Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...

era, during which he worked with most of the major Hollywood studios. He is best known for his film collaboration with actress

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

in the 1930s, including the highly regarded Paramount/UFA production ''

The Blue Angel ''The Blue Angel'' () is a 1930 German musical comedy-drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings and Kurt Gerron. Written by Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmöller and Robert Liebmann, with uncredite ...

'' (1930). Sternberg's finest works are noteworthy for their striking pictorial compositions, dense décor,

chiaroscuro In art, chiaroscuro ( , ; ) is the use of strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for the use of contrasts of light to ach ...

illumination, and relentless camera motion, endowing the scenes with emotional intensity. He is also credited with having initiated the gangster film genre with his silent era movie ''

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

'' (1927). 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. He was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Director The Academy Award for Best Director (officially known as the Academy Award of Merit for Directing) is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given in honor of a film director who has exhibit ...

for ''

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

'' (1930) and '' Shanghai Express'' (1932).Sarris, 1998. p. 499 Shortly before his death in 1969, his autobiography, '' Fun in a Chinese Laundry'', was published.

Biography

Early life and education

Josef von Sternberg was born Jonas Sternberg to an impoverished

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

family in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, at that time part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

. 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 (''née'' Singer), a circus performer as a child joined Moses in America in 1901 with her five children when Sternberg was seven. 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." 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." The elder Sternberg insisted upon a rigorous study of the Hebrew language, limiting his son to religious studies on top of his regular schoolwork. 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." Sternberg's early struggles, including these "childhood traumas" would inform the "unique subject matter of his films."

Early career

In 1908, when Jonas was fourteen, he returned with his mother to

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, New York, and settled in the United States. He acquired American citizenship in 1908. After a year, he stopped attending Jamaica High School and began working in various occupations, including millinery apprentice, door-to-door trinket salesman and stock clerk at a

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is split into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

factory. At the Fifth Avenue lace outlet, he became familiar with the ornate textiles with which he would adorn his female stars and embellish his mise-en-scène.Sarris, 1966. P. 5 In 1911, when he turned seventeen, the now "Josef" Sternberg, became employed at the World Film Company 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 William A. Brady, Sternberg rose to chief assistant, responsible for "writing

nter The Northern Territory National Emergency Response, also known as "The Intervention" or the Northern Territory Intervention, and sometimes the abbreviation "NTER" (for Northern Territory Emergency Response) was a package of measures enforced by ...

itles and editing films to cover lapses in continuity" for which he received his first official film credits. When the United States entered

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in 1917, he joined the U.S. Army and was assigned to the

Signal Corps A signal corps is a military branch, responsible for military communications (''signals''). Many countries maintain a signal corps, which is typically subordinate to a country's army. Military communication usually consists of radio, telephone, ...

headquartered in Washington, D.C., where he photographed training films for recruits.Baxter, 1971. p. 23Sarris, 1966. P. 5 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.Sarris, 1966. P. 5

Assistant director: 1919–1923

Sternberg served his apprenticeship years with early silent filmmakers, including Hugo Ballin,

Wallace Worsley Wallace Ashley Worsley (December 8, 1878 – March 26, 1944) was an American stage actor who became a film actor and film director during the Silent film, silent era. Over the course of his career, Worsley directed 29 films and acted in 7. He dir ...

, Lawrence C. Windom and

Roy William Neill Roy William Neill (born Roland de Gostrie, 4 September 1887 – 14 December 1946) was an Irish-born American film director best known for producing and directing almost all of the Sherlock Holmes (1939 film series), Sherlock Holmes films starr ...

.Weinberg, 1967. P. 17 In 1919, Sternberg worked with director Emile Chautard's on '' The Mystery of the Yellow Room'', 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." This advice led Sternberg to develop his distinctive "framing" of each shot to become "the screen's greatest master of pictorial composition." Sternberg's 1919 debut in filmmaking, though in a subordinate capacity, coincided with the filming and/or release of D. W. Griffith's '' Broken Blossoms'',

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

's '' Sunnyside'',

Erich von Stroheim Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim, ; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, screenwriter, actor, and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of ...

's '' The Devil's Pass Key'', Cecil B. DeMille's '' Male and Female'',

Robert Wiene Robert Wiene (; 27 April 1873 – 17 July 1938) was a German film director, screenwriter and Film producer, producer, active during the Silent film, silent era. He is widely-known for directing the landmark 1920 film ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari ...

's '' The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari'', Victor Sjöström's '' Karin Daughter of Ingmar'' and

Abel Gance Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director, producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J'ac ...

's ''

J'accuse "''J'Accuse...!''" (; "I Accuse...!") is an open letter, written by Émile Zola in response to the events of the Dreyfus affair, that was published on 13 January 1898 in the newspaper ''L'Aurore''. Zola addressed the president of France, Félix ...

''.Sarris, 1966. P. 6 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 ''

The Bohemian Girl ''The Bohemian Girl'' is an English language Romantic opera composed by Michael William Balfe with a libretto by Alfred Bunn. The plot is loosely based on a Miguel de Cervantes' tale, ''La gitanilla''. The best-known aria from the piece is "I D ...

