Movie Reviews

‘Desire’ Blu-Ray Review – Marlene Dietrich And Gary Cooper Charm In Frank Borzage Gem

By Dillon Gonzales
August 3, 2021
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When the lovely pairing of Marlene Dietrich (The Woman One Longs For) and Gary Cooper (Mr. Deeds Goes To Town) came together for the second time on screen, the circumstances were quite a bit different from their initial outing. In 1930, the pair had a palpable onscreen chemistry in Morocco but a more tumultuous offscreen dynamic with director Josef von Sternberg at the helm. Dietrich made her biggest splash in Hollywood thanks to her multiple pictures with von Sternberg in the early 1930s for which she is still best remembered. One of her first features after this iconic run of films was the 1936 romantic-comedy drama Desire, a film which Dietrich herself held aloft as something to be proud of in her filmography. She could not have asked for a better director to usher her to the next phase in her career than Frank Borzage (History Is Made At Night). The prolific auteur had a way of bringing out the best in his performers, and in this feature there is a lightness to the chemistry between Dietrich and Cooper that makes you swoon.

Cooper plays Tom Bradley, an American automotive engineer who is thrilled to be taking his first vacation in years. A brief but humorous scene with the great William Frawley (I Love Lucy) as his boss shows what he has had to endure for the longest time to get to the point of actually setting sail on his dream European vacation. While seeing Spain is the only thing on his mind at the onset of his trip, Tom has no idea what awaits him along his journey. Audiences will expectantly guess this surprise comes in the form of Dietrich as Madeleine de Beaupre, a Parisian woman who gets by in life as a con artist. While this could easily be a character that audiences might turn on, Dietrich imbues Madeleine with enough gentle charm to make her likable. In one of the most brilliant gags of the film, Madeleine convinces both jeweler Aristide Duvalle (Ernest Cossart) and psychiatrist Maurice Pauquet (Alan Mowbray) that she is married to the other, leaving them entangled in a battle of words and Madeleine escaping with extremely valuable pearls.

The crux of the films comes when our stars run across each other’s path on the way to the Spanish border. Encounter after encounter, the two find themselves forced into each other’s lives for various reasons. When Madeleine attempts to use Tom as an oblivious mule for her stolen loot, a misplaced jacket leads to a forced connection between the two. These are the types of stories that Borzage thrives on, as it is the unexpected pairing through necessity that can usher in the most genuine feelings. Dietrich is excellent at showing off a gentle softening of her demeanor as she begins to develop feelings for Tom. These feelings are complicated by the outside interference of her crew of bandits, her “uncle” Carlos Margoli (John Halliday) and “Aunt” Olga (Zeffie Tilbury). Madeleine has been forced into a situation where she has started a romance with a lie, and she is not quite sure if she will be able to leave the troubles of her past behind to see if she can live a life on the straight and narrow. The chemistry between the two is so heartwarming that you want it to work out.

With famed director Ernst Lubitsch (The Shop Around The Corner) behind the scenes as a producer on the film, you might think that there would be a clash of styles between his vision and that of Borzage, but the latter is such confident creative that the narrative never feels disjointed. At a relatively lean 95 minutes, Desire rolls along quite nicely as it offers up a nice balance of slapstick comedy, palpable romance and even some political overtones of the time that served as a signal to the malevolent uprising in Germany. You can feel how much care was put into crafting this film, as every element appears to be meticulously executed from the shot composition to all the visual components within the frame. Famed costume designer Travis Banton continues his longtime collaboration with Dietrich by outfitting her with some of the most striking costumes you might find from this era. She looks every bit of the opulent socialite that Madeleine longs to be as she commands the frame in the way only Dietrich could. Desire is the perfect example of all the stars aligning with a talented team both in front of and behind the camera to create something special.

Video Quality

Desire makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Kino Classics with a brand new 1080p master from a 2K scan. For a film that is 85 years old, this is a truly spectacular presentation. The gorgeous black-and-white photography shot by Charles Lang shines in high definition with natural grain intact. There is a pleasing amount of detail present with nice textures on the clothing and within the production design. The new transfer shows off a great amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition. Black levels are very deep with no overwhelming occurrence of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast is well defined, and the track only experiences a minor amount of flicker and specks of damage to the print. There are also a number of stray, faint vertical lines that range from barely noticeable to readily apparent, but they do not ruin the overall aesthetic of the film. Kino Classics has done some marvelous work here.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray comes with a solid DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that serves this movie incredibly well. Dialogue and background noises are represented in perfect harmony with all competing elements. This track does present with a minor amount of age related wear and tear including some faint hissing and crackles that likely date back to the source elements. The music from Frederick Hollander never overpowers the dialogue or other important information. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. The good folks at Kino Classics have done their best to prove the most stable track possible for this one.

Special Features

Audio Commentary #1: Film Historians David Del Valle and Nathaniel Bell provide a truly wonderful commentary track in which the pair offer up rich information about Borzage, his relationship with Ernst Lubitsch, the career of Marlene Dietrich, how this fits into the career of Gary Cooper, shot compositions and more. This is well worth a listen.

Audio Commentary #2: Film Historian Samm Deighan likewise provides a really interesting commentary track which covers some of the same material but provides a great deal of new information that keeps it from feeling redundant. As she delves into the careers of the creative figures here, you gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between Hollywood and Europe at this time including the response to Nazi Germany.

Trailers: The three-minute trailer for Desire is included here. There are also trailers provided for The Song of Songs, Seven Sinners, The Flame of New Orleans, The Spoilers, Pittsburgh, A Foreign Affair, No Highway In The Sky, Witness For The Prosecution, The Lives of Bengal Lancer, Peter Ibbetson, The General Died At Dawn, The Plainsman, Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife, Beau Geste and Unconquered.

Final Thoughts

Desire is a joyous affair from talented director Frank Borzage as he brings out the best in stars Marlene Dietrich and Gary Cooper. The film does not show off any signs of fat as this nicely paced feature moves along from one amusing scene after another. The film lacks any grand developments, but the characters themselves provide enough compelling drama to keep you glued to the screen. Kino Classics has provided a Blu-Ray with a stellar A/V presentation and a couple of enjoyable commentary tracks. If you are a fan of any of the talent involved, this release is a no-brainer. Recommended

Desire will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray on August 10, 2021.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.