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.
Intro / I Can't Give You Anything But Love
Marlene Dietrich Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's not a joke, kid, it's a curse.
My luck is changing, it's gotten from
simply rotten to something worse
Who knows, some day I will win too.
I'll begin to reach my prime.
Now though I see what our end is,
I can't give you anything but love, baby.
That's the only thing I've plenty of,baby.
Dream awhile, scheme awhile
We're sure to find
Happiness and I guess
All those things you've always pined for.
Gee I'd like to see you looking swell, baby.
Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby.
Till that lucky day you know darned well, baby.
I can't give you anything but love.
Rome wasn't built in a day, kid.
You have to pay, kid, for what you get.
But I am willing to wait, dear,
Your little mate, dear, will not forget.
You have a lifetime before you.
I'll adore you, come what may.
Please don't be blue for the present,
When it's so pleasant to hear you say
I can't give you anything but love, baby.
That's the only thing I've plenty of,baby.
Dream awhile, scheme awhile
We're sure to find
Happiness and I guess
All those things you've always pined for.
Gee I'd like to see you looking swell, baby.
Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby.
Till that lucky day you know darned well, baby.
I can't give you anything but love.
The song "I Can't Give You Anything but Love" is a melancholic tune in which the singer expresses her inability to provide material possessions to her lover. She talks about how difficult it is to be broke and how her luck seems to keep getting worse. However, she also talks about her hopes for the future and how she will one day be able to provide everything her lover desires. The lyrics talk about the transience of life and how the most important thing is to spend time with the ones you love. This song is a message of hope in the face of adversity.
The lyrics begin with the singer admitting to the difficulties of being poor. She portrays this as a curse and not a joking matter. As the song progresses, we see her transition to a more optimistic mindset. She talks about how things will change, and she will one day be able to provide the material things her lover desires. However, she also acknowledges that at this moment, all she has is her love, and that is what she can offer.
The song ends with a message of hope for the future, encouraging her lover to dream and scheme while waiting for the better days to come. The singer also talks about her admiration and love for her partner, and that regardless of the material possessions she can offer, she will always be there to love and cherish them.
Line by Line Meaning
Gee, but it's tough to be broke, kid.
Being broke is not easy, it's difficult and hard to deal with.
It's not a joke, kid, it's a curse.
Being broke is not something that can be laughed off, it's a curse which brings a lot of trouble.
My luck is changing, it's gotten from simply rotten to something worse
My luck is not favorable, and it's getting worse day by day.
Who knows, some day I will win too.
Maybe someday luck will favor me, and I will be successful.
I'll begin to reach my prime.
I will start achieving my goals and reaching the peak of my success.
Now though I see what our end is,
Currently, I understand what the future holds for us.
All I can spend is just my time.
I don't have wealth or money to spend, all I can do is give you my time and affection.
I can't give you anything but love, baby.
The only thing I have to give is my love and care for you.
That's the only thing I've plenty of,baby.
I may be broke, but I have a lot of love to give.
Dream awhile, scheme awhile, We're sure to find
Let's dream and plan together and it's only a matter of time that we will find what we're looking for.
Happiness and I guess, All those things you've always pined for.
We will find the happiness that we both have always wanted and desired for, along with all the other things that we've wanted and dreamed of.
Gee I'd like to see you looking swell, baby.
I would love to see you happy and doing well, looking great and feeling good about yourself.
Diamond bracelets Woolworth doesn't sell, baby.
I may not be able to buy you expensive things like diamond bracelets sold at Woolworth, but my love for you is priceless.
Till that lucky day you know darned well, baby.
We both know that until we are financially successful and stable, I can only give you my love.
Rome wasn't built in a day, kid.
Success and wealth cannot be achieved overnight, it takes time and effort.
You have to pay, kid, for what you get.
To achieve something, you have to work for it and pay with hard work and dedication.
But I am willing to wait, dear,
I am willing to wait and put in the effort to achieve my goals and dreams, so we can both have a better life together.
Your little mate, dear, will not forget.
I promise that I will never forget about you, and I will always be there to support you.
You have a lifetime before you.
You have your whole life ahead of you to achieve your dreams and reach your goals.
I'll adore you, come what may.
I will always love and care for you, no matter what happens in our lives.
Please don't be blue for the present,
Don't be sad or upset about our current situation.