'' (1922). When he returned to California in 1924, he began work on his first Hollywood movie as assistant to director

's '' Vanity's Price'', produced by Film Booking Office (FBO). Sternberg's aptitude for effective directing was recognized in his handling of the operating room scene, singled out for special mention by ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' critic

Mordaunt Hall Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.The Salvation Hunters'', an independent picture produced with actor

George K. Arthur Arthur George Brest (27 January 1899 – 30 May 1985), known professionally as George K. Arthur, was an English actor and producer, born in Aberdeen, Scotland,. He appeared in more than 50 films between 1919 and 1935, and is best known as t ...

.Baxter, 1971. p. 26-27 The picture, filmed on the minuscule budget of $4,800 – "a miracle of organization" – made a tremendous impression on actor-director-producer

Charles Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered ...

and co-producer

Douglas Fairbanks Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor and filmmaker best known for being the first actor to play the masked Vigilante Zorro and other swashbuckler film, swashbu ...

Sr. of

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

(UA). Influenced by the works of Erich von Stroheim, director of ''

Greed Greed (or avarice, ) is an insatiable desire for material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions) or social value, such as status or power. Nature of greed The initial motivation for (or purpose of) greed and a ...

'' (1924), the movie was lauded by cineastes for its "unglamorous realism", depicting three young drifters who struggle to survive in a dystopian landscape. 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. On the strength of this picture alone, actor-producer

Mary Pickford Gladys Louise Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American film actress and producer. A Canadian pioneers in early Hollywood, pioneer in the American film industry with a Hollywood care ...

of UA engaged Sternberg to write and direct her next feature. His screenplay, entitled ''Backwash'', was deemed to be too experimental in concept and technique, and the Pickford-Sternberg project was cancelled.Sarris, 1966. P. 12 Sternberg's ''The Salvation Hunters'' is "his most explicitly personal work", with the exception of his final picture '' Anatahan'' (1953). His distinctive style is already in evidence, both visually and dramatically: veils and nets filter the view of the actors, and "psychological conflict rather than physical action" has the effect of obscuring the motivations of his characters.

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer: 1925

Released from his contract with United Artists, and regarded as a rising talent in Hollywood, Sternberg was sought after by the major movie studios. Signing an eight-film agreement with

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

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. 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." Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer first assigned Sternberg to adapt author Alden Brooks' novel ''Escape'', retitled '' The Exquisite Sinner''. A romance set in post-

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, 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. Sternberg was next tasked to direct film stars

Mae Murray Mae Murray (born Marie Adrienne Koenig; May 10, 1885 – March 23, 1965) was an American actress, dancer, film producer, and screenwriter. Murray rose to fame during the silent film era and was known as "The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips" and "Th ...

and Roy D'Arcy in '' The Masked Bride'', both of whom had played in Stroheim's highly acclaimed ''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' ( ) is an operetta by the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The Libretto, librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein (writer), Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's ...

'' (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

Robert Florey Robert Florey (September 14, 1900 – May 16, 1979) was a French-American director, screenwriter, film journalist and actor. Florey directed more than 50 films, the best known likely being the Marx Brothers first feature ''The Cocoanuts'' (1929 ...

, Sternberg's assistant director, reported that Sternberg's Stroheim-like histrionics emerged on the M-G-M sets to the consternation of production managers.

Chaplin and ''A Woman of the Sea'': 1926

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, Edna Purviance. Purviance had appeared in dozens of Chaplin's films, but had not had a serious leading role since the much admired picture '' A Woman of Paris'' (1923). This would mark the "only occasion that Chaplin entrusted another director with one of his own productions." Chaplin had detected a Dickensian quality in Sternberg's representation of his characters and mise-en-scène in '' The Salvation Hunters'' and wished to see the young director expand on these elements in the film. The original title, ''The Sea Gull'', was retitled ''A Woman of the Sea'' to invoke the earlier ''A Woman of Paris''.Baxter, 1971. P. 34, 36 Chaplin was dismayed by the film Sternberg created with cameraman Paul Ivano, a "highly visual, almost Expressionistic" work, completely lacking in the humanism that he had anticipated. Though Sternberg reshot a number of scenes, Chaplin declined to distribute the picture and the prints were ultimately destroyed.

Paramount: 1927–1935

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

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his radically innovative and avant-gard ...

to explore an offer to manage stage productions, but discovered he was not suited to the task. 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 ''A Woman of the Sea''. 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 busivefather provided." The pair remarried in 1928, but the relationship continued to deteriorate, ending in a second and final divorce on June 5, 1931.

Silent era: 1927–1929

In the summer of 1927, Paramount producer B. P. Schulberg offered, and Sternberg accepted, a position as "technical advisor for lighting and photography." Sternberg was tasked with salvaging director

Frank Lloyd Frank William George Lloyd (2 February 1886 – 10 August 1960) was a Scottish-American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. He was among the founders of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and was its president from ...

's '' Children of Divorce'', a movie that the studio executives had written off as "worthless". Working "three onsecutivedays of 20-hour shifts" Sternberg reconceived and reshot half the picture and presented Paramount with "a critical and box-office success." Impressed, Paramount arranged for Sternberg to film a major production based on journalist

Ben Hecht Ben Hecht (; February 28, 1894 – April 18, 1964) was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, journalist, and novelist. A journalist in his youth, he went on to write 35 books and some of the most enjoyed screenplays and play ...

's story about Chicago gangsters: ''

''. 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." Siegel, Scott, & Siegel, Barbara (2004). ''The Encyclopedia of Hollywood''. 2nd edition. Checkmark Books. p. 178. ''Underworld'', "clinical and Spartan" in its cinematic technique made a significant impression on French filmmakers: ''Underworld'' was surrealist filmmaker

Luis Buñuel Luis Buñuel Portolés (; 22 February 1900 – 29 July 1983) was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians and directors to be one of the greatest and ...

