Josef von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg, born Jonas Sternberg (29 May 1894 – 22 December 1969) was an Austrian-born film director and is among the few whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era. He is considered one of the earliest 'auteur' filmmakers, having filled many other roles on his films including those of cinematographer, screenwriter, and editor. Sternberg's style influenced later directors, particularly those of the film noir period. He is particularly noted for his distinctive mise en scène, use of lighting and soft lens, and collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich. Among his most important works are The Blue Angel (1930), Morocco (1930), Shanghai Express (1932) and The Scarlet Empress (1934). Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968 included him in the "pantheon" of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States.
The Blue Angel
(1930)
Prim professor Immanuel Rath finds some of his students ogling racy photos of cabaret performer Lola Lola and visits a local club, The Blue Angel, in an attempt to catch them there. Seeing Lola perform, the teacher is filled with lust, eventually resigning his ... (more)
Prim professor Immanuel Rath finds some of his students ogling racy photos of cabaret performer Lola Lola and visits a local club, The Blue Angel, in an attempt to catch them there. Seeing Lola perform, the teacher is filled with lust, eventually resigning his ... (more)
Macao
(1952)
A man on the run in the Far East is mistaken for an undercover cop. (more)
A man on the run in the Far East is mistaken for an undercover cop. (more)
Morocco
(1930)
The Foreign Legion marches in to Mogador with booze and women in mind just as singer Amy Jolly arrives from Paris to work at Lo Tinto's cabaret. That night, insouciant legionnaire Tom Brown catches her inimitably seductive, tuxedo-clad act. Both bruised by their ... (more)
The Foreign Legion marches in to Mogador with booze and women in mind just as singer Amy Jolly arrives from Paris to work at Lo Tinto's cabaret. That night, insouciant legionnaire Tom Brown catches her inimitably seductive, tuxedo-clad act. Both bruised by their ... (more)
The Docks of New York (1928)
A blue-collar worker on New York's depressed waterfront finds his life changed after he saves a woman attempting suicide. (more)
A blue-collar worker on New York's depressed waterfront finds his life changed after he saves a woman attempting suicide. (more)
The Last Command (1928)
A former Imperial Russian general and cousin of the Czar ends up in Hollywood as an extra in a movie directed by a former revolutionary. (more)
A former Imperial Russian general and cousin of the Czar ends up in Hollywood as an extra in a movie directed by a former revolutionary. (more)
The Scarlet Empress
(1934)
During the 18th century, German noblewoman Sophia Frederica, who would later become Catherine the Great, travels to Moscow to marry the dimwitted Grand Duke Peter, the heir to the Russian throne. Their arranged marriage proves to be loveless, and Catherine takes ... (more)
During the 18th century, German noblewoman Sophia Frederica, who would later become Catherine the Great, travels to Moscow to marry the dimwitted Grand Duke Peter, the heir to the Russian throne. Their arranged marriage proves to be loveless, and Catherine takes ... (more)
The Shanghai Gesture
(1941)
A gambling queen uses blackmail to stop a British financier from closing her Chinese clip joint. (more)
A gambling queen uses blackmail to stop a British financier from closing her Chinese clip joint. (more)
Shanghai Express
(1932)
A beautiful temptress re-kindles an old romance while trying to escape her past during a tension-packed train journey. (more)
A beautiful temptress re-kindles an old romance while trying to escape her past during a tension-packed train journey. (more)
Thunderbolt (1929)
A criminal known as Thunderbolt is imprisoned and facing execution. Into the next cell is placed Bob Moran, an innocent man who has been framed and who is in love with Thunderbolt's girl, without knowing of their relationship. Thunderbolt hopes to stave off the ... (more)
A criminal known as Thunderbolt is imprisoned and facing execution. Into the next cell is placed Bob Moran, an innocent man who has been framed and who is in love with Thunderbolt's girl, without knowing of their relationship. Thunderbolt hopes to stave off the ... (more)
