary_Pickford._Pickfair_Estate%2C_Beverly_Hills%2C_California._1925.jpg/220px-Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_Mary_Pickford._Pickfair_Estate%2C_Beverly_Hills%2C_California._1925.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="111" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_Mary_Pickford._Pickfair_Estate%2C_Beverly_Hills%2C_California._1925.jpg/330px-Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_Mary_Pickford._Pickfair_Estate%2C_Beverly_Hills%2C_California._1925.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_Mary_Pickford._Pickfair_Estate%2C_Beverly_Hills%2C_California._1925.jpg/440px-Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_Mary_Pickford._Pickfair_Estate%2C_Beverly_Hills%2C_California._1925.jpg 2x" data-file-width="664" data-file-height="335" /></a><figcaption>Josef von Sternberg and Mary Pickford at the <a href="/wiki/Pickfair" title="Pickfair">Pickfair</a> Estate, Beverly Hills, California, in 1925. Dubbed "Mary Pickford's New Director", photos of Sternberg and Pickford were widely circulated in the press, "but the <i>entente</i> was short-lived."<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._31_38-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._31-38"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup></figcaption></figure> <p>The 30-year-old Sternberg made his debut as a director with <i><a href="/wiki/The_Salvation_Hunters" title="The Salvation Hunters">The Salvation Hunters</a></i>, an independent picture produced with actor <a href="/wiki/George_K._Arthur" title="George K. Arthur">George K. Arthur</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._26-27_40-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._26-27-40"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The picture, filmed on the minuscule budget of $4,800 – "a miracle of organization" – made a tremendous impression on actor-director-producer <a href="/wiki/Charles_Chaplin" class="mw-redirect" title="Charles Chaplin">Charles Chaplin</a> and co-producer <a href="/wiki/Douglas_Fairbanks" title="Douglas Fairbanks">Douglas Fairbanks</a> Sr. of <a href="/wiki/United_Artists" title="United Artists">United Artists</a> (UA).<sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-41"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Influenced by the works of Erich von Stroheim, director of <i><a href="/wiki/Greed_(1924_film)" title="Greed (1924 film)">Greed</a></i> (1924), the movie was lauded by cineastes for its "unglamorous realism", depicting three young drifters who struggle to survive in a dystopian landscape.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._26-27_40-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._26-27-40"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Despite its considerable defects, due in part to Sternberg's budgetary constraints, the picture was purchased by United Artists for $20,000 and given a brief distribution, but fared poorly at the box-office.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>On the strength of this picture alone, actor-producer <a href="/wiki/Mary_Pickford" title="Mary Pickford">Mary Pickford</a> of UA engaged Sternberg to write and direct her next feature. His screenplay, entitled <i>Backwash</i>, was deemed to be too experimental in concept and technique, and the Pickford-Sternberg project was cancelled.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._31_38-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._31-38"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._P._12_46-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._P._12-46"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg's <i>The Salvation Hunters</i> is "his most explicitly personal work", with the exception of his final picture <i><a href="/wiki/Anatahan_(film)" title="Anatahan (film)">Anatahan</a></i> (1953).<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> His distinctive style is already in evidence, both visually and dramatically: veils and nets filter our view of the actors, and "psychological conflict rather than physical action" has the effect of obscuring the motivations of his characters.<sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-49"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer:_1925">Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer: 1925</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=6" title="Edit section: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer: 1925"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Exquisite_Sinner_(1926_film)._M-G-M_studios_set._Director_Josef_von_Sternberg_seated_(right),.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/The_Exquisite_Sinner_%281926_film%29._M-G-M_studios_set._Director_Josef_von_Sternberg_seated_%28right%29%2C.jpg/220px-The_Exquisite_Sinner_%281926_film%29._M-G-M_studios_set._Director_Josef_von_Sternberg_seated_%28right%29%2C.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="261" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/The_Exquisite_Sinner_%281926_film%29._M-G-M_studios_set._Director_Josef_von_Sternberg_seated_%28right%29%2C.jpg/330px-The_Exquisite_Sinner_%281926_film%29._M-G-M_studios_set._Director_Josef_von_Sternberg_seated_%28right%29%2C.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/The_Exquisite_Sinner_%281926_film%29._M-G-M_studios_set._Director_Josef_von_Sternberg_seated_%28right%29%2C.jpg/440px-The_Exquisite_Sinner_%281926_film%29._M-G-M_studios_set._Director_Josef_von_Sternberg_seated_%28right%29%2C.jpg 2x" data-file-width="454" data-file-height="539" /></a><figcaption>The Exquisite Sinner (1926 film). M-G-M studios set. Director von Sternberg seated (right).</figcaption></figure> <p>Released from his contract with United Artists, and regarded as a rising talent in Hollywood, Sternberg was sought after by the major movie studios.<sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-51"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-52"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>52<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Signing an eight-film agreement with <a href="/wiki/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer" title="Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer">Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer</a> in 1925, Sternberg entered into "the increasingly rigid studio system" at M-G-M, where films were subordinated to market considerations and judged on profitability.<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-53"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>53<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-54" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-54"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Sternberg would clash with Metro executives over his approach to filmmaking: the picture as a form of art and the director a visual poet. These conflicting priorities would "doom" their association, as Sternberg "had little interest in making a commercial success."<sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-55"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-56" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-56"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>56<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-57" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-57"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>57<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer first assigned Sternberg to adapt author <a href="/wiki/Alden_Brooks" title="Alden Brooks">Alden Brooks</a>' novel <i>Escape</i>, retitled <i><a href="/wiki/The_Exquisite_Sinner" title="The Exquisite Sinner">The Exquisite Sinner</a></i>. A romance set in post-<a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a> <a href="/wiki/Brittany" title="Brittany">Brittany</a>, the movie was withheld from release for failing to clearly set forth its narrative, though M-G-M acknowledged its photographic beauty and artistic merit.<sup id="cite_ref-58" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-58"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>58<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg was next tasked to direct film stars <a href="/wiki/Mae_Murray" title="Mae Murray">Mae Murray</a> and <a href="/wiki/Roy_D%27Arcy" title="Roy D&#39;Arcy">Roy D'Arcy</a> in <i><a href="/wiki/The_Masked_Bride" title="The Masked Bride">The Masked Bride</a></i>, both of whom had played in Stroheim's highly acclaimed <i><a href="/wiki/The_Merry_Widow_(1925_film)" title="The Merry Widow (1925 film)">The Merry Widow</a></i> (1925). Exasperated with his lack of control over any aspect of the production, Sternberg quit in two weeks – his final gesture turning the camera to the ceiling before walking off the set. Metro arranged a cancellation of his contract in August 1925. Frenchman <a href="/wiki/Robert_Florey" title="Robert Florey">Robert Florey</a>, Sternberg's assistant director, reported that Sternberg's Stroheim-like histrionics emerged on the M-G-M sets to the consternation of production managers.<sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._P._12_46-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._P._12-46"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-59" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-59"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>59<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-60" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-60"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>60<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Chaplin_and_A_Woman_of_the_Sea:_1926">Chaplin and <i>A Woman of the Sea</i>: 1926</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=7" title="Edit section: Chaplin and A Woman of the Sea: 1926"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/A_Woman_of_the_Sea" title="A Woman of the Sea">A Woman of the Sea</a></div> <p>When Sternberg returned from a sojourn in Europe following his disappointing tenure at M-G-M in 1925, Charles Chaplin approached him to direct a comeback vehicle for his erstwhile leading lady, <a href="/wiki/Edna_Purviance" title="Edna Purviance">Edna Purviance</a>. Purviance had appeared in dozens of Chaplin's films, but had not had a serious leading role since the much admired picture <i><a href="/wiki/A_Woman_of_Paris" title="A Woman of Paris">A Woman of Paris</a></i> (1923). This would mark the "only occasion that Chaplin entrusted another director with one of his own productions."<sup id="cite_ref-61" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-61"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>61<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-62" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-62"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>62<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Chaplin had detected a <a href="/wiki/Charles_Dickens" title="Charles Dickens">Dickensian</a> quality in Sternberg's representation of his characters and <a href="/wiki/Mise-en-sc%C3%A8ne" title="Mise-en-scène">mise-en-scène</a> in <i><a href="/wiki/The_Salvation_Hunters" title="The Salvation Hunters">The Salvation Hunters</a></i> and wished to see the young director expand on these elements in the film. The original title, <i>The Sea Gull</i>, was retitled <i>A Woman of the Sea</i> to invoke the earlier <i>A Woman of Paris</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._P._34,_36_63-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._P._34,_36-63"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>63<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Chaplin was dismayed by the film Sternberg created with cameraman <a href="/wiki/Paul_Ivano" title="Paul Ivano">Paul Ivano</a>, a "highly visual, almost <a href="/wiki/German_expressionist_cinema" title="German expressionist cinema">Expressionistic</a>" work, completely lacking in the humanism that he had anticipated.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._P._34,_36_63-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._P._34,_36-63"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>63<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Though Sternberg reshot a number of scenes, Chaplin declined to distribute the picture and the prints were ultimately destroyed.<sup id="cite_ref-64" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-64"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>64<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-65" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-65"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>65<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Paramount:_1927–1935"><span id="Paramount:_1927.E2.80.931935"></span>Paramount: 1927–1935</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=8" title="Edit section: Paramount: 1927–1935"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The failure of Sternberg's promising collaboration with Chaplin was a temporary blow to his professional reputation. In June 1926 he travelled to Berlin at the request of impresario <a href="/wiki/Max_Reinhardt" title="Max Reinhardt">Max Reinhardt</a> to explore an offer to manage stage productions, but discovered he was not suited to the task.<sup id="cite_ref-66" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-66"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>66<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Sternberg went to England, where he rendezvoused with Riza Royce, a New York actress originally from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who had served as an assistant on the ill-fated <i>A Woman of the Sea</i>. They wed on July 6, 1927. Sternberg and Royce would have a tempestuous marriage spanning three years. In August 1928, Riza von Sternberg obtained a divorce from her spouse that included charges of mental and physical abuse, in which Sternberg "seems to have acted a husband's role on the model his [abusive] father provided." The pair remarried in 1928, but the relationship continued to deteriorate, ending in a second and final divorce on June 5, 1931.<sup id="cite_ref-67" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-67"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>67<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-68" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-68"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>68<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Silent_era:_1927–1929"><span id="Silent_era:_1927.E2.80.931929"></span>Silent era: 1927–1929</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=9" title="Edit section: Silent era: 1927–1929"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In the summer of 1927, Paramount producer <a href="/wiki/B._P._Schulberg" title="B. P. Schulberg">B. P. Schulberg</a> offered, and Sternberg accepted, a position as "technical advisor for lighting and photography."<sup id="cite_ref-69" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-69"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>69<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Sternberg was tasked with salvaging director <a href="/wiki/Frank_Lloyd" title="Frank Lloyd">Frank Lloyd</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Children_of_Divorce_(1927_film)" title="Children of Divorce (1927 film)">Children of Divorce</a></i>, a movie that the studio executives had written off as "worthless". Working "three [consecutive] days of 20-hour shifts" Sternberg reconceived and reshot half the picture and presented Paramount with "a critical and box-office success."<sup id="cite_ref-70" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-70"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>70<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Impressed, Paramount arranged for Sternberg to film a major production based on journalist <a href="/wiki/Ben_Hecht" title="Ben Hecht">Ben Hecht</a>'s story about Chicago gangsters: <i><a href="/wiki/Underworld_(1927_film)" title="Underworld (1927 film)">Underworld</a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-71" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-71"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>71<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>This film is arguably regarded as the first "gangster" movie, to the extent that it portrayed a criminal protagonist as tragic hero destined by fate to meet a violent death. 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."<sup id="cite_ref-72" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-72"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>72<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-73" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-73"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>73<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-SS178_74-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-SS178-74"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>74<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> <i>Underworld</i>, "clinical and Spartan" in its cinematic technique made a significant impression on French filmmakers: <i>Underworld</i> was surrealist filmmaker <a href="/wiki/Luis_Bu%C3%B1uel" title="Luis Buñuel">Luis Buñuel</a>'s favorite film.<sup id="cite_ref-75" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-75"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>75<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>With <i>Underworld</i>, Sternberg demonstrated his "commercial potential" to the studios, delivering an enormous box-office hit and Academy Award winner (for Best Original Story). Paramount provided Sternberg with lavish budgets for his next four films.<sup id="cite_ref-76" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-76"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>76<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Some historians point to <i>Underworld</i> as the first of Sternberg's accommodations to the studio profit system, whereas others note that the film marks the emergence of Sternberg's distinctive personal style.<sup id="cite_ref-77" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-77"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>77<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-78" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-78"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>78<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The movies Sternberg created for Paramount over the next two years – <i><a href="/wiki/The_Last_Command_(1928_film)" title="The Last Command (1928 film)">The Last Command</a></i> (1928), <i><a href="/wiki/The_Drag_Net" title="The Drag Net">The Drag Net</a></i> (1928), <i><a href="/wiki/The_Docks_of_New_York" title="The Docks of New York">The Docks of New York</a></i> (1929) and <i><a href="/wiki/The_Case_of_Lena_Smith" title="The Case of Lena Smith">The Case of Lena Smith</a></i> (1929), would mark "the most prolific period" of his career and establish him as one of the greatest filmmakers of the late silent era.<sup id="cite_ref-79" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-79"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>79<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-80" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-80"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>80<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-81" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-81"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>81<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Contrary to Paramount's expectations, none were very profitable in distribution.<sup id="cite_ref-82" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-82"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>82<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-83" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-83"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>83<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p><i>The Last Command</i> earned high praise among critics and added luster to Paramount's prestige. The film had the added benefit of forging collaborative relations between the director and its Academy Award-winning star <a href="/wiki/Emil_Jannings" title="Emil Jannings">Emil Jannings</a> and producer <a href="/wiki/Erich_Pommer" title="Erich Pommer">Erich Pommer</a>, both temporarily on loan from Paramount's sister studio, <a href="/wiki/UFA_GmbH" title="UFA GmbH">UFA</a> in Germany.<sup id="cite_ref-84" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-84"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>84<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Before embarking on his next feature, Sternberg, at the studio's behest, agreed to "cut down to manageable length" fellow director Erich von Stroheim's <i><a href="/wiki/The_Wedding_March_(1928_film)" title="The Wedding March (1928 film)">The Wedding March</a></i>. Sternberg's willingness to accept the assignment had the unhappy side effect of "destroying" his relationship with von Stroheim.<sup id="cite_ref-85" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-85"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>85<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p><i>The Drag Net</i>, a lost film, is believed to be a sequel to <i>Underworld</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-86" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-86"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>86<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> <i>The Docks of New York</i>, "today the most popular of Sternberg's silent films", combines both spectacle and psychology in a romance set in sordid and brutal environs.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._58_87-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._58-87"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>87<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Of Sternberg's nine films he completed in the silent era, only four are known to exist today in any archive. That Sternberg's output suffers from "lost film syndrome" makes a comprehensive evaluation of his silent oeuvre impossible.<sup id="cite_ref-88" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-88"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>88<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-89" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-89"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>89<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Despite this, Sternberg stands as the great "Romantic artist" of this period in film history.<sup id="cite_ref-90" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-90"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>90<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>A particularly unfortunate loss is that of <i>The Case of Lena Smith</i>, his last silent movie, and described as "Sternberg's most successful attempt at combining a story of meaning and purpose with his very original style."<sup id="cite_ref-91" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-91"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>91<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-92" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-92"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>92<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The film fell victim to the emerging talkie enthusiasm and was largely ignored by American critics, but in Europe "its reputation is still high after decades of obscurity."<sup id="cite_ref-93" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-93"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>93<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._58_87-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._58-87"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>87<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Austrian_Film_Museum" title="Austrian Film Museum">Austrian Film Museum</a> has assembled archival material to reconstruct the film, including a 5-minute print fragment discovered in 2005.<sup id="cite_ref-94" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-94"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>94<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Sound_era:_1929–1935"><span id="Sound_era:_1929.E2.80.931935"></span>Sound era: 1929–1935</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=10" title="Edit section: Sound era: 1929–1935"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Paramount moved quickly to adapt Sternberg's next feature, <i><a href="/wiki/Thunderbolt_(1929_film)" title="Thunderbolt (1929 film)">Thunderbolt</a></i>, for sound release in 1929. An underworld melodrama-musical, its soundtrack employs innovative asynchronous and contrapuntal aural effects, often for comic relief.<sup id="cite_ref-95" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-95"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>95<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-96" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-96"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>96<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> <i>Thunderbolt</i> garnered leading man <a href="/wiki/George_Bancroft_(actor)" title="George Bancroft (actor)">George Bancroft</a> a Best Actor <a href="/wiki/2nd_Academy_Awards" title="2nd Academy Awards">Award nomination</a>, but Sternberg's future with Paramount was precarious due to the long string of commercial disappointments.<sup id="cite_ref-97" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-97"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>97<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Magnum_opus:_The_Blue_Angel:_1930">Magnum opus: <i>The Blue Angel</i>: 1930</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=11" title="Edit section: Magnum opus: The Blue Angel: 1930"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/The_Blue_Angel" title="The Blue Angel">The Blue Angel</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Den_blaa_Engel_(The_Blue_Angel)_(film)_Danish_poster,_Marlene_Dietrich,_Emil_Jannings.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Den_blaa_Engel_%28The_Blue_Angel%29_%28film%29_Danish_poster%2C_Marlene_Dietrich%2C_Emil_Jannings.jpg/220px-Den_blaa_Engel_%28The_Blue_Angel%29_%28film%29_Danish_poster%2C_Marlene_Dietrich%2C_Emil_Jannings.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="320" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Den_blaa_Engel_%28The_Blue_Angel%29_%28film%29_Danish_poster%2C_Marlene_Dietrich%2C_Emil_Jannings.jpg/330px-Den_blaa_Engel_%28The_Blue_Angel%29_%28film%29_Danish_poster%2C_Marlene_Dietrich%2C_Emil_Jannings.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/82/Den_blaa_Engel_%28The_Blue_Angel%29_%28film%29_Danish_poster%2C_Marlene_Dietrich%2C_Emil_Jannings.jpg/440px-Den_blaa_Engel_%28The_Blue_Angel%29_%28film%29_Danish_poster%2C_Marlene_Dietrich%2C_Emil_Jannings.jpg 2x" data-file-width="550" data-file-height="800" /></a><figcaption>A measure of <i>The Blue Angel's</i> European marketing and its "instant international success": <a href="/wiki/Denmark" title="Denmark">Danish</a> movie poster.<sup id="cite_ref-98" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-98"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>98<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-99" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-99"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>99<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup></figcaption></figure> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Blue_Angel_(film)_1930_BW_photo_on_set,_Josef_von_Sternberg_(director),_Emil_Jannings.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/The_Blue_Angel_%28film%29_1930_BW_photo_on_set%2C_Josef_von_Sternberg_%28director%29%2C_Emil_Jannings.jpg/220px-The_Blue_Angel_%28film%29_1930_BW_photo_on_set%2C_Josef_von_Sternberg_%28director%29%2C_Emil_Jannings.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="299" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/The_Blue_Angel_%28film%29_1930_BW_photo_on_set%2C_Josef_von_Sternberg_%28director%29%2C_Emil_Jannings.jpg/330px-The_Blue_Angel_%28film%29_1930_BW_photo_on_set%2C_Josef_von_Sternberg_%28director%29%2C_Emil_Jannings.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/67/The_Blue_Angel_%28film%29_1930_BW_photo_on_set%2C_Josef_von_Sternberg_%28director%29%2C_Emil_Jannings.jpg/440px-The_Blue_Angel_%28film%29_1930_BW_photo_on_set%2C_Josef_von_Sternberg_%28director%29%2C_Emil_Jannings.