MovieChat Forums > The Spoilers (1942) Discussion > Does anyone know why they let Marlene si...

Does anyone know why they let Marlene sing?


The best that could be said about it is she looked good singing.

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I just watched the film again. She doesn't sing at all in this film.

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I never actually said she sang in this film, but I probably got this movie mixed up with "Seven Sinners", which is why I posted it here. But my point's still valid about her not being a good singer, IMHO.

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[deleted]

Correctly, somebody made the decision (Von Sternberg?), that Marlene's exotic sensuality along with her German accent would be an attention-grabbing sequence to apply in film. Regardless of whether she was "good", the singing performances she did in several films (Rancho Notorious, Stage Fright, The Blue Angel, Foreign Affair, among many more) have become legendary, as was her character in general, as in Blazing Saddles' Lily Von Schtupp. I find the sequences pleasing to watch - there's usually more than just singing going on, we're usually learning something about her character - "good" singing or not.

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Very well said, and I would just add that singing isn't all about range and lung power and so forth- a lot of it is just personality. Marlene Dietrich is more fun to hear, to me, than a lot of trained and accomplished singers. So is Julie London, Astrud Gilberto, Durante...

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