INDEX

Page numbers listed correspond to the print edition of this book. You can use your device’s search function to locate particular terms in the text.

Acosta, Mercedes de, 223–24

Adalbert, Prince, 77

Adler, Gusti, 59

Adorno, Theodor W., 35, 532n38

Adventures of a Ten-Mark Note (film), 130

Africa:

Kau people in, 444, 515

Nuba people of, 436–44, 446–47, 514, 520, 521–22

tourists in, 445

AGFA, 134, 555n80

Aherne, Brian, 224–25, 503

Albers, Hans, 157, 263

Albu, Ruth, 250

Allgeier, Sepp:

and Fanck, 103, 109, 442

Leni’s relationship with, 267

and mountain films, 91, 94, 115, 281, 442

and Nazi party films, 267, 268, 279, 280, 281, 321, 327, 442

as skier, 94, 103, 120, 281

and Trenker, 120, 267

and World War I, 120

Allianz-Verleih, 428

All Quiet on the Western Front (film), 148

Amann, Max, 431, 432,
566n1

Ambler, Eric, 504

Angel (film), 243

Angst, Richard, 109, 111, 115, 119, 122, 123

“Annie Doesn’t Live Here Anymore” (song), 364

an-Numeiri, Jaafar Mohammed, 573n8

Anti-Nazi League, 314

Archipenko, Alexander, 242

Arch of Triumph (film), 389

Arendt, Hannah, 235

Arnoldi, Frau, 47–48

Arthur, Jean, 391

Attenborough, Richard, 450

Attolico, Bernardo, 296

Auden, W. H., 452

August Wilhelm, Prince, 261

Auschwitz concentration camp, 338–39, 391, 517

Austria:

Allied occupation of, 414–15

German invasion of, 308

Leni’s deportation from, 419

liberation of, 411

Seebichl House in, 412–13, 415, 416

Avalanche (film), 114–20, 127, 128, 162, 435

Bach, Steven, 287

Bacharach, Burt, 460–61, 462, 466, 467, 479–80, 483–84, 487

Baker, Josephine, 62

Balázs, Béla:

and The Blue Light, 126, 127–28, 129, 130–31,
136, 137, 312, 513, 556–57n97

early years of, 129–30

and Leni’s changing memories, 312, 552n39, 556–57n97

and Leni’s power of attorney, 275

Leni’s use of, 278

and Madame Doesn’t Want Children, 68

“The Revolutionary Film” by, 68

Balbo, Italo, 261, 327–28

Balmain, 452

Bankhead, Tallulah, 448

Banton, Travis, 200, 220, 458, 545n42

Bardot, Brigitte, 432

Barry, Iris, 512

Battleship Potemkin (film), 263

Bauer, Herbert (Balász), 129

Baum, Vicki, 24, 233

Beckett, Samuel, 452

Beinhorn, Elly, 139

Bel Ami (film), 70

Belling, Rudolf, 242

Below, Nicolaus von, 323, 557n2

Bendow, Wilhelm, 62

Benitz, Albert, 122

Berber, Anita, 14–15, 18

Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, 463

Berger, Helmut, 545n32

Bergman, Ingrid, 246, 389

Bergner, Elisabeth, 57, 75, 128, 238, 259

Berlin:

beauty ideal in, 85

boxing in, 59, 60, 85

Brandenburg Gate, 22

dance in, 18–20, 23, 26

death squads in, 277

Deutsches Theater, 56–59, 80, 163, 246–47

Dietrich home in, 3, 76

film ball (1955), 432

as film setting, 391, 394

food rationing in, 316

immigrants in, 7

industry and technology in, 8, 12, 13

instability in, 191, 203–4, 208, 262

Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, 75, 153

Komödie Theater, 71

lack of tradition in, 23–24, 76–77

Marlene’s films shown in, 207, 210, 213, 240, 351

Marlene’s stage performances in, 462–66

Nazi party in, 211, 213

nightlife in, 74–75, 79

Olympic Games (1936) in, 294, 295, 296, 297–98

post-World War I in, 22–24, 45–46, 53–54, 59–60, 76–77

post–World War II in, 380–81

pre–World War II politics in, 203–4, 208

Reinhardt theaters in, 56, 62, 71, 80, 162

revolution in, 45, 59, 60

Schauspielschule Ernst Busch, 530n6

Schwannecke wine bar in, 74–75, 79, 113

sexual ambiguities in, 62, 63, 72–73, 74, 86, 154

theater in, 56, 57

Thielscher Girls in, 61–62

Tiller Girls in, 61

Titania Palace Theater, 462–63

trendy, 84–85

World War I in, 11, 22, 38, 41–43

World War II in, 339, 353

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (film), 278

Berlin Symphony Orchestra, 306

Bernhardt, Kurt, 77, 263

Bertelsmann, publisher, 500

Binswanger, Herbert, 529n18

Birkin, Jane, 507

Black Cargo (film), 434–35

Black Fox (film), 470–71

“Black Market” (song), 392

Black Thursday, 160

Blonde Venus (film), 204–7, 208, 210

Blue Angel, The (film), 162–73, 183, 211

authors of, 155–56, 162, 169, 170

Jannings as star in, 155, 156, 158, 163–64, 166–68, 169, 172

Marlene created by von Sternberg in, 159, 165, 167, 172, 476

Marlene in, 155, 163–73, 349, 370, 385, 473

Marlene’s casting in, 112–13, 157–59

Marlene’s triumph in, 169, 172–73, 178–79

music for, 163, 168, 191

preliminaries for, 152–59

premiere of, 171–72

remakes of, 383, 394, 482, 505

set of, 542–43n87

as sound film, 162, 166, 171

story of, 169–71

U.S. version of, 169

Blue Light, The (film), 126–29, 130–38

awards and honors for, 137, 307, 572n5

and Balázs, 126, 127–28, 130–31, 136, 137, 139, 312, 556–57n97

cast and crew for, 127–29, 130, 513, 556–57n97

comparisons with, 135, 333

critical reception of, 137–38

and Fanck, 126–27, 136

filming of, 131, 134–35

and Hitler, 145, 148, 150–51

Leni’s acting in, 135, 136, 137

Leni’s directorial debut with, 126–27, 136, 137, 278

premiere of, 136–37, 148

revival of, 275, 312, 313, 436, 512

screenplay for, 126, 129, 131, 136

story of, 131–33, 135–36

success of, 259

tour with, 143

Blumenthal, Mr., 180–81

Bogdanovich, Peter, 230

Bois, Curt, 62

Böll, Heinrich, 500

Borchert, Wolfgang, 500

Bormann, Martin, 334, 335, 341, 413, 422

Borzage, Frank, 231

Bouché, René, 487

Boursier, Marcel, 214

Bowie, David, 500

“Boys in the Back Room, The” (song), 348, 349, 364, 451

Brancusi, Constantin, 242

Brandt, Willy, 465

Braun, Eva, 334, 423

Braun, Lily, 34

Braun, Otto, 34

Brauner, Atze, 465

Brecht, Bertolt, 59, 60, 75, 384

Drums in the Night, 54

Brecht, Bertolt, and Kurt Weill:

Mahagonny, 532n38

Songspiele, 532n38

The Threepenny Opera, 86, 153, 532n38

Bronnen, Arnolt, Parricide, 54

Brooks, Louise, 68–69

Brückner, Wilhelm, 145, 149

Bruhn, Ada, 19

Brundage, Avery, 314

Brüning, Heinrich, 147, 149, 171, 203

Brynner, Yul, 403–5, 454–55, 459, 461–62, 477, 480

Buchanan, Jack, 450

By Divine Right (film), 196

Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, The (film), 128, 297

Café de Paris, London, 450–52

Café Electric (film), 69, 70

Cagney, James, 137

Cameron, David, 465

Cannes Film Festival, 510

Capote, Truman, 459

Card, James, 512

Carmen (film), 45

Carné, Marcel, 357, 383

Carpenter, Ken, 302

Carstairs, Marion Barbara “Joe,” 251–52

Cartellieri, Carmen, 536n94

Casablanca (film), 130

Catherine the Great (film), 238

Cerrutti, Vittorio, 260

Chanel, Coco, 486

Charell, Erik, 62–63

Chekhova, Olga, 137

Chevalier, Maurice, 208, 209, 213, 224, 462

Chicago Art Festival, 514

Chirac, Jacques, 501

Chopin, Frédéric, 80

Christie, Agatha, 89

Witness for the Prosecution, 458

Churchill, Winston, 89, 350

Ciano, Countess Edda Mussolini, 296

Cinémathèque Française, 512

Clair, René, 278, 351

Clift, Montgomery, 469

Cobalt 60 (film), 432

Cocteau, Jean, 462

Cohen, Alexander, 487

Cohen, Emanuel, 205

Collignon, Ilse, 557n7

Columbia Pictures, 460

Cooper, Gary, 183, 184, 188, 471

Coppola, Francis Ford, 446, 512

Correll, Ernst Hugo, 161

Coward, Noël, 403, 450, 454, 462, 481, 482, 488, 492, 499

Crawford, Joan, 137, 240, 247

Cruise, Tom, 521

Curtiz, Michael (Mihály Kertész), 130

Czechoslovakia, German threats against, 313, 315

Czinner, Paul, 128

Dagover, Lil, 77

d’Albert, Eugen, 330

dance:

abstraction of, 83

ballroom, 23

body as temple of, 18–19

classical ballet, 21, 23

expression through the body in, 22, 23, 46, 82, 83

and gymnastics, 18, 23, 46, 83, 85

harmony of mind and body, 19

Mazdaznan movement, 83

méthode rhythmique, 19

modern, 18–20, 21, 24–26, 80

physical elasticity achieved via, 85

as rhythmic thinking, 82

women in, 20, 23, 26–27

Das Schicksal derer von Habsburg (film), 536n94

Davis, Joe, 460

Dayan, Moshe, 467

Day of Freedom—Our Wehrmacht—Nuremberg 1935 (film), 290, 291–92, 323, 415, 416–17, 515

DeBakey, Michael, 489

de Gaulle, Charles, 361, 368, 486–87

Dehmel, Richard, 34

Delahaye, Michel, 305

Delon, Alain, 462

De Sica, Vittorio, 426, 432, 456

Desire (film), 231–32, 240

Dessau, Paul, 115

De Stijl movement, 533n55

Destry Rides Again (film), 347–49, 354, 406

Deutsche Grammophon, 468

Devil Is a Woman, The (film), 227–28, 240

Devil’s General, The (film), 106

Diaghilev, Serge, 19

Diem, Carl, 294

Diessl, Gustav, 108, 121

Dieterle, William, 362, 465

Dietrich, Elisabeth Ottilie (sister):

birth of, 5

childhood of, 6–7

death of, 468, 488

discipline instilled in, 6–7, 66

and family background, 3–7

financial support from Marlene, 468–69

letters to and from Marlene, 468

post–World War II, 399, 468–69

as teacher, 53

teen years of, 30, 31, 38, 43

Dietrich, Hermann (uncle), 65–66

Dietrich, Josefine (Wilhelmina Elisabeth Josefine Felsing) (mother):

in Berlin, 194, 202–3, 212, 225, 351, 352, 363, 380, 381, 503

death of, 381, 382, 385

and family life, 31–32, 37–39, 44, 66

first husband of, 5, 6

hopes resting on her children, 38–39, 66

Marlene in U.S., 171, 194, 208, 236–38, 351

Marlene’s financial support of, 208

and Marlene’s marriage, 64

and Marlene’s schooling, 46–49

and Prussian pride, 31

punctuality and discipline enforced by, 6–7, 30, 31, 37, 39, 44, 55, 66, 78

second husband of, 30–31, 37–38

social status as concern of, 31, 43, 56, 61, 64, 76

and World War I, 37–38, 46

Dietrich, Louis Erich Otto (father), 3–6, 43

Dietrich, Marie Magdalene, see Dietrich, Marlene

Dietrich, Marlene:

and acting career, 55–56, 57–61, 71, 78–79, 230

affairs of, 70–71, 75, 167–68, 196, 209, 222–25, 240–41, 243–45, 251, 353–59, 364–65, 368, 371, 379–80, 381, 385, 401, 403–5, 454–55, 457, 460–62, 479, 480; see also specific names

and agents, 231, 247, 255, 387, 399–400, 402, 406, 450

and aging, 222, 229, 230, 350, 360, 375, 383, 387–88, 402, 403, 404, 405, 407, 410, 449–50, 452, 459, 468, 475, 477, 480, 483–84, 486, 490–93, 497–510

ambition of, 58, 61, 66, 77, 79, 164

awards and honors to, 395, 452, 464, 466, 467, 474, 487, 509, 563n26

birth and background of, 3–7

book collection of, 509

boxing lessons taken by, 59

as businesswoman, 467–68, 489–90, 501–2

charity work of, 402

childhood of, 6–7, 36, 363, 499

citizenship of, 65, 246–47, 255, 256, 349, 351, 352

in commercials, 485

and cosmetic surgery, 491

critical reviews of, 68, 69, 73, 350, 361, 451, 500

death of, 510, 572n22

descriptions of, 59, 79, 408–9, 464, 484

diary and dreams of, 30, 32–34, 36, 38, 39–41, 42, 44, 55, 69, 79

discipline instilled in, 6–7, 30, 31, 37, 39, 78, 230, 374, 406, 489

entertaining U.S. troops, 70, 362–67, 370–71, 373–76, 463

estate of, 508–10

fading popularity of, 246, 247, 254, 350–51, 355, 383, 385, 387, 388, 399, 402

falls from the stage, 466, 479, 488–89, 493, 499

and fame, 72, 75, 186, 190, 192, 232–33, 255

and family ideal, 32, 39, 40, 43, 167, 193, 250, 257, 401–2

and Fanck, 139

fears of, 374, 384, 385, 387, 397, 405, 509

financial support of others, 71, 76, 79, 208, 215, 222, 223, 251, 255, 359, 369, 371, 396–97, 399, 455–56, 468–69, 477, 492–93

friends of, 408–9, 480, 482, 503, 504

as grandmother, 395–96, 397, 398, 401, 403, 459, 462, 476

health issues of, 387, 388, 474, 477–79, 486, 489, 490, 491, 493, 508, 510

and her daughter, 66; see also Riva, Maria

and her grandmother, 32–33, 36, 43, 53, 59, 60, 401

and her mother, see Dietrich, Josefine

home movies of, 241, 256, 358

homesick and unhappy in U.S., 181–82, 183, 190, 193, 194, 208, 212, 215, 225, 233–34, 390

income and finances of, 56, 60, 187, 192, 208, 209, 238, 251, 255, 256, 351, 359, 360, 369, 371–72, 379, 387, 391, 396–97, 399, 449, 456, 463, 464, 467–68, 487, 488, 500, 505, 509–10, 570n45

isolation of, 178, 382, 388–90, 449, 471, 475, 478, 479, 504–10

Just Take My Life, 481–82, 498–99, 500–501, 503, 505

legs of, 61, 63, 364, 370, 398, 409, 453, 464, 477, 489, 506, 508

letters to and from lovers, 70, 209, 211, 224–25, 238, 255, 364–65, 368–69, 401, 405; see also specific names