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1118" data-file-height="1521" /></a><figcaption>On set of <i>The Blue Angel</i>, L to R: Josef von Sternberg and Emil Jannings</figcaption></figure><p> Sternberg was summoned to Berlin by Paramount's sister studio, UFA in 1929 to direct Emil Jannings in his first sound production, <i>The Blue Angel</i>. It would be "the most important film" of Sternberg's career.<sup id="cite_ref-100" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-100"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>100<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Sternberg cast the then little-known <a href="/wiki/Marlene_Dietrich" title="Marlene Dietrich">Marlene Dietrich</a> as Lola Lola, the female lead and nemesis of Jannings character Professor Immanuel Rath, whose passion for the young cabaret singer would reduce him to a "spectacular cuckold."<sup id="cite_ref-101" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-101"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>101<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Dietrich became an international star overnight and followed Sternberg to Hollywood to produce six more collaborations at Paramount.<sup id="cite_ref-102" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-102"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>102<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-103" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-103"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>103<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Film historian <a href="/wiki/Andrew_Sarris" title="Andrew Sarris">Andrew Sarris</a> contends that <i>The Blue Angel</i> is Sternberg's "most brutal and least humorous" work of his oeuvre and yet the one film that the director's "most severe detractors will concede is beyond reproach or ridicule ... <i>The Blue Angel</i> stands up today as Sternberg's most efficient achievement ..."<sup id="cite_ref-104" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-104"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>104<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg's romantic infatuation with his new star created difficulties on and off the set. Jannings strenuously objected to Sternberg's lavish attention to Dietrich's performance, at the elder actor's expense. Indeed, the "tragic irony of <i>The Blue Angel</i>" was "paralleled in real life by the rise of Dietrich and the fall of Jannings" in their respective careers.<sup id="cite_ref-105" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-105"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>105<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Riza von Sternberg, who accompanied her spouse to Berlin, discerned that director and star were sexually involved. When Dietrich arrived in the United States in April 1930, Mrs. von Sternberg personally presented her with $100,000 libel lawsuits for public remarks made by the star that her marriage was failing, and a $500,000 suit for alienation of [Josef] Sternberg's affections. The Sternberg-Dietrich-Royce scandal was "in and out of the papers", but public awareness of the "ugly scenes" was largely concealed by Paramount executives.<sup id="cite_ref-106" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-106"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>106<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-107" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-107"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>107<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> On June 5, 1931, the divorce was finalized providing $25,000 cash settlement to Mrs. Sternberg and a 5-year annual alimony of $1,200. In March 1932, the now divorced Riza Royce dropped her libel and alienation charges against Dietrich.<sup id="cite_ref-108" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-108"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>108<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-109" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-109"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>109<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Sternberg-Dietrich_Hollywood_Collaborations:_1930–1935"><span id="The_Sternberg-Dietrich_Hollywood_Collaborations:_1930.E2.80.931935"></span>The Sternberg-Dietrich Hollywood Collaborations: 1930–1935</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=12" title="Edit section: The Sternberg-Dietrich Hollywood Collaborations: 1930–1935"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Sternberg and Dietrich would unite to make six brilliant and controversial films for Paramount: <i><a href="/wiki/Morocco_(1930_film)" class="mw-redirect" title="Morocco (1930 film)">Morocco</a></i> (1930), <i><a href="/wiki/Dishonored_(film)" title="Dishonored (film)">Dishonored</a></i> (1931), <i><a href="/wiki/Shanghai_Express_(film)" title="Shanghai Express (film)">Shanghai Express</a></i> (1932), <i><a href="/wiki/Blonde_Venus" title="Blonde Venus">Blonde Venus</a></i> (1932), <i><a href="/wiki/The_Scarlet_Empress" title="The Scarlet Empress">The Scarlet Empress</a></i> (1934), and <i><a href="/wiki/The_Devil_Is_a_Woman_(1935_film)" title="The Devil Is a Woman (1935 film)">The Devil is a Woman</a></i> (1935).<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._90_110-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._90-110"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>110<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The stories are typically set in exotic locales including <a href="/wiki/Sahara_Desert" class="mw-redirect" title="Sahara Desert">Saharan Africa</a>, <a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a> Austria, revolutionary China, Imperial Russia, and <a href="/wiki/Fin_de_si%C3%A8cle" title="Fin de siècle">fin-de-siècle</a> Spain.<sup id="cite_ref-111" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-111"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>111<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg's "outrageous <a href="/wiki/Aestheticism" title="Aestheticism">aestheticism</a>" is on full display in these richly stylized works, both in technique and scenario. The actors in various guises represent figures from Sternberg's "emotional biography", the wellspring for his poetic dreamscapes.<sup id="cite_ref-112" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-112"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>112<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Sternberg, largely indifferent to the studio publicity or to his movies' commercial success, enjoyed a degree of control over these pictures that permitted him to conceive and execute these works with Dietrich.<sup id="cite_ref-113" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-113"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>113<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-114" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-114"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>114<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Morocco_(1930)_and_Dishonored_(1931)"><span id="Morocco_.281930.29_and_Dishonored_.281931.29"></span><i>Morocco</i> (1930) and <i>Dishonored</i> (1931)</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=13" title="Edit section: Morocco (1930) and Dishonored (1931)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Morocco_(film)" title="Morocco (film)">Morocco (film)</a></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Dishonored_(film)" title="Dishonored (film)">Dishonored (film)</a></div> <p>Seeking to capitalize on the immense European success of <i>The Blue Angel</i>, though not yet released to American audiences,<sup id="cite_ref-115" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-115"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>115<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-116" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-116"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>116<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Paramount launched the Hollywood production of <i>Morocco</i>, an intrigue-romance starring <a href="/wiki/Gary_Cooper" title="Gary Cooper">Gary Cooper</a>, Dietrich and <a href="/wiki/Adolphe_Menjou" title="Adolphe Menjou">Adolphe Menjou</a>. The all-out promotional campaign declared Dietrich "the woman all <i>women</i> want to see", providing a fascinated public with salacious hints about her private life and adding to the star's glamor and notoriety.<sup id="cite_ref-117" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-117"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>117<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1993._p._32_118-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1993._p._32-118"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>118<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The fan press inserted an erotic component into her collaboration with Sternberg, encouraging <a href="/wiki/Svengali" title="Svengali">Trilby-Svengali</a> analogies. The publicity tended to distract critics from the genuine merits of the five movies that would follow and overshadowing the significance of Sternberg's lifetime cinematic output.<sup id="cite_ref-119" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-119"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>119<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-120" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-120"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>120<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-121" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-121"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>121<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-122" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-122"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>122<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p><i>Morocco</i> serves as Sternberg's exploration of Dietrich's aptitude for conveying onscreen his own obsession with "feminine mystique", a mystique that allowed for a sexual interplay blurring the distinction between male and female gender stereotypes. Sternberg demonstrates his fluency in the visual vocabulary of love: Dietrich dresses in <a href="/wiki/Drag_(clothing)" class="mw-redirect" title="Drag (clothing)">drag</a> and kisses a pretty female; Cooper flourishes a ladies' fan and places a rose behind his ear.<sup id="cite_ref-123" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-123"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>123<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._29-30_124-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._p._29-30-124"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>124<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> In terms of romantic complexity, <i>Morocco</i> "is Sternberg's Hollywood movie <i>par excellence</i>".<sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._29-30_124-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._p._29-30-124"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>124<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The box-office success of <i>Morocco</i> was such that both Sternberg and Dietrich were awarded with contracts for three more films and generous increases in salary. The film earned Academy Award nominations in four categories.<sup id="cite_ref-125" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-125"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>125<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1993._p._32_118-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1993._p._32-118"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>118<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p><i>Dishonored</i>, Sternberg's second Hollywood film, featuring Dietrich opposite <a href="/wiki/Victor_McLaglen" title="Victor McLaglen">Victor McLaglen</a>, was completed before <i>Morocco</i> was released.<sup id="cite_ref-126" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-126"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>126<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> A film of considerable levity but plot-wise one of his slightest works, this espionage-thriller is a sustained romp through the vicissitudes of spy-versus-spy deception and desire.<sup id="cite_ref-127" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-127"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>127<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-128" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-128"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>128<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The feature closes with the melodramatic military execution of Dietrich's Agent X-27 (based on Dutch spy <a href="/wiki/Mata_Hari" title="Mata Hari">Mata Hari</a>), the love-struck <a href="/wiki/Femme_fatale" title="Femme fatale">femme fatale</a>, a scene that balances "gallantry and ghoulishness."<sup id="cite_ref-129" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-129"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>129<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-130" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-130"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>130<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Literary_contretemps_–_An_American_Tragedy:_1931"><span id="Literary_contretemps_.E2.80.93_An_American_Tragedy:_1931"></span>Literary contretemps – <i>An American Tragedy</i>: 1931</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=14" title="Edit section: Literary contretemps – An American Tragedy: 1931"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/An_American_Tragedy_(film)" title="An American Tragedy (film)">An American Tragedy (film)</a></div> <p><i>Dishonored</i> had not met with the studio's profit expectations at the box-office, and Paramount New York executives were struggling to find a vehicle to commercially exploit the "mystique and glamor" with which they had endowed the Sternberg-Dietrich productions.<sup id="cite_ref-131" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-131"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>131<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> While Dietrich was visiting her husband, Rudolf Sieber and their daughter <a href="/wiki/Maria_Riva" title="Maria Riva">Maria Riva</a> in Europe during the winter of 1930–31, Paramount enlisted Sternberg to film an adaption of novelist <a href="/wiki/Theodore_Dreiser" title="Theodore Dreiser">Theodore Dreiser</a>'s novel <i><a href="/wiki/An_American_Tragedy" title="An American Tragedy">An American Tragedy</a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-132" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-132"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>132<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The production was initially under the direction of preeminent Soviet filmmaker <a href="/wiki/Sergei_Eisenstein" title="Sergei Eisenstein">Sergei Eisenstein</a>. His socially deterministic filmic treatment of the novel was rejected by Paramount, and Eisenstein withdrew from the project. Already heavily invested financially in the production, the studio authorized a complete revision of the planned feature.<sup id="cite_ref-133" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-133"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>133<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> While retaining Dreiser's basic plot and dialogue, Sternberg eliminated its contemporary sociological underpinnings to present a tale of a sexually obsessed middle-class youth (<a href="/wiki/Phillips_Holmes" title="Phillips Holmes">Phillips Holmes</a>) whose deceptions lead to the death of a poor factory girl (<a href="/wiki/Sylvia_Sidney" title="Sylvia Sidney">Sylvia Sidney</a>). Dreiser was outraged at Sternberg's failure to adhere to his themes in the adaptation and sued Paramount to stop distribution of the movie, but lost his case.<sup id="cite_ref-134" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-134"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>134<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-135" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-135"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>135<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Images of water abound in the film and serve as a <a href="/wiki/Motif_(narrative)" title="Motif (narrative)">motif</a> signaling Holmes' motivations and fate. The photography by <a href="/wiki/Lee_Garmes" title="Lee Garmes">Lee Garmes</a> invested the scenes with a measure of intelligence and added visual polish to the overall production. Sternberg's role as replacement director curbed his artistic investment in the project. As such, the picture bears little resemblance to his other works of that decade. Sternberg expressed indifference to the mixed critical success it received and banished the picture from his oeuvre.<sup id="cite_ref-136" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-136"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>136<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-137" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-137"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>137<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>When Dietrich returned to Hollywood in April 1931, Sternberg had emerged as a top-ranking director at Paramount and was poised to begin "the richest and most controversial phase of his career." In the next three years he would create four of his greatest films. The first of these was <i>Shanghai Express</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-138" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-138"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>138<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._90_110-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._90-110"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>110<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Shanghai_Express:_1932"><i>Shanghai Express</i>: 1932</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=15" title="Edit section: Shanghai Express: 1932"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Shanghai_Express_(film)" title="Shanghai Express (film)">Shanghai Express (film)</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Marlene_Dietrich_in_Shanghai_Express_(1932)_by_Don_English.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Marlene_Dietrich_in_Shanghai_Express_%281932%29_by_Don_English.png/220px-Marlene_Dietrich_in_Shanghai_Express_%281932%29_by_Don_English.png" decoding="async" width="220" height="275" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Marlene_Dietrich_in_Shanghai_Express_%281932%29_by_Don_English.png/330px-Marlene_Dietrich_in_Shanghai_Express_%281932%29_by_Don_English.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Marlene_Dietrich_in_Shanghai_Express_%281932%29_by_Don_English.png/440px-Marlene_Dietrich_in_Shanghai_Express_%281932%29_by_Don_English.png 2x" data-file-width="2400" data-file-height="3000" /></a><figcaption>The "Dietrich face": more than merely the triangulation of "three lights". Cinematographer Lee Garmes won an Academy Award in his category for <i>Shanghai Express</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-139" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-139"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>139<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup></figcaption></figure> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1224211176"><div class="quotebox pullquote floatright" style="width:30em; ; font-size: 101%; color: #202122;background-color: cornsilk;"> <blockquote class="quotebox-quote left-aligned" style=""> <p>"[T]hat love can be unconditional is a hard truth for American audiences to accept at any time. <a href="/wiki/Great_Depression" title="Great Depression">Depression era</a> audiences found it especially difficult to appreciate Sternberg's Empire of Desire ruled by Marlene Dietrich. If, in fact, <i>Shanghai Express</i> was successful at all, it was because it was completely misunderstood as a mindless adventure." </p> </blockquote> <div style="padding-bottom: 0;"><cite class="right-aligned" style="">Film historian <a href="/wiki/Andrew_Sarris" title="Andrew Sarris">Andrew Sarris</a> – from <i>The Films of Josef von Sternberg (1966</i>)<sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._35_140-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._p._35-140"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>140<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup></cite></div> </div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1224211176"><div class="quotebox pullquote floatright" style="width:30em; ; font-size: 101%; color: #202122;background-color: cornsilk;"> <blockquote class="quotebox-quote left-aligned" style=""> <p>"This is the Shanghai Express. Everybody must talk like a train." </p> </blockquote> <div style="padding-bottom: 0;"><cite class="right-aligned" style=""><i>Josef von Sternberg, when asked why all the actors in the film spoke in an even monotone.</i><sup id="cite_ref-141" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-141"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>141<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup></cite></div> </div> <p>The theme of the work, as in most of Sternberg's films, is "an examination of deception and desire" in a spectacle pitting Dietrich against Clive Brook, a romantic struggle in which neither can satisfactorily prevail.<sup id="cite_ref-142" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-142"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>142<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Sternberg strips the denizens of the train, one-by-one, of their carefully crafted masks to reveal their petty or sordid existences. Dietrich's notoriously enigmatic character, Shanghai Lily, transcends precise analysis but reflects Sternberg's own personal involvement with his star and lover.<sup id="cite_ref-143" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-143"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>143<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Scriptwriter <a href="/wiki/Jules_Furthman" title="Jules Furthman">Jules Furthman</a> famously provided Dietrich with the poignant admission, "It took more than one man to change my name to Shanghai Lily.".<sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._35_140-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._p._35-140"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>140<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg honored the former filmmaker and early mentor <a href="/wiki/%C3%89mile_Chautard" title="Émile Chautard">Émile Chautard</a> by casting him as the bemused Major Lenard.<sup id="cite_ref-144" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-144"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>144<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-145" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-145"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>145<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>With <i>Shanghai Express</i>, Sternberg exhibits complete mastery over every element of his work: décor, photography, sound and acting. <a href="/wiki/Lee_Garmes" title="Lee Garmes">Lee Garmes</a>, who would serve as cinematographer on this suite of films, won an Academy Award, and both Sternberg and the movie were nominated in their categories.<sup id="cite_ref-146" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-146"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>146<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1998._p._499_6-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1998._p._499-6"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Blonde_Venus:_1932"><i>Blonde Venus</i>: 1932</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=16" title="Edit section: Blonde Venus: 1932"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Blonde_Venus" title="Blonde Venus">Blonde Venus</a></div> <p>When Sternberg embarked on his next feature, <i>Blonde Venus</i>, Paramount Pictures' finances were in jeopardy. Profits had plummeted due to a decline in theatre attendance among working class moviegoers. Fearing bankruptcy, the New York executives tightened control over Hollywood film content. Dietrich's heretofore forthright portrayals of <a href="/wiki/Demi-monde" class="mw-redirect" title="Demi-monde">demi-mondes</a> (<i>Dishonored</i>, <i>Shanghai Express</i>) were suspended in favor of a heroine who embraced a degree of American-style domesticity. Producer <a href="/wiki/B._P._Schulberg" title="B. P. Schulberg">B. P. Schulberg</a> was banking on the success of further Sternberg-Dietrich collaborations to help the studio survive the financial downturn.<sup id="cite_ref-147" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-147"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>147<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-148" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-148"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>148<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg's original story for <i>Blonde Venus</i> and the screenplay by Furthman and S.K. Lauren presents a narrative of a fallen woman, with the caveat that she is ultimately forgiven by her long suffering husband. The narrative exhibited the "sordid self-sacrifice" that was <i>de rigueur</i> for Hollywood's top female performers, yet the studio balked at the redemptive denouement.<sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._35_140-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._p._35-140"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>140<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> When Sternberg declined to alter the ending, Paramount put the project on hold and threatened the filmmaker with a lawsuit. Dietrich joined Sternberg in defying the New York executives. Minor adjustments were made that satisfied the studio, but Sternberg's compromises would revert to him after the less than stellar critical and box-office success of the movie.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1993._p._189_149-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1993._p._189-149"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>149<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Paramount's toleration of the duo's defiance was conditioned largely by the considerable profits that they were reaping from <i>Shanghai Express</i>, over $3 million in early distribution.<sup id="cite_ref-150" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-150"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>150<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-151" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-151"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>151<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-152" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-152"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>152<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p><i>Blonde Venus</i> opens with the idealized courtship and marriage of Dietrich and mild-mannered chemist <a href="/wiki/Herbert_Marshall" title="Herbert Marshall">Herbert Marshall</a>. Quickly ensconced as a Brooklyn, New York housewife and burdened with an impish son <a href="/wiki/Dickie_Moore_(actor)" title="Dickie Moore (actor)">Dickie Moore</a>, she is compelled to make herself a mistress to politico and nightclub gangster <a href="/wiki/Cary_Grant" title="Cary Grant">Cary Grant</a> when her husband requires expensive medical treatment for radiation exposure. The plot grows increasingly improbable as Dietrich resurrects her theatrical career that takes to exotic locations around the world – with her little boy in tow.<sup id="cite_ref-153" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-153"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>153<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-154" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-154"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>154<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-155" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-155"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>155<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The movie is ostensibly about the devotion of a mother for her child, a subject that Sternberg uses to dramatize the traumas of his own childhood and his harsh experiences as a transient laborer in his youth.