Obsession: Marlene Dietrich The Pierre Passebon Collection
By Henry-Jean Servat (Flammarion, 2017)
Cinematographer Lee Garmes won an Academy Award® for his work on Shanghai Express. This scene was lit by him, so Sternberg instructed English to capture the setup, and then to create variations of it. Pierre Passebon Collection, Photo: Don English (Supervised by Josef von Sternberg), 1932.
"We know God made trees
And the birds and the bees
And seas for the fishes to swim in
We are also aware,
That he had quite a flair
For creating exceptional women.
[...]
Now we all might enjoy
Seeing Helen of Troy
As a gay cabaret entertainer.
But I doubt that she could
Be one quarter as good
As our legendary, lovely
Marlene"
— Marlene, Noel Coward, 1954
© Don English (supervised by Joseph von Sternberg), 1932 from Obsession: Marlene Dietrich, The Pierre Passebon Collection (Flammarion, 2017).