Marlene was known in school for her "bedroom eyes" and her first affairs were at this stage in her life - a professor at the school was terminated.
Marlene enjoyed music and attended concerts. She was adept at playing the violin and piano. By the time she was in her mid-teens, Marlene had discovered the stage. Acting was to be her vocation. In 1921, Marlene applied for an acting school run by Max Reinhardt. She was accepted. She appeared in several stage productions, but never had more than a couple of spoken lines. In short, she wasn't setting the stage world on fire.
She attempted films for the first time in 1922 Her first film was So sind die Männer (The Little Napoleon) (1923) which was followed by Tragödie der Liebe (Love Tragedy) (1923). On this last project, she met Rudolf Sieber and married him in 1924. The union lasted until his death in 1976 although they didn't live together the whole time.
The remainder of her early film career was generally filled with bit roles. After being seen in the German production of Der blaue Engel (The Blue Angel) (1930) in 1930, Marlene was given a crack at Hollywood. Her first US film was Morocco (1930) with Gary Cooper, which was followed by Dishonored (1931). This latter movie had her cast as a street walker who is appointed a spy. The film was rather boring but was a success because of Marlene's presence. In 1932, Marlene filmed Shanghai Express (1932) which proved to be immensely popular, grossing $3 million. Once again, she was cast as a prostitute. The next film was Blonde Venus (1932) which turned out to be a horrible production. Her co-star was Cary Grant and once again she was cast as a prostitute.
During this period Dietrich had been typecast as a woman of low morals and she wanted different parts. Her chance came in 1939 in Destry Rides Again (1939) when she was cast as "Frenchy", a Western saloon hostess. This began a new direction for Marlene since it shed the previous typecasting. All through the 1940s, she appeared in well-produced, well-directed films such as Manpower (1942), The Spoilers (1942), The Lady Is Willing (1942) and Pittsburgh (1942).
Afterwards the roles came less frequently, perhaps one to two films every year. In 1945, Marlene didn't appear in any. She only made seven productions in the 1950's. Her last role of any substance was Judgment at Nuremberg (1961). Despite the lack of theatrical roles, Marlene still made appearances on the stage. However, by 1979, she was a shell of her former self. After breaking her leg in one performance, she never made a go of it in show business again.
Spending the last 12 years of her life bed-ridden, Marlene died on May 6, 1992 in Paris, France of kidney failure at the age of 90.
Good For Nothin'
Marlene Dietrich Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Men are good for nothin'
I never saw a good one yet
Good for nothin'
Men are good for nothin'
And if you love 'em nothin's what you'll get
He will swear he's seeking
And then he comes home reeking
Of perfume you never wore
You'll maybe wanna shoot him
But he isn't worth the shot
And you can bet the other woman
Has found out he's not so hot
Good for nothin'
Men are good for nothin'
I never saw a good one yet
Good for nothin'
Men are good for nothin'
And if you love 'em nothin's what you'll get
He says he'll surprise you
With diamonds and with mink
But the only things he buys you
Are a wringer and a sink
He may be full of glamour
At the opera in a box
But he ain't so darned attractive
When you're washin' out his socks
Good for nothin'
Men are good for nothin'
I never saw a good one yet
Good for nothin'
Men are good for nothin'
And if you love 'em nothin's what you'll get
Their wiley arts, their tender pleas
Their fickle hearts, their knobby knees
Good for nothin'
Men are good for nothin'
A girl who's smart will leave `em be.
Good for nothin'
Men are good for nothin'
But can we do without 'em, No Sir-eee
But can we do without 'em, No sir-eee
Marlene Dietrich’s song "Good For Nothing" is a comment on men and their shortcomings, where she argues that men are not worth the trouble that women go through for them. In the song, Marlene highlights how men use their charm and trickery to woo women, but once they have them, they become lazy, disloyal and bring nothing but misery to their partners.
The first and second verses of the song are about a man who is unfaithful to his woman. He promises her undying love, but the moment he gets the chance, he cheats on her with another woman. The chorus then kicks in, with Marlene emphatically stating that men are good for nothing, and if you love them, nothing is what you’ll get. The third verse is about how men promise to shower women with gifts but only end up getting them household items like a wringer and a sink, which are of no use to women. The song finally ends with a confession that although men are good for nothing, women can never do without them.
The song reflects Marlene's personal experience with men. She was married briefly to Rudi Sieber and had several affairs, including an alleged affair with Joseph Kennedy, the father of John F. Kennedy. Dietrich was known to be fiercely independent, and her commentary on men in this song was in line with her outspoken nature.
Line by Line Meaning
Good for nothin'
Men are useless
Men are good for nothin'
Men are not capable of doing anything worthwhile
I never saw a good one yet
The singer has never encountered a man who is good for anything
And if you love 'em nothin's what you'll get
Even if you love a man, he will still be incapable of doing anything for you
He will swear he's seeking
Your love for ever more
A man will try to deceive you by making false promises of love
And then he comes home reeking
Of perfume you never wore
A man will cheat on you with another woman and come home smelling of her perfume
You'll maybe wanna shoot him
But he isn't worth the shot
You may feel angry enough to want to harm him, but he is not even worth the effort of doing so
And you can bet the other woman
Has found out he's not so hot
The other woman he's cheating with has realized that he is not worth the trouble
He says he'll surprise you
With diamonds and with mink
A man will try to impress you with gifts
But the only things he buys you
Are a wringer and a sink
The gifts he gives you are cheap and meaningless
He may be full of glamour
At the opera in a box
A man may appear to be charming and sophisticated in public
But he ain't so darned attractive
When you're washin' out his socks
But his attractiveness disappears when you have to do mundane, everyday tasks for him like laundry
Their wiley arts, their tender pleas
Their fickle hearts, their knobby knees
Men will use manipulative tactics and sweet words to get what they want, but they are also indecisive and physically unappealing
A girl who's smart will leave `em be.
A smart woman will avoid getting involved with men
But can we do without 'em, No Sir-eee
Despite their flaws, society believes that we cannot live without men
But can we do without 'em, No sir-eee
Despite their flaws, society believes that we cannot live without men
Lyrics © SHAPIRO BERNSTEIN & CO. INC., Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: EDGAR EDDIE DELANGE, JIMMY VAN HEUSEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@rolom3
Marlene singing this amusing, playful song in such a low register with that German accent is so iconic and it makes me laugh cause she was such a character ❤️🤗
@janetanderson1091
Clooney is more of an actress than history gives her credit for. she really holds her own with the great Dietrich here, these are so entertaining
@elliottswanson9307
Perfect. If you like this, check out them singing, "Too Old to Cut the Mustard Anymore."
@MarleneDietrichVideo
Another great vid! Thanks for sharing :)
@marguitar1
I love the pics in this video!!!!
@LilyMarleneDietrich
@MarleneDietrichVideo Thank you so much! I appreciate your kind comment ;-)
@adrienbochien5250
Marvellous, Rosie's soprano, carried by the .'bariton' of Marlene! Adrien
@The-Musical-Lover
Actually they were both contraltos
@LilyMarleneDietrich
@StraussBogart Yes, the 6 duets are so funny! Thank you, Alan ;-)
@LilyMarleneDietrich
@vonFalkenstein77 I love her candid pics. Thank you!