's favorite film. With ''Underworld'', 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. Some historians point to ''Underworld'' 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. The movies Sternberg created for Paramount over the next two years – '' The Last Command'' (1928), '' The Drag Net'' (1928), '' The Docks of New York'' (1928) and '' The Case of Lena Smith'' (1929), would mark "the most prolific period" of his career and establish him as one of the greatest filmmakers of the late silent era. Contrary to Paramount's expectations, none were very profitable in distribution. ''The Last Command'' 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 Emil Jannings and producer

Erich Pommer Erich Pommer (20 July 1889 – 8 May 1966) was a German-born film producer and executive. Pommer was perhaps the most powerful person in the German and European film industries in the 1920s and early 1930s. As producer, Erich Pommer was involved ...

, both temporarily on loan from Paramount's sister studio, UFA in Germany. 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 '' The Wedding March''. Sternberg's willingness to accept the assignment had the unhappy side effect of "destroying" his relationship with von Stroheim. ''The Drag Net'', a lost film, is believed to be a sequel to ''Underworld''. ''The Docks of New York'', "today the most popular of Sternberg's silent films", combines both spectacle and psychology in a romance set in sordid and brutal environs.Baxter, 1971. p. 58 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. Despite this, Sternberg stands as the great "Romantic artist" of this period in film history. A particularly unfortunate loss is that of ''The Case of Lena Smith'', 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." 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." The

Austrian Film Museum The Austrian Film Museum (German: Österreichisches Filmmuseum) is a film archive and museum located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by and Peter Kubelka in 1964 as a non-profit organization. History In February 1964, independent filmmaker ...

has assembled archival material to reconstruct the film, including a 5-minute print fragment discovered in 2005.

Sound era: 1929–1935

Paramount moved quickly to adapt Sternberg's next feature, '' Thunderbolt'', for sound release in 1929. An underworld melodrama-musical, its soundtrack employs innovative asynchronous and contrapuntal aural effects, often for comic relief. ''Thunderbolt'' garnered leading man

George Bancroft George Bancroft (October 3, 1800 – January 17, 1891) was an American historian, statesman and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician who was prominent in promoting secondary education both in his home state of Massachusetts ...

a Best Actor Award nomination, but Sternberg's future with Paramount was precarious due to the long string of commercial disappointments.

Magnum opus: ''The Blue Angel'': 1930

Sternberg was summoned to Berlin by Paramount's sister studio, UFA in 1929 to direct Emil Jannings in his first sound production, ''The Blue Angel''. It would be "the most important film" of Sternberg's career. Sternberg cast the then little-known

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." Dietrich became an international star overnight and followed Sternberg to Hollywood to produce six more collaborations at Paramount. Film historian

Andrew Sarris Andrew Sarris (October 31, 1928 – June 20, 2012) was an American film critic. He was a leading proponent of the auteur theory of film criticism. Early life Sarris was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Greek immigrant parents, Themis (née Kat ...

contends that ''The Blue Angel'' 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 ... ''The Blue Angel'' stands up today as Sternberg's most efficient achievement ..." 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 ''The Blue Angel''" was "paralleled in real life by the rise of Dietrich and the fall of Jannings" in their respective careers. 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 osefSternberg'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. 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.

The Sternberg-Dietrich Hollywood Collaborations: 1930–1935

Sternberg and Dietrich would unite to make six brilliant and controversial films for Paramount: ''

'' (1930), '' Dishonored'' (1931), '' Shanghai Express'' (1932), '' Blonde Venus'' (1932), '' The Scarlet Empress'' (1934), and '' The Devil is a Woman'' (1935).Baxter, 1971. p. 90 The stories are typically set in exotic locales including Saharan Africa,

Austria, revolutionary China, Imperial Russia, and fin-de-siècle Spain. Sternberg's "outrageous aestheticism" 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. 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.

''Morocco'' (1930) and ''Dishonored'' (1931)

Seeking to capitalize on the immense European success of ''The Blue Angel'', though not yet released to American audiences, Paramount launched the Hollywood production of ''Morocco'', an intrigue-romance starring

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, silent screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

, Dietrich and Adolphe Menjou. The all-out promotional campaign declared Dietrich "the woman all ''women'' want to see", providing a fascinated public with salacious hints about her private life and adding to the star's glamor and notoriety.Baxter, 1993. p. 32 The fan press inserted an erotic component into her collaboration with Sternberg, encouraging Trilby-Svengali 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. ''Morocco'' 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 drag and kisses a pretty female; Cooper flourishes a ladies' fan and places a rose behind his ear.Sarris, 1966. p. 29-30 In terms of romantic complexity, ''Morocco'' "is Sternberg's Hollywood movie ''par excellence''". The box-office success of ''Morocco'' 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. ''Dishonored'', Sternberg's second Hollywood film, featuring Dietrich opposite Victor McLaglen, was completed before ''Morocco'' was released. 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. The feature closes with the melodramatic military execution of Dietrich's Agent X-27 (based on Dutch spy Mata Hari), the love-struck

femme fatale A ( , ; ), sometimes called a maneater, Mata Hari, or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and Seduction, seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype ...

, a scene that balances "gallantry and ghoulishness."

