The Flame of New Orleans

Production: Universal. Director Rene Clair; Producer Joe Pasternak; Screenplay Norman Krasna; Camera Rudolph Mate; Editor Frank Gross; Music Charles Previn
Crew: (B&W) Extract of a review from 1941. Running time: 78 MIN.
With: Marlene Dietrich Bruce Cabot Roland Young Anne Revere Mischa Auer

This Marlene Dietrich starrer is a very thin and familiar tale of the romantic interludes of a lady of dubious reputation a century ago. Picture misses its apparent mark of being a smartly sophisticated farce by a considerable margin, winding up as a lightweight entry.

Dietrich arrives in New Orleans after a European tour, determined to grab off a wealthy admirer. Roland Young is an easy victim and proposes marriage, but Bruce Cabot, tough and roving ship captain, holds a strange fascination for her. Plot’s a case of how long before she tosses over Young for Cabot.

Picture is Rene Clair’s first in America. He works valiantly with the flimsy material, injecting many incidental by-plays that are amusing, but to meagre avail.

Dietrich provides a familiar performance as the questionable lady, shapely in appearance, but sparkles in a role calling for zest. Her attempts at coyness miss badly. Inclusion of a few songs fail to provide a lift to the proceedings.

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