(Perlen zum Glück / Sehnsucht [de])
USA 1936
d: Frank Borzage
BR3 TV (Region 0 de)
sc: Edwin Justus Mayer, Samuel Hoffenstein, Waldemar Young (based on an original story by Hans Székeley and Robert A. Stemmle)
c: Charles B. Lang, Jr.; Victor Milner (b/w)
e: William Shea
pd: Hans Dreier, Robert Usher
m: Frederick Hollander
p: Ernst Lubitsch (Paramount Pictures)
w: Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, John Halliday, William Frawley, Ernest Cossart, Akim Tamiroff, Alan Mowbray, Zeffie Tilbury, George MacQuarrie, Robert Emmett O'Connor
pr: 11 Apr 1936
rt: 89 min
ar: 1.33:1 (4:3 Academy Ratio)
sd: English MPEG-2 2.0 Mono • German MPEG-2 2.0 Mono
st: --
Elegant romantic comedy in the style of Lubitsch (who produced), but lacking his nudging innuendo thanks to Borzage's less cynical romanticism. Dietrich is the spritely, sophisticated jewel thief who uses naive young Cooper to smuggle a necklace from France into Spain, only for love to bloom despite the difference in their moral outlooks. Marlene's best movie away from Sternberg, it's relaxed, funny and charming.
— GA, Time Out Film Guide
•••••
"Known, and rather more aptly, as The Pearl Necklace during its incubation period in the Paramount studios, [Desire] is set briskly in motion when Marlene Dietrich brazenly filches a pearl necklace from a Parisian jeweler and races for the Spanish border. Driving more leisurely in the same direction happens to be Gary Cooper, cheerfully representing a Detroit engineer on vacation. "When the customs officials begin inspecting their baggage, Miss Dietrich slips the necklace into Mr. Cooper's coat pocket, he tosses the coat into his suitcase and, from then on, Miss Dietrich is compelled to flirt outrageously - but to the engineer's wholly understandable delight - until an opportunity is presented to recover the bauble. By that time - unless you have anticipated the story - the lovely jewel thief has decided to leave her criminal associates and become a housewife in Detroit. "Familiar as the yarn may be, it sparkles and twinkles under the Lubitsch touch, moves with the proper suspense and has an unbeatable combination, Cooper and Dietrich, to carry the light romantic interest. If the picture proves anything beyond the genius of its producer, it is that Miss Dietrich is not dependent upon stylized photography and direction, but has a proper talent of her own; it proves, too, that Mr. Cooper, who has had comparatively few comic opportunities heretofore, can be as engaging a light comedian as the screen has found."
— Frank S. Nugent, N.Y. Times
•••••
Successful with the public, DESIRE was one of the most elegantly produced films of the 1930s; the sets, costumes, and decor all shimmer with hot light. Borzage, who also directed the silent classic SEVENTH HEAVEN, added his sweetly romantic warmth to the deft, spicy production plans already laid out by Lubitsch for this wonderful film. Playing with both conviction and wit, Dietrich achieves one of her best performances away from mentor Josef von Sternberg; here she is slightly less exotic and rather more human than in her other films. Cooper, too, in his second pairing with Dietrich (after the memorable MOROCCO) really shows his flair for sophisticated romance with this one. He makes the most of the funny yet impossibly romantic line, "All I know about you is you stole my car and I'm insane about you." The remarkable John Halliday, whose presence graces any film, leads a terrific supporting cast. One of the ultimate expressions of Paramount Studios chic, DESIRE remains one of its desirable star's finest films.
— TV MovieGuide
