Drama
United States of America
Blonde Venus is a 1932 pre-Code drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall, and Cary Grant. The film tells the story of Ned and Helen Faraday, a young couple who fall in love and marry in America. Ned, a chemist, is accidentally exposed to radiation while working in his lab and is given a short time to live.
Helen, desperate to raise money for her husband's treatment, decides to return to her former job as a cabaret singer in Germany. Using the stage name "Blonde Venus," she becomes a sensation, attracting the attention of the wealthy and powerful Nick Townsend. Townsend offers to pay for Ned's treatment, but Helen soon finds out that it comes with a price: she must become his mistress.
Helen agrees to Townsend's terms, and Ned survives the treatment. However, when he finds out about what Helen had to do to pay for it, he is outraged and demands a divorce. Helen leaves him and becomes Townsend's mistress, but she quickly realizes that she cannot keep up with his extravagant lifestyle and grows homesick for her husband and child.
In the end, Helen decides to return to America and try to make amends with Ned. However, by the time she arrives, Ned has already remarried, and Helen is left alone to start a new life.
The film is known for Dietrich's stunning performances as both a singer and an actress and for its controversial subject matter. It was one of the first Hollywood films to deal explicitly with prostitution and adultery.