<sup id="cite_ref-156" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-156"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>156<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-157" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-157"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>157<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> With <i>Blonde Venus</i>, Sternberg reached his apogee stylistically. A film of great visual beauty achieved through multiple layers of evocative décor where style displaces and transcends personal characterizations.<sup id="cite_ref-158" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-158"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>158<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-159" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-159"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>159<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Between the highly episodic narrative, disparate locales, and an unimpressive supporting cast, the movie is frequently dismissed by critics.<sup id="cite_ref-160" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-160"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>160<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-161" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-161"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>161<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> <i>Blonde Venus</i><span class="nowrap" style="padding-left:0.1em;">&#39;s</span> <a href="/wiki/Camp_(style)" title="Camp (style)">"camp"</a> designation is attributable in part to the outrageous and extremely stylized "Hot Voodoo" nightclub sequence. Dietrich, the beauty, assumes the role of the beast and emerges from an ape costume.<sup id="cite_ref-162" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-162"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>162<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-163" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-163"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>163<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-164" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-164"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>164<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Paramount's expectations for <i>Blonde Venus</i> were out of proportion to realities of declining theatre attendance. Though not an unprofitable picture, the less than robust critical acclaim weakened the studio's commitment to sustaining further Sternberg-Dietrich creations.<sup id="cite_ref-165" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-165"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>165<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>At odds with Paramount and their individual contracts nearly expired, Sternberg and Dietrich privately conceived of forming an independent production company in Germany. Studio executives were suspicious when Sternberg offered no objections when Dietrich was scheduled to star in director <a href="/wiki/Rouben_Mamoulian" title="Rouben Mamoulian">Rouben Mamoulian</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/The_Song_of_Songs" class="mw-redirect" title="The Song of Songs">The Song of Songs</a></i> (1933) in the final weeks of her term. When Dietrich balked at the assignment, Paramount quickly sued her for potential losses. Courtroom testimony revealed that she was preparing to abscond to Berlin to pursue filmmaking with Sternberg. Paramount prevailed in court, and Dietrich was required to remain in Hollywood and complete the film.<sup id="cite_ref-166" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-166"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>166<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1993._p._188_167-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1993._p._188-167"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>167<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Any hopes for such a venture were dashed when the <a href="/wiki/Nazi_Germany" title="Nazi Germany">National Socialists</a> were ushered into power in January 1933 and Sternberg returned to Hollywood in April 1933.<sup id="cite_ref-168" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-168"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>168<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-169" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-169"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>169<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Abandoning their plans for independent filmmaking, both Sternberg and Dietrich reluctantly signed a two-film contract with the studio on May 9, 1933.<sup id="cite_ref-170" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-170"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>170<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Reacting to Paramount's increasing coolness towards his films and to the general disarray that plagued studio management since 1932, Sternberg prepared to make one of his most monumental movies: <i>The Scarlett Empress</i>, a "relentless excursion into style" that would antagonize Paramount and mark the onset of a distinct phase in his creative output.<sup id="cite_ref-171" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-171"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>171<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="The_Scarlet_Empress:_1934"><i>The Scarlet Empress</i>: 1934</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=17" title="Edit section: The Scarlet Empress: 1934"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/The_Scarlet_Empress" title="The Scarlet Empress">The Scarlet Empress</a></div><figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Scarlet_Empress_(film)_1934_Josef_von_Sternberg,_director._On_set_with_Marlene_Dietrich_as_Sophia.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/The_Scarlet_Empress_%28film%29_1934_Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_director._On_set_with_Marlene_Dietrich_as_Sophia.jpg/220px-The_Scarlet_Empress_%28film%29_1934_Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_director._On_set_with_Marlene_Dietrich_as_Sophia.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="288" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/The_Scarlet_Empress_%28film%29_1934_Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_director._On_set_with_Marlene_Dietrich_as_Sophia.jpg/330px-The_Scarlet_Empress_%28film%29_1934_Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_director._On_set_with_Marlene_Dietrich_as_Sophia.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5f/The_Scarlet_Empress_%28film%29_1934_Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_director._On_set_with_Marlene_Dietrich_as_Sophia.jpg/440px-The_Scarlet_Empress_%28film%29_1934_Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_director._On_set_with_Marlene_Dietrich_as_Sophia.jpg 2x" data-file-width="781" data-file-height="1024" /></a><figcaption>Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich, in the costume of Sophie Frederica, on the set of <i>The Scarlett Empress</i>, 1934</figcaption></figure> <p><i>The Scarlet Empress</i>, an historical drama concerning the rise of <a href="/wiki/Catherine_the_Great" title="Catherine the Great">Catherine the Great</a> of Russia, had been adapted to film on several occasions by American and European directors when Sternberg began organizing the project.<sup id="cite_ref-172" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-172"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>172<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> In this, his penultimate film starring Dietrich, Sternberg abandoned contemporary America as a subject and contrived a fantastical 18th-century Imperial Russia, "grotesque and spectacular", stupefying contemporary audiences with its stylistic excesses.<sup id="cite_ref-173" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-173"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>173<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-174" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-174"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>174<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The narrative follows the rise of the child Sophia "Sophie" Frederica through adolescence to become Empress of Russia, with special emphasis on her sexual awakening and her inexorable sexual and political conquests.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1993._p._188_167-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1993._p._188-167"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>167<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._40_175-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._p._40-175"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>175<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Sternberg's decision to examine the erotic decadence among 18th-century Russian nobility was partly an attempt to blindside censors, as historical dramas <i>ipso facto</i> were granted a measure of decorum and gravity.<sup id="cite_ref-176" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-176"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>176<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-177" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-177"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>177<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The sheer sumptuousness of the sets and décor obscure the allegorical nature of the film: the transformation of the director and star into pawns controlled by the corporate powers that exalt ambition and wealth, "a nightmare vision of the American dream."<sup id="cite_ref-178" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-178"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>178<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-179" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-179"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>179<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The film portrays 18th-century Russian nobility as developmentally arrested and sexually infantile, a disturbed and grotesque portrayal of Sternberg's own childhood experiences, linking eroticism and sadism. 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.<sup id="cite_ref-180" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-180"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>180<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Whereas <i>Blonde Venus</i> portrayed Dietrich as a candidate for mother love, the maternal figures in <i>The Scarlet Empress</i> make a mockery of any pretense to such idealizations.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1993._p._188_167-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1993._p._188-167"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>167<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Dietrich is reduced to a fantastic and helpless <a href="/wiki/Clothes_horse" title="Clothes horse">clothes horse</a>, bereft of any dramatic function.<sup id="cite_ref-181" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-181"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>181<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Despite withholding distribution of the film for eight months, so as not to compete with the recently issued United Artists film <i><a href="/wiki/The_Rise_of_Catherine_the_Great" title="The Rise of Catherine the Great">The Rise of Catherine the Great</a></i> (1934), starring <a href="/wiki/Elisabeth_Bergner" title="Elisabeth Bergner">Elisabeth Bergner</a>, the movie was dismissed by critics and the public. Americans, preoccupied with the challenges of the financial crisis were in no mood for a picture that appeared to be an exercise in self-indulgence.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1993._p._189_149-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1993._p._189-149"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>149<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._121_182-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._121-182"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>182<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._40_175-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._p._40-175"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>175<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The film's conspicuous failure among moviegoers was a blow to Sternberg's professional reputation, recalling his 1926 disaster, <i>A Woman of the Sea</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._121_182-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._121-182"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>182<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-183" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-183"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>183<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg embarked on the final film of his contract knowing that he was finished at Paramount. The studio was undergoing a realignment in management that was the fall of producer Schulberg, a Sternberg stalwart, and the rise of Ernst Lubitsch, which did not bode well for the director.<sup id="cite_ref-184" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-184"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>184<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-185" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-185"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>185<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> As his personal relationship with Dietrich deteriorated, the studio made clear that her professional career would proceed independently of his. With the cynical blessing of incoming production manager <a href="/wiki/Ernst_Lubitsch" title="Ernst Lubitsch">Ernst Lubitsch</a>, Sternberg was given full control over what would be his final film with Marlene Dietrich: <i>The Devil is a Woman</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-186" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-186"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>186<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="The_Devil_is_a_Woman:_1935"><i>The Devil is a Woman</i>: 1935</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=18" title="Edit section: The Devil is a Woman: 1935"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/The_Devil_is_a_Woman_(1935_film)" class="mw-redirect" title="The Devil is a Woman (1935 film)">The Devil is a Woman (1935 film)</a></div> <p><i>The Devil is a Woman</i> is Sternberg's cinematic tribute and confession to his collaborator and muse Marlene Dietrich. In this final tribute he sets forth his reflections on their five-year professional and personal association.<sup id="cite_ref-187" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-187"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>187<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-188" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-188"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>188<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>His key thematic preoccupation is fully articulate here: the spectacle of an individual's conspicuous loss of prestige and authority as the price demanded for surrendering to a sexual obsession.<sup id="cite_ref-189" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-189"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>189<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> To this endeavor Sternberg brought to bear all the sophisticated filmic elements at his disposal. Sternberg's official handling of the photography is a measure of this.<sup id="cite_ref-190" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-190"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>190<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._40_175-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._p._40-175"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>175<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-191" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-191"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>191<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Based on a novel by <a href="/wiki/Pierre_Lou%C3%BFs" title="Pierre Louÿs">Pierre Louÿs</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/The_Woman_and_the_Puppet" title="The Woman and the Puppet">The Woman and the Puppet</a></i> (1908), the drama unfolds in Spain's famous <a href="/wiki/Carnival_of_C%C3%A1diz" title="Carnival of Cádiz">carnival</a> at the end of the 19th century. A <a href="/wiki/Love_triangle" title="Love triangle">love triangle</a> develops pitting the young revolutionary Antonio (<a href="/wiki/Cesar_Romero" title="Cesar Romero">Cesar Romero</a>) against the middle-aged former military officer Don Pasqual (<a href="/wiki/Lionel_Atwill" title="Lionel Atwill">Lionel Atwill</a>) in a contest for the love of the devastatingly beautiful <a href="/wiki/Demimonde" title="Demimonde">demi-mondaine</a> Concha (Dietrich). Despite the gaiety of the setting, the film has a dark, brooding, reflective quality. The contest ends in a duel where Don Pasqual is wounded, perhaps mortally: the denouement is never made explicit.<sup id="cite_ref-192" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-192"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>192<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._40_175-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._p._40-175"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>175<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>More so than any of his previous pictures, Sternberg picked a leading man (Atwill) who is the director's double in more than facial appearance: short stature, stern countenance, proud bearing, verbal mannerisms and immaculate attire. Sternberg has effectively stepped from behind the camera to play opposite Dietrich. This deliberate self-portraiture signals that the film is a submerged commentary on the decline of his career in the movie industry as well as his loss of Dietrich as a lover.<sup id="cite_ref-193" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-193"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>193<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-194" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-194"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>194<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The sharp exchanges between Concha and Pasqual are filled with bitter recriminations.<sup id="cite_ref-195" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-195"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>195<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The players do not emote to convey feeling. Rather, Sternberg carefully applies layer upon layer of décor in front of the lens to create a three-dimensional effect. When an actor steps into this pictorial canvas, the most delicate gesture registers emotion. His outstanding control over the visual integrity is the foundation for much of the eloquence and force of Sternberg's cinema.<sup id="cite_ref-196" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-196"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>196<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-197" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-197"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>197<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The March 1935 premiere of <i>The Devil is a Woman</i> in Hollywood was accompanied by a press statement from Paramount announcing that Sternberg's contract would not be renewed. The director anticipated his termination with his own declaration before the film's release explicitly severing his professional ties with Dietrich, writing "Miss Dietrich and I have progressed as far as possible ... if we continued, we would get into a pattern that would be harmful to both of us."<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._130_198-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._130-198"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>198<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Even with better than expected reviews, <i>The Devil is a Woman</i> cost Sternberg his reputation in the film industry.<sup id="cite_ref-199" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-199"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>199<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Sternberg would never again enjoy the largesse nor the prestige that had been conferred on him at Paramount.<sup id="cite_ref-200" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-200"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>200<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>A postscript to the release of <i>The Devil is a Woman</i> concerns a formal protest issued by the Spanish government protesting the film's purported disparagement of "the Spanish armed forces" and an insult to the character of the Spanish people. The objectionable scenes depict <a href="/wiki/Civil_Guard_(Spain)" title="Civil Guard (Spain)">Civil Guards</a> as inept at controlling carnival merrymakers, and a shot of a policeman consuming an alcoholic beverage in a café. Paramount president <a href="/wiki/Adolph_Zukor" title="Adolph Zukor">Adolph Zukor</a> agreed to suppress the picture in the interest of protecting US-Spain trade agreements – and to protect Paramount film distribution in the country.<sup id="cite_ref-201" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-201"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>201<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Columbia_Pictures:_1935–1936"><span id="Columbia_Pictures:_1935.E2.80.931936"></span>Columbia Pictures: 1935–1936</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=19" title="Edit section: Columbia Pictures: 1935–1936"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The personnel shakeup that followed bankruptcy at Paramount in 1934 prompted an exodus of talent. Two of the refugees, producer Schulberg and screenwriter Furthman, were picked up by the manager-owner of the Columbia Pictures, <a href="/wiki/Harry_Cohn" title="Harry Cohn">Harry Cohn</a>. These two former colleagues sponsored Sternberg's engagement at the low-budget studio for a two-picture contract.<sup id="cite_ref-202" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-202"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>202<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._130_198-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._130-198"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>198<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Crime_and_Punishment:_1935"><i>Crime and Punishment</i>: 1935</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=20" title="Edit section: Crime and Punishment: 1935"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Crime_and_Punishment_(1935_American_film)" title="Crime and Punishment (1935 American film)">Crime and Punishment (1935 American film)</a></div> <p>An adaption of the 19th-century Russian novelist <a href="/wiki/Fyodor_Dostoevsky" title="Fyodor Dostoevsky">Fyodor Dostoevsky</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Crime_and_Punishment" title="Crime and Punishment">Crime and Punishment</a></i> was Sternberg's first project at Columbia, and a mismatch in terms of his aptitudes and interests. Presenting literary masterpieces to the masses was an industry-wide rage during the financially strapped 1930s. As copyrights on these works were generally expired, the studio paid no fees.<sup id="cite_ref-203" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-203"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>203<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg invested Dostoevsky's work with a measure of style, but any attempt to convey the complexity of the author's character analysis was suspended in favor of a straightforward, albeit suspenseless, detective story.<sup id="cite_ref-204" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-204"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>204<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-205" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-205"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>205<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> However uninspired, Sternberg proved an able craftsman, dispelling some of the myths regarding his eccentricities, and the film proved satisfactory to Columbia.<sup id="cite_ref-206" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-206"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>206<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-207" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-207"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>207<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_King_Steps_Out:_1936"><i>The King Steps Out</i>: 1936</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=21" title="Edit section: The King Steps Out: 1936"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/The_King_Steps_Out" title="The King Steps Out">The King Steps Out</a></div> <p>Columbia had high hopes for Sternberg's next feature, <i>The King Steps Out</i>, starring soprano <a href="/wiki/Grace_Moore" title="Grace Moore">Grace Moore</a> and based on <a href="/wiki/Fritz_Kreisler" title="Fritz Kreisler">Fritz Kreisler</a>'s operetta <i>Cissy</i>. A comedy of errors concerning Austrian royalty set in Vienna, the production was undermined by personal and professional discord between opera diva and director. Sternberg found himself unable to identify himself with his leading lady or adapt his style to the demands of operetta.<sup id="cite_ref-208" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-208"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>208<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-209" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-209"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>209<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-210" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-210"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>210<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Wishing to distance himself from the fiasco, Sternberg quickly departed Columbia Pictures after the film's completion. <i>The King Steps Out</i> is the only movie that he insisted be expunged from any retrospective of his work.<sup id="cite_ref-211" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-211"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>211<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the wake of his distressing two-picture sojourn at Columbia Pictures, Sternberg oversaw the construction of a home on his 30-acre (12-hectares) property in the <a href="/wiki/San_Fernando_Valley" title="San Fernando Valley">San Fernando Valley</a> north of Hollywood. Designed by architect <a href="/wiki/Richard_Neutra" title="Richard Neutra">Richard Neutra</a>, the avant-garde structure was built to the director's specifications, featuring a faux-moat, an eight-foot (2.4 meter) exterior steel wall and bullet-proof windows. The siege-like character of this desert retreat reflected Sternberg's apprehensions regarding his professional career, as well as his mania to assert strict control over his identity.<sup id="cite_ref-212" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-212"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>212<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-213" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-213"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>213<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>From 1935 to 1936, Sternberg travelled extensively in the Far East, cataloging his first impressions for future artistic endeavors. During these excursions he made the acquaintance of Japanese film distributor <a href="/wiki/Nagamasa_Kawakita" title="Nagamasa Kawakita">Nagamasa Kawakita</a> – they would collaborate on Sternberg's final movie in 1953. </p><p>In Java Sternberg contracted a life-threatening abdominal infection, requiring his immediate return to Europe for surgery. