Synopsis
Turner Classic Movies and Universal Studios Home Entertainment present Marlene Dietrich Directed by Josef von Sternberg Double Feature. Presented for the first time on video, these two films have been fully restored and re-mastered and confirm Dietrich's iconic status as a glamorous and enigmatic movie siren while demonstrating von Sternberg's reputation as a supreme stylist of mood, atmosphere and eroticism through his dazzling command of the medium. DISHONORED (1931) Inspired by the exploits of the famous World War I spy Mata Hari, DISHONORED is a striking espionage thriller about a widow (Marlene Dietrich) who is forced to turn to prostitution to support herself. Recruited by the Austrian Secret Service as a spy, she becomes an expert in ferreting out secrets from the enemy but meets her match in the form of a Russian agent named Kranau (Victor McLaglen). SHANGHAI EXPRESS (1932) Set against the backdrop of a Chinese civil war, SHANGHAI EXPRESS is an opulent romantic adventure that focuses on a diverse group of passengers traveling by express train from Peking to Shanghai. Among them is Captain Donald Harvey (Clive Brook), who finds himself reunited with his former lover, now an infamous adventuress who calls herself Shanghai Lily (Marlene Dietrich). Desire and deception follow, culminating in a tense hostage situation when their train is hijacked by a Chinese warlord.