An Evening with Marlene Dietrich
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''An Evening With Marlene Dietrich'' is a concert-format
television special A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of ent ...
, starring
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 . (, ; ...
, first broadcast in 1973.


Production

Alexander H. Cohen, who had produced Dietrich's successful Broadway runs of her one-woman show in 1967 and 1968, suggested a television version of her show. Dietrich would receive a fee of $250,000 for her participation in the project. It was said at the time that this was the highest one-shot fee ever paid to a performer to appear on television. After two airings (one in the UK and one in the US), the copyright on the show would revert to Dietrich. Dietrich—wary of television as a medium—insisted that the show be filmed in a legitimate theatre in Europe, to best capture her act and audience reaction thereto. The
New London Theatre The Gillian Lynne Theatre (formerly New London Theatre) is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden. The Winter Garden Theatre formerly occupied the site until 1965 ...
in London was chosen as location for filming, although the theatre would still be under construction at the time of filming. (The theatre would only officially open the following year.) Lighting designer Joe Davis was brought in to recreate Dietrich's stage lighting and designer
Rouben Ter-Arutunian Rouben Ter-Arutunian(Ռուբէն Տէր-Յարութիւնեան) (July 24, 1920 – October 17, 1992) was an American-Armenian costume and scenic designer for dance, opera, theater and television. Anderson, JackRouben Ter-Arutunian, 72, Dies ...
designed a set featuring scrims and incorporating a Dietrich sketch by René Bouche. Dietrich's costumes were by
Jean Louis Jean Louis (born Jean Louis Berthault; October 5, 1907 – April 20, 1997) was a French-American costume designer. He won an Academy Award for '' The Solid Gold Cadillac'' (1956). Life and career Before coming to Hollywood, he worked in New Yo ...
, and Stan Freeman conducted the orchestra, using orchestrations of the Dietrich repertoire by Burt Bacharach. Taping took place on November 23 and November 24, 1972. Dietrich gave two complete shows to non-paying, invitee-only audiences. Shots of Dietrich interacting with the audience were also taped at the end of the second concert. She also shot retakes of "
Lili Marlene "Lili Marleen" (also spelled "Lili Marlen'", "Lilli Marlene", "Lily Marlene", "Lili Marlène" among others; ) is a German love song that became popular during World War II throughout Europe and the Mediterranean among both Axis and Allied troo ...
" and "
Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It) Falling in Love Again may refer to: Film * ''Falling in Love Again'' (1980 film), a romantic comedy starring Elliott Gould * ''Falling in Love Again'' (2003 film), a Canadian animated short Music Albums * ''Falling in Love Again'' (David Ga ...
" (the latter both in English and German) sans audience against a black velour backdrop to facilitate a post-production split-screen montage of her singing beside old black and white stills from the 1930s and 1940s. The best selections from the various tapings would be combined to form the final, one-hour-long special.


Repertoire

A set-list of twenty songs was devised for the taping, including foreign-language selections in French and German, which would facilitate variant edits for differing European markets: * "
I Get a Kick Out of You "I Get a Kick Out of You" is a song by Cole Porter, which was first sung in the 1934 Broadway musical '' Anything Goes'', and then in the 1936 film version. Originally sung by Ethel Merman, it has been covered by dozens of prominent performers, ...
" * "
You're the Cream in My Coffee "You're the Cream in My Coffee" is a popular song published in 1928. Popular recordings were by Annette Hanshaw, Ben Selvin (vocal by Jack Palmer), Ted Weems (vocal by Parker Gibbs) and Ruth Etting. The music was written by Ray Henderson, wit ...
" * " My Blue Heaven" * "
See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Have "The Boys in the Back Room" is a song written by Frank Loesser, set to music by Frederick Hollaender and performed by Marlene Dietrich in the film ''Destry Rides Again'' (1939). It is often referred to as "See What the Boys in the Back Room Will Ha ...
" * "The Laziest Gal in Town" * "When the World Was Young" * "Johnny" * "Go 'Way From My Window" * " I Wish You Love" * "White Grass" * "Boomerang Baby" * " La Vie en Rose" * "Allein in Einer Grossen Stadt" * "Lola" * "Das Lied ist Aus" * "Marie Marie" * "Lili Marlene" * "
Where Have All the Flowers Gone? "Where Have All the Flowers Gone?" is a modern folk-style song. Inspired lyrically by the traditional Cossack folk song "Koloda-Duda", Pete Seeger borrowed an Irish melody and the first three verses in 1955 and published it in '' Sing Out!'' mag ...
" * " Honeysuckle Rose" * "Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)"


Broadcast

Originally titled ''I Wish You Love,'' the show premiered in the UK on the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
on January 1, 1973, and in the U.S. on January 13, 1973, on CBS Television (sponsored by
Kraft Foods The second incarnation of Kraft Foods is an American food manufacturing and processing conglomerate, split from Kraft Foods Inc. in 2012 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It became part of Kraft Heinz in 2015. A merger with Heinz, arran ...
). The original UK runtime was 54 minutes, but the show was trimmed down to 50 minutes to meet US network demands. To promote the show, Dietrich had a photo sitting with
Milton Greene Milton H. Greene (March 14, 1922 – August 8, 1985) was an American fashion and celebrity photographer and film and television producer, best known for his photo shoots with Marilyn Monroe. Early life Greene was born Milton H. Greengold ...
, which produced a famous portrait of her, appearing to wear nothing but her famous swansdown coat. CBS organised a press conference with Dietrich at the
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schult ...
and an exclusive interview with
Rex Reed Rex Taylor Reed (born October 2, 1938) is an American film critic, occasional actor, and television host. He writes the column "On the Town with Rex Reed" for '' The New York Observer''. Early life Reed was born on October 2, 1938, in Fort Wo ...
to publicize the US network showing. At the conference and in her interview with Reed, Dietrich - to the surprise of her producers and the network - slammed the show, claiming it wasn't on par with her live shows, that rehearsal time was severely limited and that the show was technically inept. Despite her statements, the show garnered good (if not spectacular) ratings and generally positive reviews from the press. As a result of her interviews, she was sued by producer Alexander H. Cohen - successfully in the UK, but unsuccessfully in the US. After its initial US and UK broadcasts, varying edits of the show were broadcast around the world, including Australia, Germany, France, Spain and South Africa.


Home video

For its home video release in the 1980s, the show was retitled ''An Evening with Marlene Dietrich'' (its current title). A DVD version released by EMI in 2003 included five previously unreleased songs. The Dietrich estate sued EMI-Toshiba for including these unlicensed selections without their permission. Previously unseen alternate takes of "Lola" and "You're the Cream in My Coffee" were included as bonus features on the Kino DVD release of ''
The Blue Angel ''The Blue Angel'' (german: Der blaue Engel) 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 Rober ...
''. This material comes from the Marlene Dietrich Collection Berlin, which holds all unissued material related to the television special as part of its collection.


See also

* Marlene Dietrich filmography


External links

*


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evening With Marlene Dietrich Music television specials 1973 television specials Marlene Dietrich