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="London_Films_–_I,_Claudius:_1937"><span id="London_Films_.E2.80.93_I.2C_Claudius:_1937"></span>London Films – <i>I, Claudius</i>: 1937</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=22" title="Edit section: London Films – I, Claudius: 1937"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/I,_Claudius_(film)" title="I, Claudius (film)">I, Claudius (film)</a></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1224211176"><div class="quotebox pullquote floatright" style="width:30em; ; font-size: 101%; color: #202122;background-color: cornsilk;"> <blockquote class="quotebox-quote left-aligned" style=""> <p><b>The Epic That Never Was</b> </p><p><i>The Epic That Never Was,</i> a 1966 <a href="/wiki/BBC" title="BBC">British Broadcasting Corporation</a> documentary by London Films, directed by Bill Duncalf, attempts to address the making of the unfinished <i>I, Claudius</i> and the reasons for its failure. </p><p>The documentary includes interviews with surviving members from the cast and crew, as well as director Josef von Sternberg. Contrary to the revised version of the documentary, the Sternberg-Laughton quarrels were not a central factor in the film's undoing. Despite objections from Merle Oberon, the film was not so far advanced in production that she could not be replaced; a substitute actress appears to have been a feasible option.<sup id="cite_ref-214" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-214"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>214<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The material from the final edits would reveal that Sternberg "cut in the camera", i.e. he did not experiment on the set with multiple camera configurations that would provide raw material for the cutting room. On the contrary, he filmed each frame as he wished it to appear on the screen.<sup id="cite_ref-215" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-215"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>215<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-216" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-216"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>216<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-217" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-217"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>217<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Film historian <a href="/wiki/Andrew_Sarris" title="Andrew Sarris">Andrew Sarris</a> offers this assessment: "Sternberg emerges from the documentary as an undeniable force in the process of creation, and even his enemies confirm his artistic presence in every foot of the film he shot."<sup id="cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._35_140-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Sarris,_1966._p._35-140"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>140<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> </blockquote> </div> <p>While convalescing in London, the 42-year-old director, his creative powers still fully intact, was approached by <a href="/wiki/London_Films" title="London Films">London Films</a>' <a href="/wiki/Alexander_Korda" title="Alexander Korda">Alexander Korda</a>. The British movie impresario asked Sternberg to film novelist and poet <a href="/wiki/Robert_Graves" title="Robert Graves">Robert Graves</a>'s biographical account of Roman Emperor <a href="/wiki/Claudius" title="Claudius">Claudius</a>. Already in pre-production, Marlene Dietrich had intervened on Sternberg's behalf to see that Korda selected her former collaborator rather than the British director <a href="/wiki/William_Cameron_Menzies" title="William Cameron Menzies">William Cameron Menzies</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-218" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-218"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>218<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Claudius as conceived by Graves is "a Sternbergian figure of classic proportions" possessing all the elements for a great film. Played by <a href="/wiki/Charles_Laughton" title="Charles Laughton">Charles Laughton</a>, Claudius is an aging, erudite and unwitting successor to the Emperor <a href="/wiki/Caligula" title="Caligula">Caligula</a>. When thrust into power, he initially governs upon the precepts of his heretofore virtuous life. As emperor, he warms to his tasks as a social reformer and military commander. When his young wife, Messalina (<a href="/wiki/Merle_Oberon" title="Merle Oberon">Merle Oberon</a>) proves unfaithful while Claudius is away campaigning, he launches his armies against Rome and signs her death warrant. Proclaimed a living god, the now dehumanized and megalomaniacal Claudius meets his tragic fate: to rule his empire utterly alone. The dual themes of virtue corrupted by power, and the cruel paradox that degradation must precede self-empowerment were immensely appealing to Sternberg both personally and artistically.<sup id="cite_ref-219" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-219"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>219<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-220" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-220"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>220<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Korda was eager to get the production underway, as Charles Laughton's contract would likely expire during shooting.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._139-140_221-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._139-140-221"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>221<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Korda had already assembled a talented cast and crew when Sternberg assumed his directorial duties in January 1937. The Austrian-American injected a measure of discipline into the London Film's <a href="/wiki/Denham_Film_Studios" title="Denham Film Studios">Denham studio</a>, an indication of the seriousness with which Sternberg approached this ambitious project.<sup id="cite_ref-222" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-222"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>222<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-223" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-223"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>223<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> When shooting commenced in mid-February Sternberg, a martinet who was prone to reducing his performers "to mere details of décor", soon clashed with Laughton, London Film's Academy Award-winning star.<sup id="cite_ref-224" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-224"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>224<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-225" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-225"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>225<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>As a performer, Laughton required the active intervention of the director to consummate a role – "a midwife" according to Korda. Short of this he could be sullen and intransigent.<sup id="cite_ref-226" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-226"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>226<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg, who had a clear insight cinematically and emotionally as to the Claudius he wished to create, struggled with Laughton in frequent "artistic arguments". Suffering under Sternberg's high-handedness, the actor announced five weeks into the filming that he would be departing London Film when his contract expired on April 21, 1937. Korda, now under pressure to expedite the production, discreetly sounded Sternberg on the film's likely completion date. With only half the picture in the can, an exasperated Sternberg exploded, declaring that he was engaged in an artistic endeavor, not a race to a deadline.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._139-140_221-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._139-140-221"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>221<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>On March 16, with growing personnel animosities and looming cost overruns, actress Merle Oberon was seriously injured in an automobile accident. Though expected to recover quickly, Korda seized upon the mishap as a pretext to terminate what he had concluded was an ill-fated venture.<sup id="cite_ref-227" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-227"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>227<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-228" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-228"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>228<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The film negative and prints were placed into storage at Denham Studio and London Films collected sizable insurance compensation.<sup id="cite_ref-229" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-229"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>229<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The greatest share of misfortune accrued to Sternberg. The surviving film sequences suggest that <i>I, Claudius</i> might have been a genuinely great work. When production was aborted, Sternberg lost his last opportunity to reassert his status as a top-rung filmmaker.<sup id="cite_ref-230" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-230"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>230<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-231" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-231"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>231<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The collapse of the London Film production was not without its impact on Sternberg. He is reported to have checked into Charring Cross Psychiatric Unit in the aftermath of the shoot.<sup id="cite_ref-232" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-232"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>232<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Sternberg's persistent desire to find work kept him in Europe from 1937 to 1938. </p><p>He approached Czech soprano <a href="/wiki/Jarmila_Novotn%C3%A1" title="Jarmila Novotná">Jarmila Novotná</a> as to her availability to star in an adaptation of <a href="/wiki/Franz_Werfel" title="Franz Werfel">Franz Werfel</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/The_Forty_Days_of_Musa_Dagh" title="The Forty Days of Musa Dagh">The Forty Days of Musa Dagh</a></i>, but she demurred. Reviving their mutual interest in playwright <a href="/wiki/Luigi_Pirandello" title="Luigi Pirandello">Luigi Pirandello</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Six_Characters_in_Search_of_an_Author" title="Six Characters in Search of an Author">Six Characters in Search of an Author</a></i>, Sternberg and director <a href="/wiki/Max_Reinhardt" title="Max Reinhardt">Max Reinhardt</a> attempted to obtain the rights but the cost was prohibitive.<sup id="cite_ref-233" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-233"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>233<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>At the end of 1937, Sternberg arranged for Austrian financing to film a version of <i><a href="/wiki/Germinal_(novel)" title="Germinal (novel)">Germinal</a></i> by <a href="/wiki/%C3%89mile_Zola" title="Émile Zola">Émile Zola</a>, successfully acquiring <a href="/wiki/Hilde_Krahl" title="Hilde Krahl">Hilde Krahl</a> and <a href="/wiki/Jean-Louis_Barrault" title="Jean-Louis Barrault">Jean-Louis Barrault</a> for the lead roles. Final preparations were underway when Sternberg collapsed due to a relapse of the illness he had contracted in Java. While he was convalescing in London, <a href="/wiki/Anschluss" title="Anschluss">Germany invaded Austria</a> and the project had to be abandoned. Sternberg returned to his home in California to recover but found he had developed a chronic heart condition that would plague him for his remaining years.<sup id="cite_ref-234" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-234"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>234<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="M-G-M_redux:_1938–1939"><span id="M-G-M_redux:_1938.E2.80.931939"></span>M-G-M redux: 1938–1939</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=23" title="Edit section: M-G-M redux: 1938–1939"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In October 1938, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer asked Sternberg to finish up a few scenes for departing French director <a href="/wiki/Julien_Duvivier" title="Julien Duvivier">Julien Duvivier</a>'s <a href="/wiki/The_Great_Waltz_(1938_film)" title="The Great Waltz (1938 film)"><i>The Great Waltz</i></a>. His association with M-G-M twelve years previously had ended in an abrupt departure. After completing that simple assignment, the studio engaged Sternberg for a one-movie contract to direct a largely pre-packaged vehicle for Austrian-born <a href="/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr" title="Hedy Lamarr">Hedy Lamarr</a>, the recent star of <i><a href="/wiki/Algiers_(1938_film)" title="Algiers (1938 film)">Algiers</a></i>. Metro was motivated by Sternberg's success with Marlene Dietrich at Paramount, anticipating that he would instill some warmth in Lamarr's screen image.<sup id="cite_ref-235" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-235"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>235<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-236" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-236"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>236<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg worked on <a href="/wiki/I_Take_This_Woman_(1940_film)" title="I Take This Woman (1940 film)"><i>New York Cinderella</i></a> for little more than a week and resigned. The movie was completed by <a href="/wiki/W._S._Van_Dyke" title="W. S. Van Dyke">W. S. Van Dyke</a> as <i>I Take This Woman</i> in 1940. The feature was panned by critics.<sup id="cite_ref-237" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-237"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>237<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-238" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-238"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>238<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg returned to the crime drama, a genre he had created in the silent era, in order to fulfill his contract to M-G-M: <i>Sergeant Madden</i>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Sergeant_Madden:_1939"><i>Sergeant Madden</i>: 1939</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=24" title="Edit section: Sergeant Madden: 1939"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Sergeant_Madden" title="Sergeant Madden">Sergeant Madden</a></div> <p>A paternalistic patrolman (<a href="/wiki/Wallace_Beery" title="Wallace Beery">Wallace Beery</a>) rises through the ranks to become sergeant. As father he presides over a blended family of natural and adopted children: a biological son (<a href="/wiki/Alan_Curtis_(American_actor)" title="Alan Curtis (American actor)">Alan Curtis</a>) and adopted children (<a href="/wiki/Tom_Brown_(actor)" title="Tom Brown (actor)">Tom Brown</a> and <a href="/wiki/Laraine_Day" title="Laraine Day">Laraine Day</a>). After the natural son marries his "sister", he turns to crime and dies in a police shootout, in which Beery participates. The adopted and dutiful son emulates his father to become a good cop and marries his deceased brother's wife.<sup id="cite_ref-239" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-239"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>239<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>The film is notable in that the theme and style strongly resemble German films of the post-WWI period. Thematically, the precept that social duty is superior to family loyalty was commonplace in German literature and film. In particular, the spectacle of an adopted son displacing an interior offspring in a test of physical and moral strength thus proves his worth to society. The central conflict in <i>Sergeant Madden</i> recounts the natural son (Curtis) engages in mortal combat with a powerful father (Beery), bears parallels to Sternberg's boyhood struggles with his tyrannical father Moses.<sup id="cite_ref-240" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-240"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>240<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-241" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-241"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>241<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Stylistically, Sternberg's film techniques mimic the dark, gray atmosphere of the <a href="/wiki/German_Expressionist_film" class="mw-redirect" title="German Expressionist film">German Expressionist films</a> of the 1920s. The minor characters in <i>Sergeant Madden</i> appear to have been recruited from the films of <a href="/wiki/F._W._Murnau" title="F. W. Murnau">F. W. Murnau</a>. Despite some resistance from the bombastic Beery, Sternberg coaxed a relatively restrained performance that recalls <a href="/wiki/Emil_Jannings" title="Emil Jannings">Emil Jannings</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-242" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-242"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>242<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-243" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-243"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>243<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="United_Artists_redux_–_1940–1941"><span id="United_Artists_redux_.E2.80.93_1940.E2.80.931941"></span>United Artists redux – 1940–1941</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=25" title="Edit section: United Artists redux – 1940–1941"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>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: <i>The Shanghai Gesture</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-244" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-244"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>244<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Shanghai_Gesture:_1941">Shanghai Gesture: 1941</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=26" title="Edit section: Shanghai Gesture: 1941"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Shanghai_Gesture" class="mw-redirect" title="Shanghai Gesture">Shanghai Gesture</a></div> <p>German producer <a href="/wiki/Arnold_Pressburger" title="Arnold Pressburger">Arnold Pressburger</a>, an early associate of the director, held the rights to a <a href="/wiki/John_Colton_(screenwriter)" title="John Colton (screenwriter)">John Colton</a> play entitled <i>The Shanghai Gesture</i> (1926). This "sensational" work surveyed the "decadent and depraved" denizens of a Shanghai brothel and opium den operated by a "Mother Goddam". Colton's lurid tale presented difficulties to adaption in 1940 when strictures imposed by the <a href="/wiki/Motion_Picture_Production_Code" class="mw-redirect" title="Motion Picture Production Code">Hays Office</a> were in full force. Salacious behavior and depictions of drug use, including opium, were forbidden, leading censors to disqualify more than thirty efforts to transfer <i>The Shanghai Gesture</i> to the screen.<sup id="cite_ref-245" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-245"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>245<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Veteran screenwriter Jules Furthman with assistance from <a href="/wiki/Karl_Vollm%C3%B6ller" title="Karl Vollmöller">Karl Vollmöller</a> and Géza Herczeg formulated a bowdlerized version which passed muster. Sternberg made some additions to the scenario and agreed to film it. <a href="/wiki/Paul_Ivano" title="Paul Ivano">Paul Ivano</a>, Sternberg's cinematographer on <i><a href="/wiki/A_Woman_of_the_Sea" title="A Woman of the Sea">A Woman of the Sea</a></i> was enlisted as cameraman.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._154_246-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._154-246"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>246<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-247" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-247"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>247<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>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 <a href="/wiki/Singapore_Sling" class="mw-redirect" title="Singapore Sling">Gin-Sling</a>", rather than the impious "Mother Goddam" in the Colton's original. Gin-Sling's <a href="/wiki/Half-caste" title="Half-caste">half-caste</a> daughter <a href="/wiki/Gene_Tierney" title="Gene Tierney">Gene Tierney</a> – the result of a coupling between Gin-Sling and British official Sir Guy Charteris <a href="/wiki/Walter_Huston" title="Walter Huston">Walter Huston</a> – is the product of European finishing schools rather than a courtesan raised in her mother's whore house. The degradation of daughter who sports the nickname <a href="/wiki/Opium" title="Opium">"Poppy"</a> is no less degraded by her privileged upbringing.<sup id="cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._154_246-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._154-246"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>246<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-248" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-248"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>248<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg augmented the original story by inserting two compelling characters: Doctor Omar (<a href="/wiki/Victor_Mature" title="Victor Mature">Victor Mature</a>) and Dixie Pomeroy (<a href="/wiki/Phyllis_Brooks" title="Phyllis Brooks">Phyllis Brooks</a>). Dr. Omar – "Doctor of Nothing" – is a complacent <a href="/wiki/Sybaris" title="Sybaris">sybarite</a> impressive only to cynical casino regulars. His scholarly epithet has no more substance than Sternberg's "von" and the director humorously exposes the pretense.<sup id="cite_ref-249" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-249"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>249<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> The figure of Dixie, a former Brooklyn chorus girl contrasts with Tierney's continental beauty and this all-American commoner takes the measure of the banal Omar. Poppy, lacking "the humor, intelligence and an appreciation of the absurd" succumbs to the voluptuous Omar – and Sternberg cinematically reveals the absurdity of the relationship. </p><p>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. Charteris obsessive rectitude blinds him to the terrible irony of his daughter's murder.<sup id="cite_ref-250" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-250"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>250<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p><i>The Shanghai Gesture</i> is a tour-de-force with Sternberg's sheer "physical expressiveness" of his characters that conveys both emotion and motivation. In Freudian terms, the gestures serve as symbols of "impotence, castration, onanism and transvestism" revealing Sternberg's obsession with the human condition.<sup id="cite_ref-251" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-251"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>251<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Department_of_War_Information_–_&quot;The_American_Scene&quot;:_1943–1945"><span id="Department_of_War_Information_.E2.80.93_.22The_American_Scene.22:_1943.E2.80.931945"></span>Department of War Information – "<i>The American Scene</i>": 1943–1945</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=27" title="Edit section: Department of War Information – &quot;The American Scene&quot;: 1943–1945"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>On July 29, 1943, the 49-year-old Sternberg married Jeanne Annette McBride, his 21-year-old administrative assistant at his home in North Hollywood in a private ceremony.<sup id="cite_ref-252" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-252"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>252<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="The_Town:_1943"><i>The Town</i>: 1943</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=28" title="Edit section: The Town: 1943"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/The_Town_(1945_film)" title="The Town (1945 film)">The Town (1945 film)</a></div> <p>In the midst of <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a>, Sternberg, in a civilian capacity, was asked by the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Office_of_War_Information" title="United States Office of War Information">United States Office of War Information</a> to make a single film, a one-reel documentary for the series entitled <i><a href="/wiki/American_propaganda_during_World_War_II" title="American propaganda during World War II">The American Scene</a></i>, a domestic version of the combat and recruitment oriented <i><a href="/wiki/Why_We_Fight" title="Why We Fight">Why We Fight</a></i>. Whereas his service with the <a href="/wiki/United_States_Army_Signal_Corps" title="United States Army Signal Corps">Signal Corps</a> in <a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a> included filming shorts demonstrating the proper use of fixed bayonets, this 11-minute documentary <i>The Town</i> is a portrait of a <a href="/wiki/Madison,_Indiana" title="Madison, Indiana">small American community in the Midwest</a> with emphasis on the cultural contributions of its European immigrants.<sup id="cite_ref-253" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-253"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>253<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-254" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-254"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>254<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-255" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-255"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>255<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-256" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-256"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>256<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Aesthetically, this short documentary exhibits none of Sternberg's typical stylistic elements. In this respect it is the only purely realistic work he ever created. It is executed, nonetheless, with perfect ease and efficiency, and his "sense of composition and continuity" is strikingly executed. <i>The Town</i> was translated into 32 languages and distributed overseas in 1945.<sup id="cite_ref-257" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-257"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>257<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-258" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-258"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>258<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-259" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-259"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>259<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>At the end of the war, Sternberg was hired by producer <a href="/wiki/David_O._Selznick" title="David O. Selznick">David O. Selznick</a>, an admirer of the director, to serve as a roving advisor and assistant on the film <i><a href="/wiki/Duel_in_the_Sun_(film)" title="Duel in the Sun (film)">Duel in the Sun</a></i>, starring <a href="/wiki/Gregory_Peck" title="Gregory Peck">Gregory Peck</a>. Attached to the unit overseen by filmmaker <a href="/wiki/King_Vidor" title="King Vidor">King Vidor</a>, Sternberg pitched into any task he was assigned with alacrity. Sternberg continued to seek a sponsor for a highly personal project entitled <i>The Seven Bad Years</i>, a journey into self-analysis concerning his childhood and its ramifications for his adult life. When no commercial backing materialized, Sternberg abandoned hopes for support from Hollywood and returned to his home in <a href="/wiki/Weehawken,_New_Jersey" title="Weehawken, New Jersey">Weehawken, New Jersey</a>, in 1947.