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Very best movie i ever watch

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

After her father expires, moody Marlene Dietrich (as Domini Enfilden) leaves her convent to seek solace from God in the Sahara Desert. Meanwhile, chaste Charles Boyer (as Boris Androvsky) abruptly leaves his monastery. After taking his sacred vows, he's off to find "love" in the desert. They seem like a match made in Heaven, but don't be fooled. The copulation turns out to be an affront to God. Even worse, for lovers of liqueur, Mr. Boyer takes with him the secret recipe of an alcoholic drink, handed down from monk to monk. "God will not punish us," declares Ms. Dietrich, "if we can trust Him to show us the way..."Although "The Garden of Allah" drew viewers into cinema seats, there weren't enough to justify the cost. The film helped studios decide stars like Dietrich and Boyer looked more profitable in black-and-white. Classic performers did not always appear in color; a major star's paycheck already upped the budget. Herein, Dietrich models and Boyer pouts... The film's main strength is the outstanding achievement in color photography, by W. Howard Greene and Harold Rosson. A fine supporting cast helps, especially fast-talking Joseph Schildkraut (as Batouch). And, dancer Tilly Losch (as Irena) make a great first impression.***** The Garden of Allah (10/15/36) Richard Boleslawski ~ Marlene Dietrich, Charles Boyer, Joseph Schildkraut, Basil Rathbone

If you did "The Garden of Allah" today, you'd have to play it for camp. As produced in 1936, it nearly is anyway.Marlene Dietrich, Charles Boyer, Basil Rathbone, C. Aubrey Smith, and Joseph Schildkraut star in this David O. Selznick Technicolor production. The story concerns a religious woman, Domini, who is in mourning for her father and visits the convent where she lived as a child. The Mother Superior encourages her to go out and live, as she was her father's caretaker and didn't get out into the world.She meets Boris Androvsky, and he seems even more unfamiliar with the world than she. What she doesn't know is that he was a Trappist monk and has left the order. The two fall in love and marry. However, someone eventually recognizes him, and his secret is revealed.I have to say, I feel sorry for any ex-Trappist monk running into gorgeous Marlene Dietrich, especially under a desert sky. The atmosphere of this film is very moody, the color beautiful, and the photography sensational. Filmed in California and Arizona, it looks for all the world like an exotic desert setting.Even with all this, and a young, handsome Charles Boyer, the film comes off as melodramatic and slight. Partly I blame the overly-dramatic music, but let's face it, the script isn't very good.Marlene Dietrich is very good and underplays her role; Boyer's role is really impossible. He's confused and miserable through most of it. He was an excellent actor and pulls it off, though. Rathbone doesn't have a big role, nor does Schildkraut, but they were two of the best character actors around."The Garden of Allah" is definitely worth seeing - it's wonderful to look at, and when you see the Cyndi Lauper video of "Time after Time," this is the film she was watching in the beginning of the song.

As a great admirer of Marlene Dietrich, I had to (finally) watch this very, very dull picture. It is Miss Dietrich's first color film, and the world's most beautiful blond is a redhead! Bad start. The story is a tremendous bore, involving a subject which itself bores bores me stiff: religious guilt. (Who needs it???) Suffice it to say, perhaps, that of all Dietrich's films (and I have seen most, including "Pittsburgh") this is the only one where even her performance is barely worth watching. The color photography is OK (this is a very early Technicolor release), but to no purpose. Ridiculous casting: C. Aubrey Smith, Basil Rathbone (enough said?). The only thing of any interest at all is John Carradine's outlandish caricature of a performance as "The Sand Diviner," who foretells all that will happen. The supposed "happy ending" is one of the most depressing ever conceived. Yet another example of David O. Selznick's highly inflated reputation (did he ever make a really good film? -- other than That One?) And, for one final annoyance, the soundtrack of the MGM DVD is a mess, with volume levels seemingly randomized. Highly unrecommended.

The pioneering Technicolor Cinematography (Winner of Special Technical Achievement Oscar) is indeed enchanting. Add an endless variety of glamorous costumes and a romantic cinema dream team like Marlene Dietrich and Charles Boyer, and you've got a rather pleasant "picture".Unfortunately the contrived plot as well as the over-blown acting leave much to be desired. Still, there have not been any more breathtaking Technicolor films before this one (1936), and very few since then, that can top this breathtaking visual experience of stunning colors. Cinema fans who have enjoyed the glorious color cinematography in "Robin Hood" (1938), "Jesse James" (1939) and "Gone With The Wind" (1939), will not be disappointed in the fantastic work done here. "The Garden Of Allah" will always be synonymous with brilliant color cinematography.