Rating: - Golden Earrings
Marlene Dietrich plays the gypsy Lydia, and in her raggedy clothes, black wig, and dark makeup, gives a whole other take on what sexy is all about. (Her gorgeous legs and bare feet get plenty of look-see throughout the picture.) Set near the beginning of WW II in the Black Forest of Germany, Dietrich helps Ray Milland escape the Nazis and obtain a secret poison gas formula. The plot is a bit thin, but both Milland and especially Dietrich put everything into their roles. The golden earrings are a prop used to help disguise Milland, and when he receives them in a box in London after the war, he knows ... Read More
Rating: - A Gypsy Song
The film opens on a man (Ray Milland) who is the subject of rumor among other men staying at the same hotel. He recieves a package: a pair of large gold hoop earrings. He smiles, but it is hard to tell whether he is happy or feeling bittersweetly. Then someone finally asks him about the rumors and the story unfolds.
This man is an Englishman working against the Nazis just before the official beginning of WWII. He is almost caught and must reach a contact point for more information. However, with men chasing him, he needs some way to throw them off. He stumbles upon a singing gypsy (Marlene ... Read More
Rating: - Splendid Classic from the Golden Age!
GOLDEN EARRINGS is a superior Dietrich showcase, easily holding its own in the timeless ranks of DESIRE, THE DEVIL IS A WOMAN, and BLONDE VENUS. I agree with an earlier reviewer who asserted that only Dietrich could have successfully carried off the role of a rough-edged Gypsy. In the hands of any lesser actress, Dietrich's vibrant Lydia would have been rendered pure camp. The reported off-screen animosity between Dietrich and Milland lends appreciable spark and heat to their on-screen chemistry, and Lydia's empassioned declaration of love takes its rightful place among the most beautiful and moving romantic ... Read More
Rating: - One of Marlene's best later outings!
This is a wonderful romance-adventure with plenty of comic touches (we see from "Destry Rides Again" on that Dietrich got much more opportunity to let her talents as a comedienne shine than she ever had under von Stenberg's tutelage, and this is a good example. Not to be missed; the scene where Ray Milland, as the hero Ralph Denistoun, gets a good whiff of Marlene's hair!) She obviously had a lot of fun playing the role of Lydia (learning to play the zither, among other things), and her enthusiasm carries the film. She just can't stay away from the glamorous makeup job, even as a dusky-skinned Gypsy, but her ... Read More
Rating: - mesmerizing marlene
If anyone else but Marlene Dietrich had played the lead in this film, the film would have been awful! Dietrich triumphs in a role no-one would have predicted. mysterious, mesmerizing, seductive, funny, and finally moving as the loyal gypsy(!) Lyddia, Dietrich makes you overlook the films flaws. At times the film drags by, some supporting players seem to have cotton in their mouths as they speak, and some of the dialogue is inane. Through it all, Dietrich is the soul of this movie, holding it all together in spite of the flaws, to make the whole thing work. Worth watching as a romantic piece of Hollywood escapism, ... Read More
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