<sup id="cite_ref-260" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-260"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>260<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="RKO_Pictures:_1949–1952"><span id="RKO_Pictures:_1949.E2.80.931952"></span>RKO Pictures: 1949–1952</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=29" title="Edit section: RKO Pictures: 1949–1952"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>For two years Sternberg resided at Weehawken, unemployed and in semi-retirement. He married Meri Otis Wilmer in 1948 and soon had a child and a family to support.<sup id="cite_ref-261" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-261"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>261<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 1949, screenwriter Jules Furthman, now a co-producer for <a href="/wiki/Howard_Hughes" title="Howard Hughes">Howard Hughes</a>' RKO studios in Hollywood, nominated Sternberg to film a color feature. Oddly, Hughes demanded a film test from the 55-year-old director. Sternberg dutifully submitted a demonstration of his skills and RKO, satisfied, presented him with a two-picture contract. In 1950, he began filming the <a href="/wiki/Cold_War_(1947%E2%80%931953)" class="mw-redirect" title="Cold War (1947–1953)">Cold War</a>-era <i>Jet Pilot</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-262" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-262"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>262<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Jet_Pilot:_1951"><i>Jet Pilot</i>: 1951</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=30" title="Edit section: Jet Pilot: 1951"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Jet_Pilot_(film)" title="Jet Pilot (film)">Jet Pilot (film)</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Jet_Pilot_(film)_1951._Josef_von_Sternberg,_director._On_set_publicity_photo,_Janet_Leigh,_Sternberg.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Jet_Pilot_%28film%29_1951._Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_director._On_set_publicity_photo%2C_Janet_Leigh%2C_Sternberg.jpg/220px-Jet_Pilot_%28film%29_1951._Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_director._On_set_publicity_photo%2C_Janet_Leigh%2C_Sternberg.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="275" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Jet_Pilot_%28film%29_1951._Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_director._On_set_publicity_photo%2C_Janet_Leigh%2C_Sternberg.jpg/330px-Jet_Pilot_%28film%29_1951._Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_director._On_set_publicity_photo%2C_Janet_Leigh%2C_Sternberg.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Jet_Pilot_%28film%29_1951._Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_director._On_set_publicity_photo%2C_Janet_Leigh%2C_Sternberg.jpg/440px-Jet_Pilot_%28film%29_1951._Josef_von_Sternberg%2C_director._On_set_publicity_photo%2C_Janet_Leigh%2C_Sternberg.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1278" data-file-height="1600" /></a><figcaption>Janet Leigh and Sternberg on the set of <i>Jet Pilot</i></figcaption></figure> <p>As a precondition, Sternberg agreed to deliver a conventional movie that focused on aviation themes and hardware, avoiding the erotic embellishments he was famous for.<sup id="cite_ref-263" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-263"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>263<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> In a Furthman script that resembled a comic-book narrative, a Soviet pilot-spy <a href="/wiki/Janet_Leigh" title="Janet Leigh">Janet Leigh</a> lands her <a href="/wiki/List_of_Mikoyan_and_MiG_aircraft" title="List of Mikoyan and MiG aircraft">Mig fighter</a> at a USAF base in Alaska, posing as defector. Suspicious, the base commander assigns American pilot <a href="/wiki/John_Wayne" title="John Wayne">John Wayne</a> to play counter-spy. Mutual respect leads to love between the two aviators and when Leigh is denied asylum, Wayne weds her to avoid Leigh's deportation. The USAF sends them to Russia to spread fraudulent intelligence, but upon his return to the air base Wayne is suspected of acting as a double agent and scheduled for <a href="/wiki/Brainwashing" title="Brainwashing">brainwashing</a>. Leigh arranges for their escape to Austria.<sup id="cite_ref-264" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-264"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>264<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Janet Leigh is placed at the visual center of the film. She is permitted a measure of eroticism that contrasts sharply and humorously with the All-American pretensions of the Furthman script.<sup id="cite_ref-265" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-265"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>265<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-266" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-266"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>266<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Sternberg stealthily inserted some subversive elements in this paean of cold war militarism. During the airborne refueling scenes (anticipating <a href="/wiki/Stanley_Kubrick" title="Stanley Kubrick">Stanley Kubrick</a>'s <i><a href="/wiki/Dr._Strangelove" title="Dr. Strangelove">Dr. Strangelove</a>)</i>, the fighter jets take on the persona and attributes of Leigh and Wayne.<sup id="cite_ref-267" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-267"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>267<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg wrapped up shooting in merely seven weeks, but the picture was fated to undergo innumerable permutations until it finally enjoyed distribution – and a moderate commercial success – by Universal Studios six years later in September 1957.<sup id="cite_ref-268" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-268"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>268<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>With <i>Jet Pilot</i> completed, Sternberg immediately turned to his second film for RKO: <i>Macao</i>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Macao:_1952"><i>Macao</i>: 1952</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=31" title="Edit section: Macao: 1952"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Macao_(film)" title="Macao (film)">Macao (film)</a></div> <p>To Sternberg's discomfiture, RKO maintained strict control when filming commenced in September 1950. The thriller is set in the exotic locale of <a href="/wiki/History_of_Macau" title="History of Macau">Macao</a>, at the time a Portuguese colony on the coast of China. American drifters <a href="/wiki/Robert_Mitchum" title="Robert Mitchum">Robert Mitchum</a> and <a href="/wiki/Gold_digger" title="Gold digger">gold-digger</a> <a href="/wiki/Jane_Russell" title="Jane Russell">Jane Russell</a> become involved in an intrigue to lure corrupt casino owner and jewel smuggler <a href="/wiki/Brad_Dexter" title="Brad Dexter">Brad Dexter</a> offshore into international waters so he can be arrested by US lawman <a href="/wiki/William_Bendix" title="William Bendix">William Bendix</a>. Mistaken identities put Mitchum in danger and murders ensue, ending in a dramatic fight scene.<sup id="cite_ref-269" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-269"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>269<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Cinematically, the only evidence that Sternberg directed the picture is where he managed to impose his stylistic signature: a waterfront chase that features hanging fish nets; a feather pillow exploding in an electric fan.<sup id="cite_ref-270" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-270"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>270<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-271" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-271"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>271<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> His handling of the climactic fight between Mitchum and Dexter was deemed deficient by producers. Mastery over action scenes predictably eluded Sternberg and director <a href="/wiki/Nicholas_Ray" title="Nicholas Ray">Nicholas Ray</a> (uncredited) was summoned to re-shoot the sequence in the final stages of production.<sup id="cite_ref-272" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-272"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>272<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> Contrary to Hughes's inclination to retain Sternberg as a director at RKO, no new contract was forthcoming. </p><p>Persevering in his efforts to launch an independent project, Sternberg obtained an option on novelist <a href="/wiki/Shelby_Foote" title="Shelby Foote">Shelby Foote</a>'s tale of sin and redemption, <i>Follow Me Down</i>, but failed to obtain funding. </p><p>Visiting New York in 1951, Sternberg renewed his friendship with Japanese producer <a href="/wiki/Nagamasa_Kawakita" title="Nagamasa Kawakita">Nagamasa Kawakita</a>, and they agreed to pursue a joint production in Japan. From this alliance would emerge Sternberg's most personal film – and his last: <i><a href="/wiki/Anatahan_(film)" title="Anatahan (film)">The Saga of Anahatan</a></i>.<sup id="cite_ref-273" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-273"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>273<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-274" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-274"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>274<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Later_career">Later career</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=32" title="Edit section: Later career"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Fun_in_a_Chinese_Laundry_cover_art_(1988).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/82/Fun_in_a_Chinese_Laundry_cover_art_%281988%29.jpg/220px-Fun_in_a_Chinese_Laundry_cover_art_%281988%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="340" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/82/Fun_in_a_Chinese_Laundry_cover_art_%281988%29.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="249" data-file-height="385" /></a><figcaption>1988 reissue of <i>Fun in a Chinese Laundry</i>, Macmillian Inc.</figcaption></figure> <p>Between 1959 and 1963, Sternberg taught a course on film aesthetics at the <a href="/wiki/University_of_California,_Los_Angeles" title="University of California, Los Angeles">University of California, Los Angeles</a>, based on his own works. His students included undergraduate <a href="/wiki/Jim_Morrison" title="Jim Morrison">Jim Morrison</a> and graduate student <a href="/wiki/Ray_Manzarek" title="Ray Manzarek">Ray Manzarek</a>, who went on to form the rock group <a href="/wiki/The_Doors" title="The Doors">The Doors</a> shortly after receiving their respective degrees in 1965. The group recorded songs referring to Sternberg, with Manzarek later characterizing Sternberg as "perhaps the greatest single influence on The Doors."<sup id="cite_ref-275" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-275"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>275<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>When not working in California, Sternberg lived in a house that he built for himself in <a href="/wiki/Weehawken,_New_Jersey" title="Weehawken, New Jersey">Weehawken, New Jersey</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-276" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-276"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>276<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-277" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-277"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>277<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> He collected <a href="/wiki/Contemporary_art" title="Contemporary art">contemporary art</a> and was also a <a href="/wiki/Philatelist" class="mw-redirect" title="Philatelist">philatelist</a>, and he developed an interest in the Chinese postal system which led to him studying the Chinese language.<sup id="cite_ref-varobit_278-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-varobit-278"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>278<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> He was often a juror at film festivals.<sup id="cite_ref-varobit_278-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-varobit-278"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>278<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>Sternberg wrote an autobiography, <i>Fun in a Chinese Laundry</i> (1965); the title was drawn from an early film comedy. <i><a href="/wiki/Variety_(magazine)" title="Variety (magazine)">Variety</a></i> described it as a "bitter reflection on how a master artisan can be ignored and bypassed by an art form to which he had contributed so much."<sup id="cite_ref-varobit_278-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-varobit-278"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>278<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> He had a <a href="/wiki/Myocardial_infarction" title="Myocardial infarction">heart attack</a> and was admitted to <a href="/wiki/Midway_Hospital_Medical_Center" class="mw-redirect" title="Midway Hospital Medical Center">Midway Hospital Medical Center</a> in Hollywood and died within a week on December 22, 1969, aged 75.<sup id="cite_ref-varobit_278-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-varobit-278"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>278<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-279" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-279"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>279<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> He was interred in the <a href="/wiki/Westwood_Village_Memorial_Park_Cemetery" class="mw-redirect" title="Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery">Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery</a> in <a href="/wiki/Westwood,_Los_Angeles,_California" class="mw-redirect" title="Westwood, Los Angeles, California">Westwood</a>, <a href="/wiki/California" title="California">California</a> near several film studios.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">&#91;<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (May 2018)">citation needed</span></a></i>&#93;</sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Comments_by_contemporaries">Comments by contemporaries</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=33" title="Edit section: Comments by contemporaries"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Scottish-American screenwriter <a href="/wiki/Aeneas_MacKenzie" title="Aeneas MacKenzie">Aeneas MacKenzie</a>: "To understand what Sternberg is attempting to do, one must first appreciate that he imposes the limitations of the visual upon himself: he refuses to obtain any effect whatsoever save by means of pictorial composition. That is the fundamental distinction between von Sternberg and all other directors. Stage acting he declines, cinema in its conventional aspect he despises as mere mechanics, and dialogue he employs primarily for its value as integrated sound. The screen is his medium – not the camera. His purpose is to reveal the emotional significance of a subject by a series of magnificent canvases".<sup id="cite_ref-280" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-280"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>280<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>American film actress and dancer <a href="/wiki/Louise_Brooks" title="Louise Brooks">Louise Brooks</a>: "Sternberg, with his detachment, could look at a woman and say 'this is beautiful about her and I'll leave it ... and this is ugly about her and I'll eliminate it'. Take away the bad and leave what is beautiful so she's complete ... He was the greatest director of women that ever, ever was".<sup id="cite_ref-281" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-281"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>281<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>American actor <a href="/wiki/Edward_Arnold_(actor)" title="Edward Arnold (actor)">Edward Arnold</a>: "It may be true that [von Sternberg] is a destroyer of whatever egotism an actor possesses, and that he crushes the individuality of those he directs in pictures ... the first days filming <i><a href="/wiki/Crime_and_Punishment_(1935_American_film)" title="Crime and Punishment (1935 American film)">Crime and Punishment</a></i> ... I had the feeling through the whole production of the picture that he wanted to break me down ... to destroy my individuality ... Probably anyone working with Sternberg over a long period would become used to his idiosyncrasies. Whatever his methods, he got the best he could out of his actors ... I consider that part of the Inspector General one [of] the best I have ever done in the talkies".<sup id="cite_ref-282" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-282"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>282<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p><p>American film critic <a href="/wiki/Andrew_Sarris" title="Andrew Sarris">Andrew Sarris</a>: "Sternberg resisted the heresy of acting autonomy to the very end of his career, and that resistance is very likely one of the reasons his career was foreshortened".<sup id="cite_ref-283" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-283"><span class="cite-bracket">&#91;</span>283<span class="cite-bracket">&#93;</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Filmography">Filmography</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=34" title="Edit section: Filmography"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Silent_films">Silent films</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=35" title="Edit section: Silent films"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Salvation_Hunters" title="The Salvation Hunters">The Salvation Hunters</a></i> (1925)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Exquisite_Sinner" title="The Exquisite Sinner">The Exquisite Sinner</a></i> (1926, lost)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/A_Woman_of_the_Sea" title="A Woman of the Sea">A Woman of the Sea</a></i> (1926, also known as <i>The Sea Gull</i> or <i>Sea Gulls</i> or <i>The Woman who loved once</i>, lost)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Underworld_(1927_film)" title="Underworld (1927 film)">Underworld</a></i> (1927)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Last_Command_(1928_film)" title="The Last Command (1928 film)">The Last Command</a></i> (1928)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Dragnet" class="mw-redirect" title="The Dragnet">The Dragnet</a></i> (1928, lost)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Docks_of_New_York" title="The Docks of New York">The Docks of New York</a></i> (1928)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Case_of_Lena_Smith" title="The Case of Lena Smith">The Case of Lena Smith</a></i> (1929, lost)</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Sound_films">Sound films</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=36" title="Edit section: Sound films"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Thunderbolt_(1929_film)" title="Thunderbolt (1929 film)">Thunderbolt</a></i> (1929)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Der_blaue_Engel" class="mw-redirect" title="Der blaue Engel">The Blue Angel</a></i> (1930)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Morocco_(1930_film)" class="mw-redirect" title="Morocco (1930 film)">Morocco</a></i> (1930)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Dishonored_(film)" title="Dishonored (film)">Dishonored</a></i> (1931)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/An_American_Tragedy_(film)" title="An American Tragedy (film)">An American Tragedy</a></i> (1931)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Shanghai_Express_(film)" title="Shanghai Express (film)">Shanghai Express</a></i> (1932)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Blonde_Venus" title="Blonde Venus">Blonde Venus</a></i> (1932)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Scarlet_Empress" title="The Scarlet Empress">The Scarlet Empress</a></i> (1934)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Devil_Is_a_Woman_(1935_film)" title="The Devil Is a Woman (1935 film)">The Devil is a Woman</a></i> (1935)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Crime_and_Punishment_(1935_American_film)" title="Crime and Punishment (1935 American film)">Crime and Punishment</a></i> (1935)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_King_Steps_Out" title="The King Steps Out">The King Steps Out</a></i> (1936)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Sergeant_Madden" title="Sergeant Madden">Sergeant Madden</a></i> (1939)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Shanghai_Gesture" title="The Shanghai Gesture">The Shanghai Gesture</a></i> (1941)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Town_(1945_film)" title="The Town (1945 film)">The Town</a></i> (1943, short film)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Macao_(film)" title="Macao (film)">Macao</a></i> (1952)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Anatahan_(film)" title="Anatahan (film)">Anatahan</a></i> (1953 also known as <i>The Saga of Anatahan</i>)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Jet_Pilot_(film)" title="Jet Pilot (film)">Jet Pilot</a></i> (1957)</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Other_projects">Other projects</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=37" title="Edit section: Other projects"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Masked_Bride" title="The Masked Bride">The Masked Bride</a></i> (1925, directed with <a href="/wiki/Christy_Cabanne" title="Christy Cabanne">Christy Cabanne</a>, uncredited)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/It_(1927_film)" title="It (1927 film)">It</a></i> (1927, directed with <a href="/wiki/Clarence_G._Badger" class="mw-redirect" title="Clarence G. Badger">Clarence G. Badger</a>, uncredited)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Children_of_Divorce_(1927_film)" title="Children of Divorce (1927 film)">Children of Divorce</a></i> (1927, directed with <a href="/wiki/Frank_Lloyd" title="Frank Lloyd">Frank Lloyd</a>, uncredited)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Street_of_Sin" title="The Street of Sin">The Street of Sin</a></i> (1928, directed with <a href="/wiki/Mauritz_Stiller" title="Mauritz Stiller">Mauritz Stiller</a>, uncredited)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/I,_Claudius_(film)" title="I, Claudius (film)">I, Claudius</a></i> (1937, unfinished)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/The_Great_Waltz_(1938_film)" title="The Great Waltz (1938 film)">The Great Waltz</a></i> (1938, directed with <a href="/wiki/Julien_Duvivier" title="Julien Duvivier">Julien Duvivier</a>, uncredited)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/I_Take_This_Woman_(1940_film)" title="I Take This Woman (1940 film)">I Take This Woman</a></i> (1940, directed with <a href="/wiki/W.S._Van_Dyke" class="mw-redirect" title="W.S. Van Dyke">W.S. Van Dyke</a>, uncredited)</li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Duel_in_the_Sun_(film)" title="Duel in the Sun (film)">Duel in the Sun</a></i> (1946, directed with <a href="/wiki/King_Vidor" title="King Vidor">King Vidor</a>, uncredited)</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=38" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1998. P. 219</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-2">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 8: "The colorful costumes, the dazzling decors, the marble-pillared palaces ..." and p. 6: "His purpose is to reveal the emotional significance of a subject by a series of magnificent canvasses." And Sternberg "relies on long, elaborate shots, each of which is developed internally – by camera movement and dramatic lighting [producing] the effect of emotional percussion." (Sarris quoting <a href="/wiki/Aeneas_MacKenzie" title="Aeneas MacKenzie">Aeneas MacKenzie</a>)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Weinberg, 1967. P. 34: "... the genre it so eloquently established started a vogue that lasted an entire generation until the outbreak of the Second World War ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-4">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 15: "... the first in a tradition" of the [gangster] genre.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 54: Themes involve "the spectacle of man's dignity and honor crumbling before the assault of desire" bound up with adoration of a woman "which obliterate reason, honor, [and] dignity" and p. 34: the "dilemmas of desire"</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Sarris,_1998._p._499-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1998._p._499_6-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1998._p._499_6-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1998. p. 499</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 8: "... a poor Orthodox Jewish family ..." and p. 9: "Extract from official [birth] certificate ... christened 'Jonas Sternberg' ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bach, 1992 p. 98: "...a child circus performer...a tightrope walker in the circus…"</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bach, 1992 p. 98: Sternberg's birth order.<br />Baxter, 1971. P. 8: "... when Jonas was three, his father left for the United States ..."<br />Graves, 1936, in Weinberg, 1967. P. 182: Born in Vienna to "Polish and Hungarian parents."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 9: Mother's name is listed on the birth certificate photo.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>Bei unserer Ankuft in der Neuen Welt wir erstes auf Ellis Island interniert, wo die Einwanderungsbeamten uns wie eine Herde Vieh inspiezierten</i> p. 16, <i>Freulein Freiheit</i> by Uli Besel and Uwe Kugelmeyer (Berlin: Transit Buchverlag, 1986)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 60</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bach, 1992: p. 98-99: Sternberg "born within sight of the Prater...fed circus horses for pocket money'"</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, p. 8: His "overbearing" father "denied [Sternberg] all [non-religious] books ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. P. 86, 153: "... after each beating [his father Moses] demanded that Jonas kiss the hand that had administered it."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-16">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 22</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 14</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bach, 1992 p. 99: "The language of the Torah was thrashed into him…his Hebrew schoolmaster no less tyrannical than his father."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Silver, 2010.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-20">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">John Baxter, <i>Von Sternberg</i>, University Press of Kentucky, 2010, p. 15.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-21">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971 p. 9</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-22">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 9</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Sarris,_1966._P._5-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._P._5_23-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._P._5_23-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._P._5_23-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._P._5_23-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 5</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-24">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Weinberg, 1967. P. 17"... found work as a film-patcher for the [former] World Film Company, gradually working himself up to cutter, writer, assistance director and finally personal manager to <a href="/wiki/William_A._Brady" title="William A. Brady">William A. Brady</a> of the World Film Company."