Literary contretemps – ''An American Tragedy'': 1931

''Dishonored'' 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. While Dietrich was visiting her husband, Rudolf Sieber and their daughter Maria Riva in Europe during the winter of 1930–31, Paramount enlisted Sternberg to film an adaption of novelist

Theodore Dreiser Theodore Herman Albert Dreiser (; August 27, 1871 – December 28, 1945) was an American novelist and journalist of the naturalism (literature), naturalist school. His novels often featured main characters who succeeded at their objectives despi ...

's novel '' An American Tragedy''. The production was initially under the direction of preeminent Soviet filmmaker

Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein; (11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenwriter, film editor and film theorist. Considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, he was a pioneer in the theory and practice of montage. He is no ...

. 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. 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 ( Phillips Holmes) whose deceptions lead to the death of a poor factory girl (

Sylvia Sidney Sylvia Sidney (born Sophia Kosow; August 8, 1910 – July 1, 1999) was an American stage, screen, and film actress whose career spanned 70 years. She rose to prominence in dozens of leading roles in the 1930s. She was nominated for the Academy ...

). 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. Images of water abound in the film and serve as a motif signaling Holmes' motivations and fate. The photography by

Lee Garmes Lee Garmes, A.S.C. (May 27, 1898 – August 31, 1978) was an American cinematographer. During his career, he worked with directors Howard Hawks, Max Ophüls, Josef von Sternberg, Alfred Hitchcock, King Vidor, Nicholas Ray and Henry Hathaway, w ...

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. 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 ''Shanghai Express''.

''Shanghai Express'': 1932

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. 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. Scriptwriter Jules Furthman famously provided Dietrich with the poignant admission, "It took more than one man to change my name to Shanghai Lily.".Sarris, 1966. p. 35 Sternberg honored the former filmmaker and early mentor Émile Chautard by casting him as the bemused Major Lenard. With ''Shanghai Express'', Sternberg exhibits complete mastery over every element of his work: décor, photography, sound and acting.

, 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.

''Blonde Venus'': 1932

When Sternberg embarked on his next feature, ''Blonde Venus'', 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 demi-mondes (''Dishonored'', ''Shanghai Express'') were suspended in favor of a heroine who embraced a degree of American-style domesticity. Producer B. P. Schulberg was banking on the success of further Sternberg-Dietrich collaborations to help the studio survive the financial downturn. Sternberg's original story for ''Blonde Venus'' 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 ''de rigueur'' for Hollywood's top female performers, yet the studio balked at the redemptive denouement.Sarris, 1966. p. 35 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.Baxter, 1993. p. 189 Paramount's toleration of the duo's defiance was conditioned largely by the considerable profits that they were reaping from ''Shanghai Express'', over $3 million in early distribution. ''Blonde Venus'' opens with the idealized courtship and marriage of Dietrich and mild-mannered chemist Herbert Marshall. Quickly ensconced as a Brooklyn, New York housewife and burdened with an impish son Dickie Moore, she is compelled to make herself a mistress to politico and nightclub gangster

Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English and American actor. Known for his blended British and American accent, debonair demeanor, lighthearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he ...

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. 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. With ''Blonde Venus'', 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. Between the highly episodic narrative, disparate locales, and an unimpressive supporting cast, the movie is frequently dismissed by critics. ''Blonde Venus'' "camp" 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. Paramount's expectations for ''Blonde Venus'' 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. 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 Rouben Mamoulian's ''

The Song of Songs The Song of Songs (), also called the Canticle of Canticles or the Song of Solomon, is a biblical poem, one of the five ("scrolls") in the ('writings'), the last section of the Tanakh. Unlike other books in the Hebrew Bible, it is erotic poe ...

'' (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.Baxter, 1993. p. 188 Any hopes for such a venture were dashed when the National Socialists were ushered into power in January 1933 and Sternberg returned to Hollywood in April 1933. Abandoning their plans for independent filmmaking, both Sternberg and Dietrich reluctantly signed a two-film contract with the studio on May 9, 1933. 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: ''The Scarlett Empress'', a "relentless excursion into style" that would antagonize Paramount and mark the onset of a distinct phase in his creative output.

''The Scarlet Empress'': 1934

''The Scarlet Empress'', an historical drama concerning the rise of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

of Russia, had been adapted to film on several occasions by American and European directors when Sternberg began organizing the project. 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. 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.Sarris, 1966. p. 40 Sternberg's decision to examine the erotic decadence among 18th-century Russian nobility was partly an attempt to blindside censors, as historical dramas ''ipso facto'' were granted a measure of decorum and gravity. 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." 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. Whereas ''Blonde Venus'' portrayed Dietrich as a candidate for mother love, the maternal figures in ''The Scarlet Empress'' make a mockery of any pretense to such idealizations. Dietrich is reduced to a fantastic and helpless clothes horse, bereft of any dramatic function. Despite withholding distribution of the film for eight months, so as not to compete with the recently issued United Artists film '' The Rise of Catherine the Great'' (1934), starring Elisabeth Bergner, 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.Baxter, 1971. p. 121 The film's conspicuous failure among moviegoers was a blow to Sternberg's professional reputation, recalling his 1926 disaster, ''A Woman of the Sea''. 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. 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

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; ; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; a ...

, Sternberg was given full control over what would be his final film with Marlene Dietrich: ''The Devil is a Woman''.

