Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageSeven Sinners (1940)
Director: Tay Garnett
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
A return to the territory (if not quite the spirit or the style) of Dietrich's great films with von Sternberg in the early '30s. Here she plays Bijou, another member of that 'foreign legion of women' introduced in Morocco: a singer who shuttles around the islands of South-East Asia on a string of deportation orders, a trail of wrecked nightclubs and local riots in her wake. This time, her hopeless affair is with Wayne's staunch US Navy lieutenant (fortunately they both love the navy as much as each other), but she winds up sharing a tipple with the alcoholic doctor of a tramp steamer. True to form, Garnett directs it with panache but without finesse. His lighting and his use of Dietrich as an icon both reflect a viewing of the Sternberg films, but he doesn't seriously attempt the cruelty or the emotional pain of his models. Dietrich, as the woman 'not quite ready for the word derelict', is wonderful.Author: TR
Cast & crew
Director: Tay Garnett
Producer: Joe Pasternak
Cast: Marlene Dietrich, John Wayne, Albert Dekker, Broderick Crawford, Anna Lee, Billy Gilbert, Mischa Auer, Oscar Homolka full cast
Duration: 87 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now