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-25">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bach, 1992 p. 99: Sternberg's early employment with Brady</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._23-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._23_26-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._23_26-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._23_26-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 23</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-27">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Weinberg, 1967. P. 17 "... Sternberg joined the [US] Army Signal Corps" in 1917 [when the United States entered WWI], stationed at eh G.H.Q. in Washington, D.C., where he made training films for recruits ... cited for exemplary service."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Baxter,_1971._P._24-25-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._P._24-25_28-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._P._24-25_28-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 24-25</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-29">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Weinberg, 1967. P. 17-18</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-30">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 93: "In 1923 Sternberg acquired the implicitly aristocratic 'von' in his credit as assistant director [for] <i>By Divine Right</i>. That part of the gag ... had an implicit association with the name of Erich von Stroheim, another émigré Viennese filmmaker ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-31">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1998. P. 212</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Sarris,_1966._P._6-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._P._6_32-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._P._6_32-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 6</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Weinberg,_1967._P._17-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Weinberg,_1967._P._17_33-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Weinberg,_1967._P._17_33-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Weinberg, 1967. P. 17</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-34">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966 p. 6</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-35">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 24</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-36">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Weinberg, 1967. P. 18-19: "Sternberg travelled widely in Europe and the United States. In 1924, Sternberg acted as assistant director to Neill on <i><a href="/wiki/Vanity%27s_Price" title="Vanity&#39;s Price">Vanity's Price</a></i> at FBO (Film Booking Office) studios in Hollywood, California."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-37">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 25-26: see footnote "October 8, 1924" review</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._31-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._31_38-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._31_38-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 31</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-39">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Silver, 2010: "... in essence an independent film ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._26-27-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._26-27_40-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._26-27_40-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 26-27</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-41"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-41">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 10</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-42"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-42">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Weinberg, 1967. p. 19, p. 22</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-43"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-43">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Weinberg, 1967. P. 22: "The Salvation Hunters highly praised by artists and critics for its "artistic composition" and "rhythm of presentation"</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-44"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-44">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 28</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-45"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-45">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 31</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Sarris,_1966._P._12-46"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._P._12_46-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._P._12_46-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 12</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-47"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-47">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. P. 54</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-48"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-48">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 10, p. 53</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-49"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-49">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 29-30</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-50"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-50">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 11</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-51"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-51">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Weinberg, 1967. P. 24</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-52"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-52">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 32</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-53"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-53">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. P. 57</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-54"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-54">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Weinberg, 1967. p. 24</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-55"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-55">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 7-8</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-56"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-56">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 32-33</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-57"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-57">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Weinberg, 1967. p. 25, p. 26-27: Florey declared, based on two reels, that <i>The Masked Bride</i> (had it been completed) "would still be showing today in cine-clubs and film societies everywhere; it was a masterpiece ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-58"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-58">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. P. 55, p. 56</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-59"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-59">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. P. 56</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-60"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-60">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Weinberg, 1967. P. 25</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-61"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-61">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 34: "Chaplin had intended a come-back for actress Edna Purviance ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-62"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-62">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Weinberg, 1967. P. 27</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Baxter,_1971._P._34,_36-63"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._P._34,_36_63-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._P._34,_36_63-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 34, 36</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-64"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-64">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. P.111-112</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-65"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-65">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 13</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-66"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-66">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. 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."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-67"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-67">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 77, p. 86: Sternberg "cross as a bear" and "thrown her out of her own home."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-68"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-68">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 36</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-69"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-69">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Jeanne and Ford, 1965 in Weinberg, 1967. P. 211</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-70"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-70">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Wollstein, 1994 p. 148: “...despite some serious flaws, [the film] became pure box-office gold…one of the year’s biggest money-makers” for Paramount.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-71"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-71">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Weinberg, 1967. p. 31</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-72"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-72">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 15:"... the first in a tradition" that is presented from "the point of view of the gangster ..." See also p. 23, p. 66.<br />Baxter, 1971. p. 43: "opened the door, however selectively, on the reality of modern crime ..."<br />Wienberg, 1967. P. 34: the film "sets the pattern for the whole cycle of American gangster films." and "... the [gangster] genre ... so eloquently established."<br />Baxter, 1993. P. 33: "romanticized gangland" movie.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-73"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-73">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/Dave_Kehr" title="Dave Kehr">Kehr, Dave</a>. "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/underworld/Film?oid=1049074">Underworld</a>," <i>Chicago Reader</i>, accessed October 11, 2010.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-SS178-74"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-SS178_74-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a href="/wiki/Scott_Siegel" title="Scott Siegel">Siegel, Scott</a>, &amp; Siegel, Barbara (2004). <i>The Encyclopedia of Hollywood</i>. 2nd edition. Checkmark Books. p. 178. <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8160-4622-0" title="Special:BookSources/0-8160-4622-0">0-8160-4622-0</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-75"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-75">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 43: "It was to French cinema" that [Sternberg's] filmmaking "left a permanent mark on the art."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-76"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-76">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 43-44: "Paramount willing to give him anything he wanted."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-77"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-77">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 15-16: "Some historians" trace the film to "the beginnings of Sternberg's compromise with Hollywood ... other honor the film ... for stylistic experiments ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-78"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-78">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 43: "... first work to suggest the personal style of later years."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-79"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-79">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 56</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-80"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-80">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 16</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-81"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-81">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Jeanne and Ford, 1965. in Weinberg, 1967. P. 212</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-82"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-82">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1972. P. 52</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-83"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-83">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Silver, 2010: "... far and away his most productive period."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-84"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-84">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 44</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-85"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-85">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 15-16: When Sternberg "accepted a commission by Paramount Pictures to cut down to manageable length one of Stroheim's best films ... it destroyed their friendship."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-86"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-86">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 53, p. 54</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._58-87"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._58_87-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._58_87-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 58</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-88"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-88">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Silver, 2010. "Of his nine silent films, only four survive. These other works (<i>Underworld</i>, <i>The Last Command</i>, and <i>The Docks of New York</i>) are so good that one must conclude that Sternberg's career, more than that of any other director, suffers from the blight on film history we have come think of as 'lost-film syndrome.'"</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-89"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-89">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Silver, 2010: "... of the nine films, only four survive."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-90"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-90">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Silver, 2010</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-91"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-91">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 22: "... doubly unfortunate ... more personal ... more unusual" that his recent films.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-92"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-92">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Howarth and Omasta, 2007. p. 287</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-93"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-93">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Howarth and Omasta, 2007. p. 33</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-94"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-94">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Howarth and Omasta, 2007.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-95"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-95">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 23: "Overlooked" by film historians...a "startling experiments" in Soviet school sound techniques using 'asynchronous" methods"employs sound contrapuntally." P. 24: "as much a musical as a melodrama"</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-96"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-96">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter 1971. P. 61: "Paramount injects a lavish measure of music and comedy"</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-97"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-97">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 52-53, p. 62</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-98"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-98">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 75</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-99"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-99">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 25</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-100"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-100">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 63</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-101"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-101">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1998. P. 396</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-102"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-102">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 25</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-103"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-103">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 72-73</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-104"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-104">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1998. P. 219-220</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-105"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-105">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1998. P. 220</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-106"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-106">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. P. 33, p. 40</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-107"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-107">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 75</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-108"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-108">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. P. 136</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-109"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-109">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 81</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._90-110"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._90_110-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._90_110-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 90</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-111"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-111">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 8: "As in a dream [Sternberg] has wandered through studio sets depicting ..." and lists the above locations.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-112"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-112">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 8: "Sternberg's films [are a] continuous stream of emotional biography ... [his] exoticism ... a pretext of objectifying personal fantasies. ... [his films are a] dream world." p. 25: Sarris quoting <a href="/wiki/Susan_Sontag" title="Susan Sontag">Susan Sontag</a>, "The outrageous aestheticism of von Sternberg's six American films with Dietrich ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-113"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-113">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 57-58, p. 90: "... richest and most controversial phase of his career ... a period of three years in which he created a suite [of four] great films, bound together in an agony of frustrated desire."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-114"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-114">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">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."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-115"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-115">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 80</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-116"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-116">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1998. p. 219</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-117"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-117">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 76</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Baxter,_1993._p._32-118"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1993._p._32_118-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1993._p._32_118-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 32</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-119"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-119">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 81: "... the great films [for Paramount] that was to follow <i>[Morocco]</i>."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-120"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-120">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">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."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-121"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-121">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 52: "Paramount's strategy, ever since Dietrich arrived in Hollywood, was to couple the names of Dietrich and Sternberg in their publicity, the one portrayed as Trilby to the other's Svengali, each thus amplifying the other's power to intrigue the public."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-122"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-122">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 99: "Countless explanations were offered of their relationship, usually in Tribly-Svengali terms ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-123"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-123">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 79</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Sarris,_1966._p._29-30-124"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._29-30_124-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._29-30_124-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 29-30</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-125"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-125">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971.p. 76: ... within a few months, in a remarkable elevation to fame, Dietrich was one of Hollywood's most glamorous and controversial stars." See also p.79, p.80</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-126"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-126">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 82</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-127"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-127">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 82: "... funny and seldom profound ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-128"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-128">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 31: "... Sternberg's funniest film ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-129"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-129">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 32</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-130"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-130">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 86: "After the mockery and humor of the rest of Dishonored, it is disappointing to see Sternberg, in the climax, fall a victim to the essential seriousness of his intentions ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-131"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-131">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 47: "Thus [Paramount New York headquarters] was already at odds with Hollywood over the best way of making use of these potentially highly profitable collaborators ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-132"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-132">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 86</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-133"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-133">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 33</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-134"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-134">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966, p. 32</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-135"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-135">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 87-88</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-136"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-136">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 88-89: Sternberg "writes off the film" and is indifference to its fate. And p. 88089: "Of all of Sternberg's Thirties films, An American Tragedy is the one which least resembles his other work." And p. 88-89: "... recurring images of water ... is an apposite parallel ... to motivations."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-137"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-137">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 34: "recurring water images as stylistic determinates of ... destiny [and] characterization."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-138"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-138">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">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."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-139"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-139">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 99</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Sarris,_1966._p._35-140"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._35_140-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._35_140-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._35_140-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._35_140-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 35</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-141"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-141">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 92</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-142"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-142">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 94: "The central conflict in Shanghai Express is a stock Sternberg confrontation between destroyer and victim, the two bound together by an interlocking and unexpressed desire for immolation.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-143"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-143">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 95-96: Dietrich's characterization of Lily "approaches closest to the core of the Dietrich-Sternberg relationship but, as in the case of the personalities involved, there are no easy answers ... [the imprecision in Sternberg's presentation of Lily] is appropriate to the work of a man whose subject is the woman he loves, but of whose love he is in doubt." And p. 90: "Furthman's ingenuity is vital to the story ... the multiple deceptions that motivate the film, and most of all the enigmatic character of Dietrich's Shanghai Lily." And. p. 97: "... key sequences in which Lily's motivations and extraordinary fabric of her emotions exposed."