''The Devil is a Woman'': 1935

''The Devil is a Woman'' 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. 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. 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. Based on a novel by Pierre Louÿs, '' The Woman and the Puppet'' (1908), the drama unfolds in Spain's famous

carnival Carnival (known as Shrovetide in certain localities) is a festive season that occurs at the close of the Christian pre-Lenten period, consisting of Quinquagesima or Shrove Sunday, Shrove Monday, and Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. Carnival typi ...

at the end of the 19th century. A

love triangle A love triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with someone is simultaneo ...

develops pitting the young revolutionary Antonio ( Cesar Romero) against the middle-aged former military officer Don Pasqual ( Lionel Atwill) in a contest for the love of the devastatingly beautiful demi-mondaine 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. 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. The sharp exchanges between Concha and Pasqual are filled with bitter recriminations. 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. The March 1935 premiere of ''The Devil is a Woman'' 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."Baxter, 1971. p. 130 Even with better than expected reviews, ''The Devil is a Woman'' cost Sternberg his reputation in the film industry. Sternberg would never again enjoy the largesse nor the prestige that had been conferred on him at Paramount. A postscript to the release of ''The Devil is a Woman'' 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 Civil Guards as inept at controlling carnival merrymakers, and a shot of a policeman consuming an alcoholic beverage in a café. Paramount president

Adolph Zukor Adolph Zukor (; ; January 7, 1873 – June 10, 1976) was a Hungarian-American film producer best known as one of the three founders of Paramount Pictures.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'' (June 16, 1976), p. 76. He produced one of Ameri ...

agreed to suppress the picture in the interest of protecting US-Spain trade agreements – and to protect Paramount film distribution in the country.

Columbia Pictures: 1935–1936

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,

Harry Cohn Harry Cohn (July 23, 1891 – February 27, 1958) was a co-founder, president, and production director of Columbia Pictures, Columbia Pictures Corporation. Life and career Cohn was born to a working-class Jewish family in New York City. His fath ...

. These two former colleagues sponsored Sternberg's engagement at the low-budget studio for a two-picture contract.

''Crime and Punishment'': 1935

An adaption of the 19th-century Russian novelist

Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influent ...

's ''

Crime and Punishment ''Crime and Punishment'' is a novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published in the literary journal '' The Russian Messenger'' in twelve monthly installments during 1866.

'' 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. 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. However uninspired, Sternberg proved an able craftsman, dispelling some of the myths regarding his eccentricities, and the film proved satisfactory to Columbia.

''The King Steps Out'': 1936

Columbia had high hopes for Sternberg's next feature, ''The King Steps Out'', starring soprano

Grace Moore Mary Willie Grace Moore (December 5, 1898January 26, 1947) was an American operatic lyric soprano and actress in musical theatre and film.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', January 29, 1947, page 48. She was nicknamed the "Tennessee N ...

and based on Fritz Kreisler's operetta ''Cissy''. 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. Wishing to distance himself from the fiasco, Sternberg quickly departed Columbia Pictures after the film's completion. ''The King Steps Out'' is the only movie that he insisted be expunged from any retrospective of his work. 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

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County, California. Situated to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it comprises a large portion of Los Angeles, the Municipal corpo ...

north of Hollywood. Designed by architect

Richard Neutra Richard Joseph Neutra ( ; 8 April 1892 – 16 April 1970) was an Austrian-American architect. Living and building for most of his career in Southern California, he came to be considered a prominent and important modernist architect. His most ...

, 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. 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 Nagamasa Kawakita – they would collaborate on Sternberg's final movie in 1953. In Java Sternberg contracted a life-threatening abdominal infection, requiring his immediate return to Europe for surgery.

London Films – ''I, Claudius'': 1937

While convalescing in London, the 42-year-old director, his creative powers still fully intact, was approached by

London Films London Films Productions is a British film and television production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda and from 1936 based at Denham Film Studios in Buckinghamshire, near London. The company's productions included '' The Private Li ...

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)

. The British movie impresario asked Sternberg to film novelist and poet

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...

's biographical account of Roman Emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

. 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

William Cameron Menzies William Cameron Menzies (July 29, 1896 – March 5, 1957) was an American filmmaker who pioneered the discipline of production design, a job title he invented. His career spanned five decades, during which time he also worked as an art director, ...

. Claudius as conceived by Graves is "a Sternbergian figure of classic proportions" possessing all the elements for a great film. Played by Charles Laughton, Claudius is an aging, erudite and unwitting successor to the Emperor

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

. 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 ( Merle Oberon) 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. Korda was eager to get the production underway, as Charles Laughton's contract would likely expire during shooting.Baxter, 1971. p. 139-140 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 Denham studio, an indication of the seriousness with which Sternberg approached this ambitious project. 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. 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. 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. 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. The film negative and prints were placed into storage at Denham Studio and London Films collected sizable insurance compensation. The greatest share of misfortune accrued to Sternberg. The surviving film sequences suggest that ''I, Claudius'' 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. 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. Sternberg's persistent desire to find work kept him in Europe from 1937 to 1938. He approached Czech soprano Jarmila Novotná as to her availability to star in an adaptation of

Franz Werfel Franz Viktor Werfel (; 10 September 1890 – 26 August 1945) was an Austrian-Bohemian novelist, playwright, and poet whose career spanned World War I, the Interwar period, and World War II. He is primarily known as the author of '' The Forty ...

