when marlene dietrich be label box office poison in 1938 one of a handful of actress so name by the trade paper and it be film like the garden of allah . how a film could be so breathtakingly beautiful to behold and be so insipidly dull be beyond me . also how marlene if she be try to expand her range and not play a sexpot get stick with such an old fashioned story be beyond me . the garden of allah and one of the very first film in modern technicolor be a novel set at the turn of the last century by robert hitchens who then collaborate on a play adaption with mary anderson that run for 241 performance in 1911 12. it then get two silent screen adaption . the story be about a monk who run away from the monastery out in french tunisia to see some of what he miss in the world . he run into a similarly shelter woman who be unmarried and spend her prime year care for a sick parent . she travel now in the desert and the two meet on a train . the woman be of course marlene and the runaway monk be charles boyer . i be not sure what be in david o. selznick mind in film this story . someone like ingrid bergman might have make it palatable for the audience . but you can bet that the movie go public of 1936 when they plunk their money down for a ticket they expect to see marlene a a modern day salome rather than a saint with that title . the public still remember rudolph valentino and you can bet that it be some desert romance and seduction that they be expect . a for the monk you have to remember that they be self support in their monastery and this particular one bottle a special wine of which boyer happen to be the one with the secret . the monastery will have to rethink it economics if boyer leaf . the monk be a sincerely pious group and but from the head man charles waldron on down they have a right to be a little concerned with some self interest . anyway a whole lot of religious platitude get say here by a pair of lead that really be not suit for the part . most especially marlene dietrich . i would watch this film with an eye for the special color desert cinematography and forget the plot .