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-144"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-144">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 6, p. 34</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-145"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-145">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 94</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-146"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-146">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 99: All aspects of filmmaking were "totally at his fingertips ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-147"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-147">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 99-100</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-148"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-148">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 46-47: Executives expressed concern "over the appropriate vehicle for the next Sternberg-Dietrich collaboration" viewing the pair as "potentially highly profitable ..." p. 48: "The home office, however, continued to be concerned that the next project should present a heroine more sympathetic than the prostitute's Dietrich had portrayed in Dishonored and Shanghai Express, and also that the film should have an American setting in order to have a more immediate appeal to domestic audiences."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Baxter,_1993._p._189-149"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1993._p._189_149-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1993._p._189_149-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 189</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-150"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-150">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 100</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-151"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-151">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 46: "Shanghai Express ... the most profitable film yet made by Sternberg."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-152"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-152">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1998. p. 228</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-153"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-153">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 36</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-154"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-154">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 173, p. 177: "... the plot [is] over-familiar and improbable ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-155"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-155">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 103: "... the story's growing improbability."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-156"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-156">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 102: "... a strong thread of autobiography in the film ..." and p. 108</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-157"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-157">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 35-36</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-158"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-158">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 37: "As for Dietrich's rise and fall in Blonde Venus, Sternberg's point is that what Marlene lacks in character she more than makes up for in style, and genuine style can never be dragged through dirt indefinitely."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-159"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-159">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 109</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-160"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-160">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 102</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-161"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-161">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 36-37</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-162"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-162">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 25: "... camp ..." And p. 36: "... her nightclub numbers are utterly unmotivated in terms of the plot is a key to the extreme stylization of Dietrich's character, extreme, that is, even for Sternberg."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-163"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-163">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 164-165</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-164"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-164">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 105-106</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-165"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-165">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 174: "... Paramount had been banking on Blonde Venus having a success comparable to Shanghai Express." And p. 175: "... not by any means a box-office failure." And p. 176: "Blonde Venus might have been thought a reasonably successful film, but recriminations [among executives] began to fly." p. 176: "Blonde Venus broke the [formerly successful] pattern of Sternberg's films with Dietrich at Paramount [changing] the course of his creative career."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-166"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-166">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 110</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Baxter,_1993._p._188-167"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1993._p._188_167-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1993._p._188_167-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1993._p._188_167-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 188</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-168"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-168">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 111</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-169"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-169">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 188-189</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-170"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-170">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 111: "Schulberg's suspicion at [Sternberg's] tractability matured a few weeks later when Dietrich announce suddenly that she would not appear in The Song of Songs. ... [and the courts] issued an order to keep her in America [to fulfill her contract]."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-171"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-171">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 177: "The 'relentless excursion into style' ... implies not just a deepening of Sternberg's alienation from the Hollywood cinema and the culture it represented, but a shift into outfight antagonism." And p. 189: "Stranded by history at Paramount, Sternberg abandoned the comparative realism of Blonde Venus and turned to the fantastic monumentalism of ... The Scarlett Empress ... using historical reality as starting point, he invented exotic, fantastic societies in which coercive power was used by self-interested authorities and through which the Dietrich characters had to make their own way ... In order to make The Scarlett Empress and The Devil is a Woman, he took advantage of the corporate disarray into which Paramount had been sliding into since 1932, when its most experienced executives were ousted and company left bereft of a coherent management. 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."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-172"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-172">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 113</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-173"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-173">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 37: "... audiences and critics of the time were stupefied" by the production. And p. 39: "... drenched in meaningful décor."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-174"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-174">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 177: "It is a film that astounds and captivates in the constant inventiveness of imagery, at the same time as it repels its views with excesses of its characters and settings. It is finally – for all its make-believe – nothing less than a nightmare version of the American Dream as Sternberg had lived it ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Sarris,_1966._p._40-175"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._40_175-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._40_175-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._40_175-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Sarris,_1966._p._40_175-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 40</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-176"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-176">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 115: "Critics of the time, refusing to believe anybody could joke about history, viewed the film as a melodrama."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-177"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-177">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 39: "... Sternberg seems to have been driven, perhaps partly by censors, to retreat into the exotic past."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-178"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-178">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 177-178</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-179"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-179">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 115: Critics thought that Sternberg had "prevented [Dietrich] from giving the performance of high tragic intensity they felt was dictated by the character. In fact, Sternberg, as a revenge on the system and the star that backed him into a professional corner, chose to cast Dietrich as a mere pawn in a game over which she had no control."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-180"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-180">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">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." p. 116: "... an erotic montage [and an] episode of bravura sadism ... with scenes of torture and mutilation ... is an ingenious encapsulation of the child's eroticism, sadistic tendencies and doomed destiny ... the carries us smoothly into her young adulthood.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-181"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-181">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 115</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._121-182"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._121_182-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._121_182-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 121</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-183"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-183">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 189: "Stranded by history at Paramount, Sternberg abandoned the comparative realism of Blonde Venus and turned to the fantastic monumentalism of ... The Scarlett Empress ... using historical reality as starting point, he invented exotic, fantastic societies in which coercive power was used by self-interested authorities and through which the Dietrich characters had to make their own way ... In order to make The Scarlett Empress and The Devil is a Woman, he took advantage of the corporate disarray into which Paramount had been sliding into since 1932, when its most experienced executives were ousted and company left bereft of a coherent management. 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."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-184"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-184">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 59</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-185"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-185">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. P. 121&#160;: Schulberg was under fire ... a stormy but acceptable working relationship [with Sternberg] ... would be replaced by another clique with Ernst Lubitsch, Sternberg saw the certainty of his dismissal."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-186"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-186">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p.121-122: "... Sternberg saw the certainty of his dismissal." And p. 121-122: "[The film] encapsulate[s] in art his own affair with the most enigmatic of actresses."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-187"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-187">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 42: "... a gallant gesture to one's once beloved ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-188"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-188">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 121: "... A final tribute to the lady [Dietrich]."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-189"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-189">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. P. 87-88</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-190"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-190">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 123: "... took [official] credit for cinematography." And p. 127: "... his most perfect exercise" in emotional effect and "enormous visual sophistication, far beyond that of his earlier films."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-191"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-191">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 87-88</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-192"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-192">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 122</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-193"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-193">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 88: "The significance of Sternberg's deliberate self-portraiture ... should not be underestimated ... addressing influences on the shape of the director's work ... that are ... historically specific".</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-194"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-194">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 42: The black clothing that Concha wears as she visits the wounded Don Pasqual suggest a "unity of mannered meaning ... quite simply ... death and Marlene may be one of the many deaths for both Atwill and Sternberg, the death of art, of poise, of poetry, of inspiration and the will to continue ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-195"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-195">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 126</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-196"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-196">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971.p. 122, p. 127-128</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-197"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-197">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 8, p. 42: "... a visual context in which the most unobtrusive acting effects become eloquently expressive. Sternberg's décor is then not the meaningless background of the drama, but its very subject. ... "</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._130-198"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._130_198-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._130_198-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 130</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-199"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-199">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 128: "... put the last nail in the coffin of Sternberg's Hollywood reputation."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-200"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-200">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 42: "Sternberg did not know it at the time, but his sun was wetting, and it has never really risen again."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-201"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-201">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 128-130: "The Spanish Foreign Ministry warned that if [the movie] was not withdrawn all Paramount films would be banned from Spain." Paramount feared that restrictions would encourage the establishment of a Spanish film industry</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-202"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-202">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 59: "... refugees from a Paramount that gone through bankruptcy and reorganization ... S. K. Lauren, Sternberg, Schulberg [all] working for Harry Cohn."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-203"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-203">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 44: "... an era in which it was considered uplifting [to offer literary works on screen to] millions of moviegoers ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-204"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-204">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 131: "The only possible approach was to shoot it as a detective story [as the] murderer was known from the moment of the crime."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-205"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-205">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 44: "... a relatively impersonal assignment for the director."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-206"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-206">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 131: "Most of Sternberg's attempts to instill some life in the film are failures."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-207"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-207">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 44</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-208"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-208">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 119</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-209"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-209">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">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." And "To his credit, Sternberg labored valiantly on the project ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-210"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-210">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. P. 45: "The King Steps Out hardly deserves any detailed analysis ... Grace Moore's glacial personality ... in no sense a Sternbergian siren ... the convention of operetta [beyond his grasp] and fails even as an exercise in style."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-211"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-211">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 135</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-212"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-212">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 135: The Columbia debacle ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-213"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-213">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 93-94: "... the fortress-like house ... [was a way' of keeping control over his identity. They interposed an impenetrable persona between the world and the poor, ill-educated by Jonas Sternberg ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-214"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-214">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 147</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-215"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-215">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 46: "... the director cut every frame of Claudius in his mind."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-216"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-216">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">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. From it, one can see how he directed, what he looked for, chose and rejected." And p. 149: "... often thought erroneous ... he 'cut in the camera' ... Despite all his takes Sternberg seldom deviated from the pattern of a sequence established in this mind."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-217"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-217">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 46: "... cut every frame of Claudius in this mind ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-218"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-218">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Keser, 2005: "... still at the height of his powers ... disclosing that Sternberg was hired because Dietrich agreed to waive a $100,000 payment owed her by Korda if the producer would replace the original choice for director – William Cameron Menzies, whose Things to Come (1936) had been well-received – with her mentor"</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-219"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-219">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 136-137</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-220"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-220">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 46: "The theme of virtue finding its own reward before yielding to the folly of megalomania is one very close to Sternberg's [personal history] and Sternberg's "profound compassion for Claudius is directed with an incisive insight into the paradox that man must sink completely into the mud of his limitations before he can rise to his aspirations."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._139-140-221"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._139-140_221-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._139-140_221-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 139-140</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-222"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-222">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 46: "... the casting was impeccable ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-223"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-223">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 138</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-224"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-224">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 31</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-225"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-225">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 138, p. 139-140</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-226"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-226">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">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."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-227"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-227">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 140-141: "Korda decided to use her injuries as an excuse to get out while he could."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-228"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-228">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 46</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-229"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-229">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 141: "... £80,000 compensation ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-230"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-230">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Keser, 2005: "the surviving sequences that are included do suggest that an uncommonly ambitious work of both luminous beauty and ruthless psychology was underway.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-231"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-231">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 46: The surviving sequences of I, Claudius prove that it "contained all the thematic and stylistic potentialities for a genuinely great film." And "... his last, lost chance to recoup his former reputation."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-232"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-232">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Keser, 2005: "Lips are equally sealed about Sternberg's sojourn in <a href="/wiki/Charing_Cross_Hospital" title="Charing Cross Hospital">Charing Cross Psychiatric Unit</a> immediately after filming had ceased."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-233"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-233">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 149</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-234"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-234">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 147, p. 149</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-235"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-235">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 46: "Metro's method of 'humanizing' her exotic appeal probably did not appeal to Sternberg." And "Sternberg was probably signed ... because of his reputation with Dietrich."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-236"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-236">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 150: "... Metro hoped to make another Dietrich" out of Lamarr.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-237"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-237">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 151</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-238"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-238">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 46: "... unanimously unfavorable press."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-239"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-239">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 177: "... a studio project already underway when [Sternberg] was offered" to direct.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-240"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-240">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 153</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-241"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-241">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 47: "... society transcends family ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-242"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-242">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 47: "Sternberg's distinctive framing and filters give it a UFA look ... one can almost see the ghost of Jannings in Beery's unusually restrained performance." And "... the notion of a blood son being morally inferior to the adopted one is another movie cliché."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-243"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-243">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 151: "... Beery's performance ... is one of the least maudlin ... due to his ... acceptance of Sternberg's system." And "few people grasped the bitterness of this film or Germanic qualities ... theme of adopted child ... mastering and replacing the natural one, is common to German cinema [and] the dominant theme of Sergeant Madden, that of a father's benign dictatorship over his son, is one that motivated a score of post-WWI German plays ... tests of moral worth ... from which survivors emerge cleansed [and devoted] to social duty."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-244"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-244">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">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." And p. 156: "... the last classic Sternberg film ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-245"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-245">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1998. p. 106: "A period of extreme censorship with respect to the mildest suggestion of sexuality."