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Auction History Result 7a385 SCARLET EMPRESS linen pre-War Belgian '36 Josef von Sternberg, Marlene Dietrich, different! Date Sold 4/3/2014 Sold For: Login or Register to see sold price. An Original 1936 (from the first release of this movie in Belgium) Vintage Theatrical Linenbacked Belgian Movie Poster (measures 24" x 33 1/4" [61 x 84 cm]) (Learn More) The Scarlet Empress, the classic 1934 Josef von Sternberg historical biographical German-Princess-forced-to-marry-Russian-Duke-and-ends-up-ruling-the-country melodrama ("Her whisper was a command to love!"; "Based on the intimate diary of Catherine the Great"; a highly fictionalized biography of Catherine II) starring Marlene Dietrich (in the title role as Catherine the Great), John Lodge, Sam Jaffe, Louise Dresser, C. Aubrey Smith, Akim Tamiroff, and Jane Darwell (in an uncredited role). Note that this was the second to last movie of the seven movies that von Sternberg and Dietrich made together, and many reviewers think this was their best collaboration (one described it as "the most jaw dropping, sexually charged piece of cinema anyone could ever ask for"). It is a fictionalized biography of the story of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, and in the movie, Dietrich is required to change from an innocent young girl to a jaded experienced older woman, and everyone agrees that she did so magnificently. Movie posters of any kind from this movie have always been incredibly rare, at least as rare and possibly more so than those from the other Josef Von Sternberg/Marlene Dietrich films. Also note that male lead John Lodge has an interesting background! He came from an important New England family (his grandfather was William Henry Cabot Lodge), and he shocked them by becoming a movie actor! He appeared in a couple dozen movies between 1932 and 1940. He quit the movies to serve in World War II, and afterwards, in 1946, he became the second major movie actor ever to hold national political office, serving as a Congressman (the first was Helen Gahagan Douglas). In 1950, he became Governor of Connecticut, and later, he served as ambassador to several countries! NOTE: Click on linked names to see a biography. If you know who did the art (if any), please let us know. Important Added Info: Note that this is a rare "pre-War" Belgian poster. Prior to World War II, Belgian posters were much larger than the ones from after the war, and they are extremely rare (because during WWII, there was a massive paper shortage in Belgium, and they took virtually every poster and map, and printed new posters on the backs of them!). What IS linenbacking? Learn More Overall Condition and Pre-Restoration Defects with Quality of Restoration: very good. The poster had two horizontal folds near the center of the poster, and two other horizontal folds, with one vertical foldline. It had minor wear on the foldlines. The top 3" was folded back and stapled down at one time. There are staple holes in the corners. There are tears in the top of the right blank border. Overall, the poster was in very good condition prior to linenbacking. The poster was nicely backed, and displays well. I need to note that when the person backed the poster, a thin strand of linen was caught between Dietrich's chin and lower left and the linen backing. It is an extremely tiny strand, so it is truly not noticeable, except on the closest inspection, and even then it is more "felt" than seen. It is not hurting the poster in any way, but I suppose one could have a restorer remove that tiny strand (but the poster displays fantastically just as it is). Learn More about condition grades 
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