When it's so pleasant to hear you say
It makes me happy to hear you speak, and it brings me joy to be with you.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
DJ BMRE
Why must we judge her based on her roles? We don't know her or the other actors personally.
I don't think it's necessary wrong or ungodly to depict the ugly side of the world we live in. Doesn't the Bible recognize that this world is in fact not perfect? Why must we pretend that everybody is good and godly when in fact not everybody is like that? It's just a film. There's nothing even vulgar about this film. I would hope that when you watch a film and see a bad character or sinful choices, they could make you recognize them, acknowldge them as bad and not to be like them or do the wrong things that they do in your life. Even the Bible depicts bad characters and actions. Not for us to follow but for us to learn from, not to do, and etc.
You could recognize that the woman in this film did something wrong. But she realized that it was wrong and tried not to dwell on her wrongs. She tried to get out of them. I'm not asking you to green light sins but let's be compassionate to the person who made the sinful choices. She did what she did because she was hurt. She felt neglected as a wife. It's no excuse for her to sin but it's also not wrong to try to understand her either. She lies on the films too. Now lying is also sinful.
At the end though. She chose her marriage. And let me remind you that her marriage has always been her choice. She's fallen in love with another man but instead of continuing the sin and feed her flesh she chose to end it and honor her marriage. Which is the right thing to do. She did have a rough time processing everything but she's a human.
But again, we're judging a film and the characters. We're judging fictions.
Do you really consider this a bad film? I don't hear vulgarity. I don't see vulgarity either. And I think any adult who's matured spiritually or at least takes their sipritual life seriously wouldn't be inspired to do sinful things because of this film. Would any godly woman really gonna cheat because of this film? Will this film be the reason of it?
I think we should be grateful that this is how movies used to be made when we're living in an era where the movies that are being made are just questionable and awful. We should be grateful that we can watch these types of film instead of the awful ones that they make nowadays.
Of course we can criticize films. And of course there are awful and ungodly films out there. But let's use our clear consience and good discernment to do it. Let's not be so shallow in doing so.
If I may ask, do you really think you've never once made a mistake or sinful choices? Or won't ever do it again? Whether on purpose or not on purpose? I don't suggest you to compromise nor am I saying that it's ok to sin. All I'm saying none of us is perfect. We all need the mercy and grace of God. And we must all, at least, try to live in ways that are pleasing to God. We are even asked to chase holiness. I hope I keep on trying to live well, try not compromise, and etc. But I know I'm not perfect and it's shouldn't be an excuse. I believe I'm trying and want to keep on trying and I hope I remain faithful till the end. I'm grateful that our God is faithful.
Btw, I'm not trying to attack you. I'm just giving out my thoughts like you did about Marlene and the film. As a matter of fact I would love to hear back from you. There's nothing wrong in a healthy discussion. God bless you 🙏🏽
Cindy Maceda
Truly a masterpiece screenplay ! So nuanced . Not one extraneous line, not a single unnecessary word. Not one facial expression that was exaggerated. Films used to be works of Art. Not comic books, not loud sci fi nonsense, no distasteful sexual scenes. No over-acting. This film leaves one heartbroken and in love at the same time. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to experience this Marlene Dietrich obra maestra.
Robert Resnick
so agree! I never before so completely understood the Lubitsch touch - or how great (and greatly partnered with the maestro) Melvyn Douglas is!
MsLeenite
@Robert Resnick I don't think I really appreciated what a talented and engaging actor Melvyn Douglas was until I saw him in Ninotchka.
The Coven Heaven🧚🏾
Wow this movie was a 10/10!!! I study human nature. I admire her ability to stay calm, the mystery, and the elegance. I am a woman. I feel so inspired by this. She didn’t have to explain herself. The men showed up higher and higher. I love this movie so much.
Ronald Dean
Superb...the leads, and the stage sets.
globalman
Charming ..... one of my favourites. Perfect in every way. When I return to films like these I cannot watch anything out of present day Hollywood. In comparison it is flawless diamonds to a sewer.
Linda Mac
Herbert Marshall lost a foot in WW1. It's hard to tell which one. Great actor❤
Victor Silvester
A beautiful enchanting film. I am lucky to own a copy of Angel on actual cinema film.
Leonora Moran
Excellent and wonderfully acted. Quietly elegant. Thank you for showing this cinematic masterpiece: Angel.
Larry McColley
A very clever story and the ending is superb.