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Baxter,_1971._p._154-246"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._154_246-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Baxter,_1971._p._154_246-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 154</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-247"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-247">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 47, p. 61</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-248"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-248">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">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 ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-249"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-249">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">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."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-250"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-250">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 50</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-251"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-251">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 51</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-252"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-252">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 158: "On 29 July 1943, Sternberg married Jeanne Annette McBride, his twenty-one year old secretary, in a private ceremony at his North Hollywood home."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-253"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-253">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 158</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-254"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-254">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Graves, 1936. p. 185: Sternberg "motion-picture expert ... and taught bayonet fighting on the screen."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-255"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-255">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Weinberg, 1967. p. 17</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-256"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-256">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 51: "... eulogizes Madison, Indiana as a veritable melting pot of many European civilizations.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-257"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-257">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 51: "There is not an ugly frame or an awkward cut or an unnecessary movement in the entire film." and "... beautiful to behold ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-258"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-258">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 159-160</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-259"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-259">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Supten, 2006.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-260"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-260">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 162</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-261"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-261">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 163</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-262"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-262">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 162-163: Sternberg: "... they want to see if I make an actor walk across the set."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-263"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-263">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 162-163</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-264"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-264">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 33: "... the cartoon-like cold warriors of Jet Pilot ... Sternberg plotted facets of American life ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-265"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-265">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1993. p. 115: "... the story is built around the woman [Leigh] ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-266"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-266">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 164: "... a film on and for Janet Leigh ..." (Jean luc Moulet)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-267"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-267">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 52: "... right-wing <a href="/w/index.php?title=Camp_(culture)&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1" class="new" title="Camp (culture) (page does not exist)">'camp'</a> on a comic strip level." And "... the planes enjoy a more active sex life than the humans ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-268"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-268">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 165-166</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-269"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-269">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 167-168</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-270"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-270">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 167: "... atmosphere and décor ... is clearly Sternberg's work." And p. 168-169</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-271"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-271">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 52: "Sternberg's contribution to Macao is exclusively stylistic. ... 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."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-272"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-272">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 53: "It seems Ray shot the climatic fist fight [scene] and this sort of thing was not Sternberg's cup of tea."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-273"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-273">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 169</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-274"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-274">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 53: "... a fittingly personal conclusion to the film-maker's career ... a very private film ..."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-275"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-275">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The Doors and Ben-Fong Torres, <i>The Doors</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-276"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-276">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWolf2002" class="citation news cs1">Wolf, Jaime (December 1, 2002). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/01/magazine/what-a-design-guru-really-does.html">"What A Design Guru Really Does"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times">The New York Times</a></i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">October 23,</span> 2015</span>. <q>Or the house in Weehawken that Walrod wants to save, which wasn't only designed by a close associate of Walter Gropius's but was also originally commissioned by Josef von Sternberg, later sold to an eccentric baroness who was famous for supporting jazz musicians like Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk and was ultimately, it turns out, the place where Monk died</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&amp;rft.genre=article&amp;rft.jtitle=The+New+York+Times&amp;rft.atitle=What+A+Design+Guru+Really+Does&amp;rft.date=2002-12-01&amp;rft.aulast=Wolf&amp;rft.aufirst=Jaime&amp;rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2002%2F12%2F01%2Fmagazine%2Fwhat-a-design-guru-really-does.html&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AJosef+von+Sternberg" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-277"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-277">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9C04EFD91731E23BBC4852DFBF66838B649EDE">"A NATIVE RETURNS; Josef Von Sternberg of Fond Memory Resumes Directing in Hollywood Winner Revelation"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Times" title="The New York Times">The New York Times</a></i>. September 10, 1950<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">October 23,</span> 2015</span>. <q>or when Von Sternberg, after a long absence from Hollywood, was beckoned back here by Howard Hughes last fall from his home in Weehawken, N. J., he had no assurance that he would even be handed the controls on 'Jet Pilot.'<span class="cs1-kern-right"></span></q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&amp;rft.genre=article&amp;rft.jtitle=The+New+York+Times&amp;rft.atitle=A+NATIVE+RETURNS%3B+Josef+Von+Sternberg+of+Fond+Memory+Resumes+Directing+in+Hollywood+Winner+Revelation&amp;rft.date=1950-09-10&amp;rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fgst%2Fabstract.html%3Fres%3D9C04EFD91731E23BBC4852DFBF66838B649EDE&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AJosef+von+Sternberg" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-varobit-278"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-varobit_278-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-varobit_278-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-varobit_278-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-varobit_278-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation magazine cs1">"Josef Von Sternberg Dead At 75; 'Master' Shot Dietrich to Stardom". <i><a href="/wiki/Variety_(magazine)" title="Variety (magazine)">Variety</a></i>. December 24, 1969. p.&#160;6.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&amp;rft.genre=article&amp;rft.jtitle=Variety&amp;rft.atitle=Josef+Von+Sternberg+Dead+At+75%3B+%27Master%27+Shot+Dietrich+to+Stardom&amp;rft.pages=6&amp;rft.date=1969-12-24&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AJosef+von+Sternberg" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-279"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-279">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baxter, 1971. p. 178: "He died, of heart failure, on 22 December 1969, aged seventy-five."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-280"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-280">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 6</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-281"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-281">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Brooks, 1965.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-282"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-282">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Cardullo, et al., 1998. p. 76-77</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-283"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-283">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarris, 1966. p. 23</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Sources">Sources</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Josef_von_Sternberg&amp;action=edit&amp;section=39" title="Edit section: Sources"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li>Arnold, Edward. 1940. <i>Lorenzo Goes to Hollywood: The Autobiography of Edward Arnold</i> (New York: Liveright, 1940) pp.&#160;256–277 in <i>Playing to the Camera: Film Actors Discuss Their Craft</i>. Bert Cardullo et al. 1998. P. 76-77 Yale University Press. New Haven and New York. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-300-06983-9" title="Special:BookSources/0-300-06983-9">0-300-06983-9</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Steven_Bach" title="Steven Bach">Bach, Steven</a>. 1992. <i>Marlene Dietrich: Life and Legend.</i> William Morrow and Company, Inc. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-688-07119-6" title="Special:BookSources/978-0-688-07119-6">978-0-688-07119-6</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/John_Baxter_(author)" title="John Baxter (author)">Baxter, John</a>. 1971. <i>The Cinema of Josef von Sternberg</i>. London: A. Zwemmer / New York: A. S. Barnes &amp; Co.<link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0498079917" title="Special:BookSources/978-0498079917">978-0498079917</a></li> <li>Baxter, John. 2010. <i>Von Sternberg</i>. Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Peter_Baxter_(filmmaker)" title="Peter Baxter (filmmaker)">Baxter, Peter</a>. 1993. <i>Just Watch!: Sternberg, Paramount and America</i>. London: British Film Institute.</li> <li>Baxter, Peter (ed.) 1980. <i>Sternberg</i>. London: British Film Institute.</li> <li>Brooks, Louise. 1965. <i>People will Talk</i>. Aurum Press/A.Knopf. 1986. pp.&#160;71–97, in <i>Playing to the Camera: Film Actors Discuss Their Craft</i>. Bert Cardullo et al. 1998. p.&#160;51 Yale University Press. New Haven and New York. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-300-06983-9" title="Special:BookSources/0-300-06983-9">0-300-06983-9</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kevin_Brownlow" title="Kevin Brownlow">Brownlow, Kevin</a>. 1968. <i>The Parade's Gone By</i>. University of California Press. Berkeley, California.</li> <li>Cardullo, Bert, et al. 1998. <i>Playing to the Camera: Film Actors Discuss Their Craft</i>. Yale University Press. New Haven and New York. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-300-06983-9" title="Special:BookSources/0-300-06983-9">0-300-06983-9</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://sensesofcinema.com/2012/cteq/shanghai-express/">Dixon, Wheeler, W. 2012. <i>Shanghai Express</i>. Senses of Cinema.</a> Retrieved September 7, 2018.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scott_Eyman" title="Scott Eyman">Eyman, Scott</a>. 2012. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303362404575580254095332766">The Unhappiest Man in Hollywood. Wall Street Journal. November 12, 2010.</a> Retrieved September 21, 2018.</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://sensesofcinema.com/2002/feature-articles/sternberg/">Gallagher, Tag. 2002. <i>Josef von Sternberg</i>. Senses of Cinema, March 2002.</a> Retrieved September 21, 2018.</li> <li>Horwath, Alexander and Omasta, Michael(Ed.). 2007. <i>Josef von Sternberg. The Case of Lena Smith.</i> Vienna: SYNEMA – Gesellschaft für Film und Medien, 2007, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-901644-22-1" title="Special:BookSources/978-3-901644-22-1">978-3-901644-22-1</a> (<i>Filmmuseum-Synema-Publikationen</i> Vol. 5).</li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFKardozi2024" class="citation book cs1">Kardozi, Karzan (2024). <span class="id-lock-registration" title="Free registration required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://themovingsilent.wordpress.com/2015/03/24/book-100-years-of-cinema-from-d-w-griffith-to-richard-linklater/"><i>100 Years of Cinema, 100 Directors, Vol 7: Josef von Sternberg</i></a></span>. Xazalnus Publication &#8211; via The Moving Silent.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&amp;rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&amp;rft.genre=book&amp;rft.btitle=100+Years+of+Cinema%2C+100+Directors%2C+Vol+7%3A+Josef+von+Sternberg&amp;rft.pub=Xazalnus+Publication&amp;rft.date=2024&amp;rft.aulast=Kardozi&amp;rft.aufirst=Karzan&amp;rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fthemovingsilent.wordpress.com%2F2015%2F03%2F24%2Fbook-100-years-of-cinema-from-d-w-griffith-to-richard-linklater%2F&amp;rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3AJosef+von+Sternberg" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Andrew_Sarris" title="Andrew Sarris">Sarris, Andrew</a>. 1966. <i>The Films of Josef von Sternberg</i>. New York: Doubleday.</li> <li>Sarris, Andrew. 1998. "You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet." The American Talking Film History &amp; Memory, 1927–1949. Oxford University Press. <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-19-513426-5" title="Special:BookSources/0-19-513426-5">0-19-513426-5</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2010/05/11/josef-von-sternbergs-the-docks-of-new-york/">Silver, Charles. 2010. <i>Josef von Sternberg's The Docks of New York</i>.</a> Retrieved August 6, 2018.</li> <li>Sternberg, Josef von. 1965. <i>Fun in a Chinese Laundry</i>. London: Secker and Warburg.</li> <li>Studlar, Gaylyn: <i>In the Realm of Pleasure: Von Sternberg, Dietrich, and the Masochistic Aesthetic</i>. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992.</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://brightlightsfilm.com/this-is-the-town-and-these-are-the-people/">Supten, Tom. 2006. <i>This is The Town and These Are the People</i>. Bright Lights Film Journal. September 15, 2006.</a> Retrieved May 30, 2018.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Herman_G._Weinberg" title="Herman G. Weinberg">Weinberg, Herman G.</a>, 1967. <i>Josef von Sternberg. A Critical Study</i>. New York: Dutton.</li> <li>Alexander Horwath, Michael Omasta (Ed.), <i>Josef von Sternberg. The Case of Lena Smith</i>, FilmmuseumSynemaPublikationen Vol. 5, Vienna 2007, <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-3-901644-22-1" title="Special:BookSources/978-3-901644-22-1">978-3-901644-22-1</a>. Book on Josef von Sternberg's last silent movie – one of the legendary lost masterpieces of the American cinema.</li> <li>Wollstein, Hans J. 1994. <i>Strangers in Hollywood: The History of Scandinavian Actors in American Films, 1910 to World War II.</i> <i><a href="/wiki/The_Scarecrow_Press" class="mw-redirect" title="The Scarecrow Press">The Scarecrow Press</a></i>, Filmmakers series no. 43. <a href="/wiki/Anthony_Slide" title="Anthony Slide">Anthony Slide</a>, editor <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a>&#160;<a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8108-2938-X" title="Special:BookSources/0-8108-2938-X">0-8108-2938-X</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a 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style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Template:Josef von Sternberg"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Template talk:Josef von Sternberg"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Josef_von_Sternberg" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Josef von Sternberg"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Films_directed_by_Josef_von_Sternberg" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em">Films directed by <a class="mw-selflink selflink">Josef von Sternberg</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Silent films</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/The_Salvation_Hunters" title="The Salvation Hunters">The Salvation Hunters</a></i> (1925)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/The_Exquisite_Sinner" title="The Exquisite Sinner">The Exquisite Sinner</a></i> (1926)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/A_Woman_of_the_Sea" title="A Woman of the Sea">A Woman of the Sea</a></i> (1926, unfinished)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/Underworld_(1927_film)" title="Underworld (1927 film)">Underworld</a></i> (1927)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/The_Last_Command_(1928_film)" title="The Last Command (1928 film)">The Last Command</a></i> (1928)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/The_Drag_Net" title="The Drag Net">The Drag Net</a></i> (1928)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/The_Docks_of_New_York" title="The Docks of New York">The Docks of New York</a></i> (1928)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/The_Case_of_Lena_Smith" title="The Case of Lena Smith">The Case of Lena Smith</a></i> (1929)</span></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Sound films</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/Thunderbolt_(1929_film)" title="Thunderbolt (1929 film)">Thunderbolt</a></i> (1929)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/The_Blue_Angel" title="The Blue Angel">The Blue Angel</a></i> (1930)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/Morocco_(film)" title="Morocco (film)">Morocco</a></i> (1930)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/Dishonored_(film)" title="Dishonored (film)">Dishonored</a></i> (1931)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/An_American_Tragedy_(film)" title="An American Tragedy (film)">An American Tragedy</a></i> (1931)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/Shanghai_Express_(film)" title="Shanghai Express (film)">Shanghai Express</a></i> (1932)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/Blonde_Venus" title="Blonde Venus">Blonde Venus</a></i> (1932)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/The_Scarlet_Empress" title="The Scarlet Empress">The Scarlet Empress</a></i> (1934)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/The_Devil_Is_a_Woman_(1935_film)" title="The Devil Is a Woman (1935 film)">The Devil is a Woman</a></i> (1935)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/Crime_and_Punishment_(1935_American_film)" title="Crime and Punishment (1935 American film)">Crime and Punishment</a></i> (1935)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/The_King_Steps_Out" title="The King Steps Out">The King Steps Out</a></i> (1936)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/I,_Claudius_(film)" title="I, Claudius (film)">I, Claudius</a></i> (1937, unfinished)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/Sergeant_Madden" title="Sergeant Madden">Sergeant Madden</a></i> (1939)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/The_Shanghai_Gesture" title="The Shanghai Gesture">The Shanghai Gesture</a></i> (1941)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/The_Town_(1945_film)" title="The Town (1945 film)">The Town</a></i> (1945)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/Macao_(film)" title="Macao (film)">Macao</a></i> (1952)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/Anatahan_(film)" title="Anatahan (film)">Anatahan</a></i> (1953)</span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><i><a href="/wiki/Jet_Pilot_(film)" title="Jet Pilot (film)">Jet Pilot</a></i> (1957)</span></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235"></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox authority-control" aria-labelledby="Authority_control_databases_frameless&amp;#124;text-top&amp;#124;10px&amp;#124;alt=Edit_this_at_Wikidata&amp;#124;link=https&amp;#58;//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q78719#identifiers&amp;#124;class=noprint&amp;#124;Edit_this_at_Wikidata" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><div id="Authority_control_databases_frameless&amp;#124;text-top&amp;#124;10px&amp;#124;alt=Edit_this_at_Wikidata&amp;#124;link=https&amp;#58;//www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q78719#identifiers&amp;#124;class=noprint&amp;#124;Edit_this_at_Wikidata" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Help:Authority_control" title="Help:Authority control">Authority control databases</a> <span class="mw-valign-text-top noprint" typeof="mw:File/Frameless"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q78719#identifiers" title="Edit this at Wikidata"><img alt="Edit this at Wikidata" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png" decoding="async" width="10" height="10" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/15px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/20px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="20" data-file-height="20" /></a></span></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">International</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://isni.org/isni/0000000109136797">ISNI</a></span><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://isni.org/isni/0000000368556622">2</a></span></li></ul></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://viaf.org/viaf/71422909">VIAF</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://id.worldcat.org/fast/43955/">FAST</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://id.oclc.org/worldcat/entity/E39PBJqK8Xt6FydQY9GDDqMXVC">WorldCat</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">National</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://d-nb.info/gnd/118753630">Germany</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n79117186">United States</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb12117840z">France</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://data.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb12117840z">BnF data</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://nla.gov.au/anbd.aut-an35584413">Australia</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://aleph.nkp.cz/F/?func=find-c&amp;local_base=aut&amp;ccl_term=ica=ola2003175005&amp;CON_LNG=ENG">Czech Republic</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://catalogo.bne.es/uhtbin/authoritybrowse.cgi?action=display&amp;authority_id=XX1297864">Spain</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://data.bibliotheken.nl/id/thes/p070664404">Netherlands</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://authority.bibsys.no/authority/rest/authorities/html/90854702">Norway</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://kopkatalogs.lv/F?func=direct&amp;local_base=lnc10&amp;doc_number=000160110&amp;P_CON_LNG=ENG">Latvia</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://catalogue.nlg.gr/cgi-bin/koha/opac-authoritiesdetail.pl?authid=268753">Greece</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://lod.nl.go.kr/resource/KAC201105094">Korea</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://libris.kb.se/c9prv3ww2219k5v">Sweden</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://dbn.bn.org.pl/descriptor-details/9810586261205606">Poland</a></span><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://dbn.bn.org.pl/descriptor-details/9810636105805606">2</a></span></li></ul></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://olduli.nli.org.il/F/?func=find-b&amp;local_base=NLX10&amp;find_code=UID&amp;request=987007275570205171">Israel</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://cantic.bnc.cat/registre/981058524691206706">Catalonia</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Academics</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ci.nii.ac.jp/author/DA06730877?l=en">CiNii</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Artists</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.getty.edu/vow/ULANFullDisplay?find=&amp;role=&amp;nation=&amp;subjectid=500294088">ULAN</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.moma.org/artists/26900">Museum of Modern Art</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.adk.de/de/akademie/mitglieder/?we_objectID=50575">ADK</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">People</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/people/1004110">Trove</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.deutsche-biographie.de/pnd118753630.html?language=en">Deutsche Biographie</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/person/gnd/118753630">DDB</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"><ul><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.idref.fr/029583470">IdRef</a></span></li><li><span class="uid"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w6gq7qjx">SNAC</a></span></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <!-- NewPP limit report Parsed by mw‐web.codfw.main‐5c59558b9d‐gtqkc Cached time: 20241130105822 Cache expiry: 2592000 Reduced expiry: false Complications: [vary‐revision‐sha1, show‐toc] CPU time usage: 1.049 seconds Real time usage: 1.370 seconds Preprocessor visited node count: 10474/1000000 Post‐expand include size: 73079/2097152 bytes Template argument size: 16831/2097152 bytes Highest expansion depth: 25/100 Expensive parser function count: 25/500 Unstrip recursion depth: 1/20 Unstrip post‐expand size: 191167/5000000 bytes Lua time usage: 0.472/10.000 seconds Lua memory usage: 27500111/52428800 bytes Number of Wikibase entities loaded: 1/400 --> <!-- Transclusion expansion 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