Turner Classic Movies is dedicating this evening to filmmaker Josef von Sternberg, best known for his elaborate pageants starring Marlene Dietrich. One of those, Shanghai Express (1932) was shown earlier this evening; another, the creaky melodrama Morocco (1930), which earned Dietrich her sole Academy Award nomination, is on right now. Gary Cooper and Adolphe Menjou co-star.
Next, TCM will present Crime and Punishment (1935) an atmospheric but melodramatic adaptation of Dostoevsky’s novel. I’ve yet to sit through the last three: The Shanghai Gesture (1941), Macao (1952), and The King Steps Out (1937).
Schedule and synopses from the TCM website:
5:00pm Shanghai Express (1932)
A beautiful temptress re-kindles an old romance while trying to escape her past during a tension-packed train journey.
Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook, Anna May Wong, Warner Oland Dir: Josef von Sternberg BW-82 mins6:30pm Morocco (1930)
A sultry cabaret singer falls hard for a Foreign Legionnaire.
Cast: Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, Adolphe Menjou, Ullrich Haupt Dir: Josef von Sternberg BW-92 mins8:15pm Crime and Punishment (1935)
A young student murders for money then tries to escape his guilt and a brilliant detective.
Cast: Peter Lorre, Edward Arnold, Marian Marsh, Tala Birrell Dir: Josef von Sternberg BW-88 mins10:00pm The Shanghai Gesture (1941)
A gambling queen uses blackmail to stop a British financier from closing her Chinese clip joint.
Cast: Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, Victor Mature, Ona Munson Dir: Josef von Sternberg BW-98 mins,11:45pm Macao (1952)
A man on the run in the Far East is mistaken for an undercover cop.
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, William Bendix, Thomas Gomez Dir: Josef von Sternberg BW-81 mins1:15am The King Steps Out (1936)
A young woman saves her sister from marriage to an emperor that she doesn’t love.
Cast: Miss Grace Moore, Franchot Tone, Walter Connolly, Raymond Walburn Dir: Josef von Sternberg BW-85 mins