MovieChat Forums > Destry Rides Again (1939) Discussion > The Stewart-Dietrich affiar

The Stewart-Dietrich affiar

posted 17 years ago by HowToCarrieOn
7 replies | jump to latest

Marlene was famous for her numerous affairs with both men and women. Although she was 37 at the time of filming the movie, 7 years older than Jimmy, she looks as always great and seductive and the difference in the age is not quite visible.
Many sources claim that around the time when the film was being made, the two leading stars had an affair. One of them is Maria Riva's words (Marlene's only child, b. 1924). Well, according to Maria, Jimmy impregnanted Marlene. And during a dance she told him she was carrying his baby. He left without a word and this was the end of the affair. Riva told that her mother "did the only thing a woman could do in this situation". In fact, she meant the fact that Marlene had an abortion.
Do you know if those rumours are true?

[–] 17 years ago

[deleted]

[–] arens54321 17 years ago

I read a great bio on Jimmy that said pretty much that, only it wasn't quite so clear if he left before he knew or after.

[–] csu16387 17 years ago

I read this a few years ago in the Peter Bogdanovich book, Who the Hell's In It? He mentions Orson Welles told him that he took Marlene to get an abortion. The other users responded to my post saying the rumors were true about the affair and pregnancy.

"Dry your eyes baby, it's out of character."

[–] Theo87 16 years ago

it's really sad that marlene dietrich aborted the child. imagine what an amazing actor/actress the child would have been!

[–] meteor_storm 13 years ago

I came here after reading that in the trivia. I keep fooling myself into thinking these actors are all pristine angels (Jimmy Stewart, not Marlene Dietrich) and then I go and read that he knocked her up and she aborted it.

If Stewart had been banging Irene Hervey (the cute blonde sister, Janice Tyndell), then I'd be like, Yeahhhh. But Marlene? Blech!

[–] chicago85 13 years ago

Loretta Young had an affair with Clark Gable and had a daughter. She pretended her daughter Judy was adopted and kept her daughter at a distance. Young was very much a Catholic so abortion was out of the question. She didn't do her daughter any favors. Her daughter found out at age 23 from her fiance who told her everyone in Hollywood knew except her.

She finally confronted her mother at age 31 and they talked for hours about it but never again did they raise the subject.

[–] cjbarrett 8 years ago

Meteor,
What makes you think he didn't?
Jimmy and his pal Hank Fonda were very popular!