's ''

The Forty Days of Musa Dagh ''The Forty Days of Musa Dagh'' () is a 1933 novel by Austrians, Austrian-Bohemian writer Franz Werfel based on events that took place in 1915, during the second year of the First World War and at the beginning of the Armenian genocide. The nove ...

'', but she demurred. Reviving their mutual interest in playwright

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; ; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italians, Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his bold and ...

's '' Six Characters in Search of an Author'', Sternberg and director

attempted to obtain the rights but the cost was prohibitive. At the end of 1937, Sternberg arranged for Austrian financing to film a version of '' Germinal'' by

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...

, successfully acquiring Hilde Krahl and

Jean-Louis Barrault Jean-Louis Bernard Barrault (; 8 September 1910 – 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist who worked on both screen and stage. Biography Barrault was born in Le Vésinet in France in 1910. His father was 'a Burgundi ...

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, Germany invaded Austria 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.

M-G-M redux: 1938–1939

In October 1938, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer asked Sternberg to finish up a few scenes for departing French director

Julien Duvivier Julien Duvivier (; 8 October 1896 – 29 October 1967) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930–1960. Amongst his most original films, chiefly notable are ''La Bandera (film), La Bandera'', ...

's ''The Great Waltz''. 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 Hedy Lamarr, the recent star of ''

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

''. Metro was motivated by Sternberg's success with Marlene Dietrich at Paramount, anticipating that he would instill some warmth in Lamarr's screen image. Sternberg worked on ''New York Cinderella'' for little more than a week and resigned. The movie was completed by W. S. Van Dyke as ''I Take This Woman'' in 1940. The feature was panned by critics. 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: ''Sergeant Madden''.

''Sergeant Madden'': 1939

A paternalistic patrolman (

Wallace Beery Wallace Fitzgerald Beery (April 1, 1885 – April 15, 1949) was an American film and stage actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in '' Min and Bill'' (1930) opposite Marie Dressler, as General Director Preysing in '' Grand Hotel'' (1 ...

) rises through the ranks to become sergeant. As father he presides over a blended family of natural and adopted children: a biological son ( Alan Curtis) and adopted children ( Tom Brown and Laraine Day). 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. 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 ''Sergeant Madden'' 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. Stylistically, Sternberg's film techniques mimic the dark, gray atmosphere of the German Expressionist films of the 1920s. The minor characters in ''Sergeant Madden'' appear to have been recruited from the films of F. W. Murnau. Despite some resistance from the bombastic Beery, Sternberg coaxed a relatively restrained performance that recalls Emil Jannings.

United Artists redux – 1940–1941

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: ''The Shanghai Gesture''.

Shanghai Gesture: 1941

German producer Arnold Pressburger, an early associate of the director, held the rights to a John Colton play entitled ''The Shanghai Gesture'' (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 Hays Office 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 ''The Shanghai Gesture'' to the screen. Veteran screenwriter Jules Furthman with assistance from Karl Vollmöller and Géza Herczeg formulated a bowdlerized version which passed muster. Sternberg made some additions to the scenario and agreed to film it. Paul Ivano, Sternberg's cinematographer on '' A Woman of the Sea'' was enlisted as cameraman.Baxter, 1971. p. 154 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 Gin-Sling", rather than the impious "Mother Goddam" in the Colton's original. Gin-Sling's

half-caste Half-caste is a term used for individuals of Multiracial, multiracial descent. The word ''wikt:caste, caste'' is borrowed from the Portuguese or Spanish word ''casta'', meaning race. Terms such as ''half-caste'', ''caste'', ''quarter-caste'' an ...

daughter

Gene Tierney Gene Eliza Tierney (November 19, 1920November 6, 1991) was an American stage and film actress. Acclaimed for her great beauty, Tierney was a prominent Leading actor, leading lady during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. Sh ...

– the result of a coupling between Gin-Sling and British official Sir Guy Charteris Walter Huston – 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 "Poppy" is no less degraded by her privileged upbringing. Sternberg augmented the original story by inserting two compelling characters: Doctor Omar ( Victor Mature) and Dixie Pomeroy ( Phyllis Brooks). Dr. Omar – "Doctor of Nothing" – is a complacent sybarite impressive only to cynical casino regulars. His scholarly epithet has no more substance than Sternberg's "von" and the director humorously exposes the pretense. 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. 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. ''The Shanghai Gesture'' 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.

Department of War Information – "''The American Scene''": 1943–1945

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.

''The Town'': 1943

In the midst of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Sternberg, in a civilian capacity, was asked by the

United States Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...

to make a single film, a one-reel documentary for the series entitled ''

The American Scene ''The American Scene'' is a book of travel writing by Henry James about his trip through the United States in 1904–1905. Ten of the fourteen chapters of the book were published in the ''North American Review'', '' Harper's'' and the '' Fortni ...

'', a domestic version of the combat and recruitment oriented ''

Why We Fight ''Why We Fight'' is a series of seven propaganda films produced by the US Department of War from 1942 to 1945, during World War II. It was originally written for American soldiers to help them understand why the United States was involved in the ...

''. Whereas his service with the

included filming shorts demonstrating the proper use of fixed bayonets, this 11-minute documentary ''The Town'' is a portrait of a small American community in the Midwest with emphasis on the cultural contributions of its European immigrants. 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. ''The Town'' was translated into 32 languages and distributed overseas in 1945. At the end of the war, Sternberg was hired by producer

David O. Selznick David O. Selznick (born David Selznick; May 10, 1902June 22, 1965) was an American film producer, screenwriter and film studio executive who produced ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'' (1939) and ''Rebecca (1940 film), Rebecca'' (1 ...

