About

Originally titled Amy Jolly, The Woman of Marrakesh, after the 1927 novel by French German novelist and screenwriter Benno Vigny, Morocco is a languid romantic love triangle set in North Africa. Directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, and Adolphe Menjou, the film follows French Legionnaire (Cooper) as he fights with a wealthy bon vivant (Menjou) for the for the love of jaded cabaret performer Amy Jolly (Dietrich). Set against the backdrop of the 1920s Rif War, an armed conflict between colonial power Spain – with later help by France - and the Berber tribes of the Rif mountainous region, von Sternberg's Morocco plays the swirling emotions of his leads against the uncertainties war.

Morocco was the first American film for both von Sternberg and Dietrich. Its desert drama themes were well received by audiences with the sexual ambiguity of its most famous scene – where Dietrich, performing in a man's tuxedo, plants a flirty kiss on the lips of female audience member for a flower– is still memorable to this day. While filmed in the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes of California, rather than Morocco's 'doorway to the desert', it didn't stop the Moroccan government of the time advertising the in New York Times: "Representatives of Morocco's tourist industry hope that visitors will be seduced, just as Gary Cooper was, and will want to return again and again to this country filled with unforgettable landscapes and engaging people."

Ages 12+