Marlene Dietrich spent the majority of her life occupying the stage and screen, her career spanning from the 1910s to the 1980s. While her name is now often associated with the glitz of Hollywood and high society, the enduring image that of a glamour girl alongside the likes of Hedy Lamarr and Rita Hayworth, this only tells half the story. Though likely not her intention, Dietrich seemed committed to breaking gender barriers; she was once described by Kenneth Tynan as being without gender. “She is every man’s mistress and mother,” he said, “every woman’s lover and aunt.”

Dietrich was bisexual and enjoyed Berlin’s gay bars and drag balls in the 1920s. She would frequently attend the drag balls dressed in a custom-made tuxedo. In fact, the origins of her trademark looks lay in the underground gay and lesbian scene of the time – Dietrich designed her own costumes for her shows, for which she drew inspiration from her wardrobe at home.

Her most famous look, at least at the time, was a tuxedo, top hat and, later, a monocle. These were all part of the lesbian ‘uniform’ in the 20s, though they held personal significance for Dietrich, too, as the monocle had belonged to her father who had died when she was just five years old.

Image was very important to Dietrich. She once said that clothes bored her and that ‘If I dressed for myself, I wouldn’t bother at all.’ The image she so carefully crafted was the reason she bothered. 

Dietrich’s breakthrough came in 1929 when she was cast as a cabaret singer named Lola-Lola in Der blaue Engel (The Blue Angel). Previously, she had taken roles of varying importance on both stage and screen, earning significant fame in musicals. She had taken a break from acting after her marriage to Rudolf Sieber in 1923, returning in 1924 after the birth of her daughter, Maria. 

This film, the first German ‘talkie’, had Dietrich wearing a white silk top hat and a garter belt along with and in contrast to a feminine, provocative cabaret costume. Both of the former elements were popular with gay men and lesbians, and central to Deitrich’s act.

Her success in The Blue Angel meant she was quickly taken to Hollywood and signed to Paramount Pictures. Her fame continued to grow, thanks in part to her performance – again as a cabaret singer – in the 1930 film, Morocco. Though the central story of the film is Dietrich’s romance with the male lead, played by Gary Cooper (with whom Dietrich subsequently had an affair), Morocco is best remembered for another scene:

Dietrich, dressed in her now iconic top hat and tails, saunters into the nightclub, a cigarette in hand. She sings “Quand l’amour meurt,” a song that had been written for a man. At the conclusion of the song, she takes a flower from a woman’s hair, sniffs it, then kisses the woman. She later tosses the flower to the man sitting next to the woman. Watch the scene here.

Dietrich’s daughter claimed that Marlene had done the kiss to ‘shock puritanical America’. Shock it did; nevertheless, Dietrich was able to get away with it. She managed this through a combination of her ‘image’ – this is what was expected from Dietrich’s performances – and through the fact that the moment was played for laughs, as a playful, artificial moment.

Even so, nothing like this had been seen on-screen before. It was revolutionary – indeed, I might argue here that it is still revolutionary for the modern-day, with lesbians and bisexual women even now difficult to find in media. The moment Dietrich entered the screen, she exerted her dominance and power over the entire audience, both men and women. Her manner and dress made her attractive to all, regardless of gender, and it is here that the lack of gender Tynan spoke about really shows. The tuxedo, cigarette, and her casual pose all promote a male stance, yet never for a second is her womanness hidden. This, and Dietrich’s own bisexuality, mean that this scene has resonated with LGBT people throughout the ages. 

I am a unique performer and my audience realize this. I mean, who else is there doing what I am doing today?

Marlene Dietrich

In addition to acting, Dietrich undertook humanitarian work during the war. She was strongly opposed to Hitler – “Hitler is an idiot,” she once declared – and her films were banned in Germany, Dietrich branded as a traitor. She worked to help Jews escape from Germany and put her entire salary for her 1937 film, Knight Without Armour, towards helping refugees. She also sold war bonds and went on two tours to perform for Allied troops in Algeria, Italy, the UK, France, and the Netherlands. She even once re-entered Germany, coming within kilometres of the German lines.

In November 1947, Dietrich was awarded the Medal of Freedom for her “extraordinary record entertaining troops overseas during the war”. She later said that this was her proudest achievement. 

After the war, Dietrich returned to films and, though her career never again quite reached its pre-war heights, she still landed several significant roles. She maintained her androgynous image when she moved to cabaret from the 1950s onwards, often performing the first half of her act in sheer, body-hugging dresses and the second in tuxedos. It was a calculated move, designed to appeal to both men and women.

“In her glitter dress, she sang to men; in her tails, to women,” her daughter said. 

Dietrich herself said on the matter, “If I have often appeared in tails, it was for the reason that the best songs are written for men”. 

Her career largely ended in 1975 when she fell and broke her thigh bone. She took some small roles after this, but her final appearance on-screen was in 1979. When a documentary about her was filmed in 1982, she would only allow them to record her voice.

Marlene Dietrich died on 6 May 1992, aged 90. Nevertheless, her innate magnetism and charm continue to captivate audiences to this day, and she is held as an icon of the LGBT+ community.

Sources:

• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marlene-Dietrich
• Stockwell, Anne, ‘Dish from Dietrich’s Daughter’, Advocate, 854/855 (2002), 68
• Kennison, Rebecca, ‘Clothes Make the (Wo)man: Marlene Dietrich and “Double Drag”’, Journal of Lesbian Studies, 6.2 (2002), 146-156