, an admirer of the director, to serve as a roving advisor and assistant on the film '' Duel in the Sun'', starring

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars, 12th-greatest male ...

. Attached to the unit overseen by filmmaker

King Vidor King Wallis Vidor ( ; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, ...

, Sternberg pitched into any task he was assigned with alacrity. Sternberg continued to seek a sponsor for a highly personal project entitled ''The Seven Bad Years'', 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

Weehawken, New Jersey Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's po ...

, in 1947.

RKO Pictures: 1949–1952

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. In 1949, screenwriter Jules Furthman, now a co-producer for

Howard Hughes Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American Aerospace engineering, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor. He was The World's Billionaires, one of the richest and most influential peo ...

' 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

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

-era ''Jet Pilot''.

''Jet Pilot'': 1951

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. In a Furthman script that resembled a comic-book narrative, a Soviet pilot-spy Janet Leigh lands her Mig fighter at a USAF base in Alaska, posing as defector. Suspicious, the base commander assigns American pilot

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne, was an American actor. Nicknamed "Duke", he became a Pop icon, popular icon through his starring roles in films which were produced during Hollywood' ...

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

brainwashing Brainwashing is the controversial idea that the human mind can be altered or controlled against a person's will by manipulative psychological techniques. Brainwashing is said to reduce its subject's ability to think critically or independently ...

. Leigh arranges for their escape to Austria. 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. Sternberg stealthily inserted some subversive elements in this paean of cold war militarism. During the airborne refueling scenes (anticipating

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

's '' Dr. Strangelove)'', the fighter jets take on the persona and attributes of Leigh and Wayne. 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. With ''Jet Pilot'' completed, Sternberg immediately turned to his second film for RKO: ''Macao''.

''Macao'': 1952

To Sternberg's discomfiture, RKO maintained strict control when filming commenced in September 1950. The thriller is set in the exotic locale of

Macao Macau or Macao is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most densely populated region in the world. Formerly a Portuguese colony, the ter ...

, at the time a Portuguese colony on the coast of China. American drifters Robert Mitchum and

gold-digger A gold digger is a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of Transactional sex, transactional sexual relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience. Etymology and usage ...

Jane Russell become involved in an intrigue to lure corrupt casino owner and jewel smuggler Brad Dexter offshore into international waters so he can be arrested by US lawman William Bendix. Mistaken identities put Mitchum in danger and murders ensue, ending in a dramatic fight scene. 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. His handling of the climactic fight between Mitchum and Dexter was deemed deficient by producers. Mastery over action scenes predictably eluded Sternberg and director Nicholas Ray (uncredited) was summoned to re-shoot the sequence in the final stages of production. Contrary to Hughes's inclination to retain Sternberg as a director at RKO, no new contract was forthcoming. Persevering in his efforts to launch an independent project, Sternberg obtained an option on novelist Shelby Foote's tale of sin and redemption, ''Follow Me Down'', but failed to obtain funding. Visiting New York in 1951, Sternberg renewed his friendship with Japanese producer Nagamasa Kawakita, and they agreed to pursue a joint production in Japan. From this alliance would emerge Sternberg's most personal film – and his last: '' The Saga of Anahatan''.

Later career

Between 1959 and 1963, Sternberg taught a course on film aesthetics at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, based on his own works. His students included undergraduate

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...

and graduate student Ray Manzarek, who went on to form the rock group

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

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." When not working in California, Sternberg lived in a house that he built for himself in

. He collected

contemporary art Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a ...

and was also a

philatelist Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. While closely associated with stamp collecting and the study of postage, it is possible ...

, and he developed an interest in the Chinese postal system which led to him studying the Chinese language. He was often a juror at film festivals. Sternberg wrote an autobiography, ''Fun in a Chinese Laundry'' (1965); the title was drawn from an early film comedy. '' Variety'' 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." He had a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

and was admitted to Midway Hospital Medical Center in Hollywood and died within a week on December 22, 1969, aged 75. He was interred in the

Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park and Mortuary is a cemetery and Morgue, mortuary located in the Westwood, Los Angeles, Westwood area of Los Angeles. It includes a crematory for cremation services. Its location is at 1218 Glendon Av ...

in Westwood,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

near several film studios.

Comments by contemporaries

Scottish-American screenwriter Aeneas MacKenzie: "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". American film actress and dancer Louise Brooks: "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". American actor Edward Arnold: "It may be true that on Sternbergis 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 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 fthe best I have ever done in the talkies". American film critic

: "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".Sarris, 1966. p. 23

Filmography

Silent films

* '' The Salvation Hunters'' (1925) * '' The Exquisite Sinner'' (1926, lost) * '' A Woman of the Sea'' (1926, also known as ''The Sea Gull'' or ''Sea Gulls'' or ''The Woman who loved once'', lost) * ''

'' (1927) * '' The Last Command'' (1928) * '' The Dragnet'' (1928, lost) * '' The Docks of New York'' (1928) * '' The Case of Lena Smith'' (1929, lost)

Sound films

* '' Thunderbolt'' (1929) * ''

'' (1930) * ''

'' (1930) * '' Dishonored'' (1931) * '' An American Tragedy'' (1931) * '' Shanghai Express'' (1932) * '' Blonde Venus'' (1932) * '' The Scarlet Empress'' (1934) * '' The Devil is a Woman'' (1935) * ''

'' (1935) * '' The King Steps Out'' (1936) * '' Sergeant Madden'' (1939) * '' The Shanghai Gesture'' (1941) * '' The Town'' (1943, short film) * ''

'' (1952) * '' Anatahan'' (1953 also known as ''The Saga of Anatahan'') * '' Jet Pilot'' (1957)

Other projects

* '' The Masked Bride'' (1925, directed with

Christy Cabanne William Christy Cabanne (April 16, 1888 – October 15, 1950) was an American film director, screenwriter, and silent film actor. Biography Born in 1888 in St. Louis, Missouri, Cabanne (pronounced CAB-a-nay) was educated at the Culver Military ...