Underworld (1927)
Boisterous gangster kingpin Bull Weed rehabilitates his former lawyer from his alcoholic haze, but complications arise when he falls for Weed's girlfriend. (more)
Boisterous gangster kingpin Bull Weed rehabilitates his former lawyer from his alcoholic haze, but complications arise when he falls for Weed's girlfriend. (more)
A Woman of the Sea (1926)
Joan and Magdalen are the daughters of a fisherman. Magdalen leaves her fiancé, Peter, to run off to the big city. Joan and Peter marry. Magdalen's return years later causes trouble for the marriage, but Joan and Peter remain together in the end. (more)
Joan and Magdalen are the daughters of a fisherman. Magdalen leaves her fiancé, Peter, to run off to the big city. Joan and Peter marry. Magdalen's return years later causes trouble for the marriage, but Joan and Peter remain together in the end. (more)
The Salvation Hunters (1925)
A hopelessly hopeful drifter, a bitter young woman, and a helpless child live on the docks, spending their days in poverty and listless wandering. Overhead, a dredge hauls up mud and trash from the nearby seabed-- the same mud and trash from the day before. They ... (more)
A hopelessly hopeful drifter, a bitter young woman, and a helpless child live on the docks, spending their days in poverty and listless wandering. Overhead, a dredge hauls up mud and trash from the nearby seabed-- the same mud and trash from the day before. They ... (more)
The Devil Is a Woman
(1935)
In the carnival in Spain in the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the exiled republican Antonio Galvan comes from Paris masquerade to enjoy the party and visit his friend Capt. Don Pasqual 'Pasqualito' Costelar. However, he flirts with the mysterious Concha Perez ... (more)
In the carnival in Spain in the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the exiled republican Antonio Galvan comes from Paris masquerade to enjoy the party and visit his friend Capt. Don Pasqual 'Pasqualito' Costelar. However, he flirts with the mysterious Concha Perez ... (more)
The Epic That Never Was (1969)
The story of the aborted 1937 filming of "I, Claudius", starring Charles Laughton, with all of its surviving footage. (more)
The story of the aborted 1937 filming of "I, Claudius", starring Charles Laughton, with all of its surviving footage. (more)
An American Tragedy
(1931)
A social climber charms a debutante, seduces a factory worker and commits murder. (more)
A social climber charms a debutante, seduces a factory worker and commits murder. (more)
The Exquisite Sinner (1926)
Adapted by Alice Duer Miller from a novel by Alden Brooks, the film concerns a young man who forsakes the humdrum business world for the bohemian life of an artist. Josef von Sternberg had been the original director of Exquisite Sinner, but MGM was dissatisfied ... (more)
Adapted by Alice Duer Miller from a novel by Alden Brooks, the film concerns a young man who forsakes the humdrum business world for the bohemian life of an artist. Josef von Sternberg had been the original director of Exquisite Sinner, but MGM was dissatisfied ... (more)
Crime and Punishment (1935)
A man is haunted by a murder he's committed. (more)
A man is haunted by a murder he's committed. (more)
Anatahan
(1953)
During WWII, a group of Japanese soldiers are stranded on the remote Pacific island of Anatahan. (more)
During WWII, a group of Japanese soldiers are stranded on the remote Pacific island of Anatahan. (more)
Jet Pilot (1957)
John Wayne stars as U.S. Air Force aviator Jim Shannon, who's tasked with escorting a Soviet pilot (Janet Leigh) claiming -- at the height of the Cold War -- that she wants to defect. After falling in love with and wedding the fetching flyer, Shannon learns from ... (more)
John Wayne stars as U.S. Air Force aviator Jim Shannon, who's tasked with escorting a Soviet pilot (Janet Leigh) claiming -- at the height of the Cold War -- that she wants to defect. After falling in love with and wedding the fetching flyer, Shannon learns from ... (more)
Sergeant Madden (1939)
A dedicated police officer is torn between family and duty when his son turns to a life of crime. (more)
A dedicated police officer is torn between family and duty when his son turns to a life of crime. (more)