, uncredited) * '' It'' (1927, directed with Clarence G. Badger, uncredited) * '' Children of Divorce'' (1927, directed with

, uncredited) * '' The Street of Sin'' (1928, directed with Mauritz Stiller, uncredited) * '' I, Claudius'' (1937, unfinished) * '' The Great Waltz'' (1938, directed with

, uncredited) * '' I Take This Woman'' (1940, directed with W.S. Van Dyke, uncredited) * '' Duel in the Sun'' (1946, directed with

, uncredited)

References

Sources

* Arnold, Edward. 1940. ''Lorenzo Goes to Hollywood: The Autobiography of Edward Arnold'' (New York: Liveright, 1940) pp. 256–277 in ''Playing to the Camera: Film Actors Discuss Their Craft''. Bert Cardullo et al. 1998. P. 76-77 Yale University Press. New Haven and New York. * Bach, Steven. 1992. ''Marlene Dietrich: Life and Legend.'' William Morrow and Company, Inc. * Baxter, John. 1971. ''The Cinema of Josef von Sternberg''. London: A. Zwemmer / New York: A. S. Barnes & Co. * Baxter, John. 2010. ''Von Sternberg''. Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky. * Baxter, Peter. 1993. ''Just Watch!: Sternberg, Paramount and America''. London: British Film Institute. * Baxter, Peter (ed.) 1980. ''Sternberg''. London: British Film Institute. * Brooks, Louise. 1965. ''People will Talk''. Aurum Press/A.Knopf. 1986. pp. 71–97, in ''Playing to the Camera: Film Actors Discuss Their Craft''. Bert Cardullo et al. 1998. p. 51 Yale University Press. New Haven and New York. * Brownlow, Kevin. 1968. ''The Parade's Gone By''. University of California Press. Berkeley, California. * Cardullo, Bert, et al. 1998. ''Playing to the Camera: Film Actors Discuss Their Craft''. Yale University Press. New Haven and New York.
Dixon, Wheeler, W. 2012. ''Shanghai Express''. Senses of Cinema.
Retrieved September 7, 2018. * Eyman, Scott. 2012
The Unhappiest Man in Hollywood. Wall Street Journal. November 12, 2010.
Retrieved September 21, 2018.
Gallagher, Tag. 2002. ''Josef von Sternberg''. Senses of Cinema, March 2002.
Retrieved September 21, 2018. * Horwath, Alexander and Omasta, Michael(Ed.). 2007. ''Josef von Sternberg. The Case of Lena Smith.'' Vienna: SYNEMA – Gesellschaft für Film und Medien, 2007, (''Filmmuseum-Synema-Publikationen'' Vol. 5). * * Sarris, Andrew. 1966. ''The Films of Josef von Sternberg''. New York: Doubleday. * Sarris, Andrew. 1998. "You Ain't Heard Nothin' Yet." The American Talking Film History & Memory, 1927–1949. Oxford University Press.
Silver, Charles. 2010. ''Josef von Sternberg's The Docks of New York''.
Retrieved August 6, 2018. * Sternberg, Josef von. 1965. ''Fun in a Chinese Laundry''. London: Secker and Warburg. * Studlar, Gaylyn: ''In the Realm of Pleasure: Von Sternberg, Dietrich, and the Masochistic Aesthetic''. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992.
Supten, Tom. 2006. ''This is The Town and These Are the People''. Bright Lights Film Journal. September 15, 2006.
Retrieved May 30, 2018. * Weinberg, Herman G., 1967. ''Josef von Sternberg. A Critical Study''. New York: Dutton. * Alexander Horwath, Michael Omasta (Ed.), ''Josef von Sternberg. The Case of Lena Smith'', FilmmuseumSynemaPublikationen Vol. 5, Vienna 2007, . Book on Josef von Sternberg's last silent movie – one of the legendary lost masterpieces of the American cinema. *Wollstein, Hans J. 1994. ''Strangers in Hollywood: The History of Scandinavian Actors in American Films, 1910 to World War II.'' '' The Scarecrow Press'', Filmmakers series no. 43. Anthony Slide, editor

External links

*
Senses Of Cinema: Josef von Sternberg

Literature on Josef von Sternberg

For the Icon, The Shadow, and The Glimmer Between: 3 Silent Classics by Josef von Sternberg
Daniel Kasman, MUBI (August 23, 2010) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sternberg, Josef Von 1894 births 1969 deaths 20th-century American Jews American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States Film directors from New Jersey Film directors from Vienna German Film Award winners History of the San Fernando Valley Military personnel from New York City Military personnel from New York (state) People from Weehawken, New Jersey United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army Signal Corps personnel