lifestyle of, 58–59, 71, 74–75, 79, 193–94, 215, 232–34, 236, 249, 457

loss of virginity, 49

Marlene Dietrich’s ABC, 481–82

and Marlene film, 502–3

marriage of, 63–67; see also Sieber, Rudolf Emilian

medications of, 473–74

memorabilia of, 363, 396, 467, 508, 571n1

monocle worn by, 61, 65, 67, 78

move to Hollywood, 168–69, 171–73, 177–82, 187, 200

movie roles of, 67–71, 77–78, 179–87, 188–90, 197–200, 204–5, 212, 216–17, 219–21, 227–28, 231, 238–40, 308, 347–51, 359–61, 370, 386–87, 391, 392, 400, 401, 402, 406, 458, 470, 471, 500; see also Blue Angel, The; other titles

movies as escape for, 39–40, 41, 44

musical saw of, 70, 196, 364

musical talents of, 78

music and dance lessons of, 46, 49, 55, 69

new name for herself, 34

as nightclub singer, 410, 448–54, 459–61, 465–68, 472–75, 477, 478, 479, 480, 485, 489–90

in Paris, 213–15, 249–50, 379–80, 381, 383–84, 388, 397–98, 452, 462, 475, 484, 497, 499, 501, 504–10

physical appearance of, 59, 66, 68, 73, 408

poems written by, 505, 508

post–World War I, 53–79, 383

post–World War II, 383–84, 385, 388–90, 396, 398

as prisoner of her own legend, 492

professional contacts of, 67, 71, 76–77

Prussian pride of, 43, 79, 466, 474

public image of, 187, 233, 238, 248–49, 358, 370

quest for adventure, 39

radio broadcasts of, 372–73, 402, 459

return trips to Berlin, 190–92, 380–81, 462–66

and schooling, 33–34, 35, 40, 46–49

and sexual ambiguities, 73

in show business, 61–63, 65, 71–73, 156, 448–49, 483–85

songs of, 77, 179, 184, 191–92, 212, 347, 348, 349, 364, 373, 392, 393, 400, 451, 461, 467, 474–75, 500

and sound films, 162

suspected of being a German spy, 561n34

teen years of, 30–49

and television, 459, 487, 501, 509, 571n67

transformation for her roles, 196–97, 199–200, 245–46, 459–60, 473–75, 568n10

in U.S., 171, 180–90, 192–257, 351

and USO, 362–67, 370–71, 373–76

wardrobe of, 68, 69, 79, 165–66, 172, 180, 192, 198, 214, 220, 232, 363, 367, 368, 369, 374–75, 393, 400–401, 448–49, 452, 454, 458, 464, 482, 484–85, 505, 506

wheelchair of, 508

work ethic of, 58, 78, 458

and World War I, 30, 34–38, 41–43, 48

and World War II, 351–52, 361, 362–76, 382–83, 474

Dietrich, Otto, 149

Dietrich, Sepp, 149

Dior, Christian, 400–401, 402, 423, 452, 506

Dirksen, Viktoria von, 261

Dishonored (film), 188–90

Disney, Walt, 315

Dix, Otto, 14

Döblin, Alfred, Berlin Alexanderplatz, 161

Docks of New York, The (film), 112

Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (film), 54

Dodd, William E., 292

Dolly Sisters, 73

Domela, Cesar, 533n55

Dos Passos, John, 227–28

Douglas, Louis, 62

Dreier, Hans, 545n40

Dresden:

Riefenstahl’s move to, 20

Wigman’s school of dance in, 24–26

Dunaway, Faye, 514

Duncan, Isadora, 18, 528n10

Duse, Eleonora, 57

Edington, Harry, 231, 246, 247, 255

Eduardowa, Eugenia, 82, 533n54

Eggebrecht, Axel, 535n83

Eisenstein, Sergei, 187, 209, 263, 278

Eisner, Lotte, 59, 407

Eitel Friedrich, Prince, 77

Elisabeth, Empress, 89

Emil and the Detectives (film), 128

Ertl, Hans, 122, 142, 290–91, 297, 299, 327, 442, 556n94

Esser, Hermann, 431

Europe, Nazi takeovers in, 70, 249, 257, 294, 308, 331

Express-Film Company, 94

Eysoldt, Gertrud, 57

Fairbanks, Douglas, Jr., 240–41, 242, 450, 459

Fairbanks, Douglas, Sr., 111, 183

Falkenberg, Paul, 108

Falling in Love Again” (song), 77, 179, 451, 482, 489,
499

Fanck, Arnold, 88–106, 132, 134, 297

and Avalanche, 114–17, 162

birth and background of, 93

and Blue Light, 126–27, 136

in counterintelligence, 120

and Great Leap, 103–6

and Holy Mountain, 90–99, 101

and Leni, 88, 90–106, 110, 114, 117, 119–20, 122, 125, 136, 139–40, 262, 267, 304, 419, 442

and Lowlands, 335

and Miracle of the Snowshoe, 94, 103

and Mountain of Destiny, 88, 90, 94

as NSDAP member, 337

obsession with mountains, 94, 122–23

and Piz Palü, 108–11, 116, 120

and Reich chancellery film, 337

sadism of, 109, 125, 535n91

and S.O.S. Iceberg, 138–43, 152

war veterans in films of, 122

and White Frenzy, 119, 124–25, 140

Fangauf, Eberhard, 264, 266–67

Fashion Side of Hollywood, The (film), 232

Faust (film), 154

FBI, 561n34

Fedora (film), 571n13

Feilchenfeldt, Walter, 256

Feld, Hans, 114, 117

Feldman, Charles, 387, 399–400, 402, 406, 450

Fellini, Federico, 428

Felsing, Albert, 5, 32

Felsing, Elisabeth, 32–33, 36, 43, 53, 59, 60, 401

Felsing, Hasso Conrad, 30, 77, 192

Felsing, Jolly, 76, 77, 117, 237

Felsing, Willibald, 32, 36, 76, 77

Felsing family, 5, 32

social and professional contacts in, 77

and the theater, 55

and Wilhelmine Germany, 41, 53, 61

feminist film festivals, 446

Feuchtwanger, Lion, 75, 119

Feuchtwanger, Marta, 119

Film-Kurier, 264

Fitzgerald, F. Scott, 247

Flame of New Orleans, The (film), 351

Flanner, Janet, 215, 419

Flaubert, Gustave, 197

Fleckhaus, Willy, 443

Fleming, Robert, 450

Flesch, Carl, 49

Flickenschildt, Elisabeth, 328

Foreign Affair, A (film), 390–95, 399, 459, 571–72n15

Forst, Willi, 69, 70–71, 171, 209, 233, 503

Forster-Larrinaga, Robert, 156

4628 Meter High on Skis: Climbing Monte Rosa (film), 94

Fournier, Dominique, 397

Fraenkel, Ernst, 258

France:

Austria occupied by, 414–15

German occupation of, 331, 357

Marlene with USO in, 373–74

Paris retaken by Allies, 340

prelude to World War II, 250–51, 252, 256, 257

“Train Bleu,” 373

war declared by, 353

Franco, Francisco, 331

Franco-Prussian War, 53

Frankfurt Book Fair, 445

Fräulein Else (film), 128

Frederick the Great, 3

Free French Forces, 361–62

Freeman, Stan, 488–89

Freiligrath, Ferdinand, “O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst,” 503

Frentz, Walter, 122, 267, 268, 280, 297, 327

Freud, Sigmund, 21

Freund, Karl, 128

Frick, Wilhelm, 273

Friedrich, Caspar David, 94

Friedrich, Kaiser, 33

Froitzheim, Otto, 28, 29, 84, 87

Frost, Robert, 471

Führer Builds His Reich Capital, The (filmstrip), 336–37

Funk, Walter, 335

Furthman, Jules, 545n40

Furtwängler, Wilhelm, 426

Gabin, Jean, 356–59

death of, 498

end of affair with, 384, 385, 389, 396–97, 398, 399, 452

and film roles, 357, 383, 385–87

and Free French Forces, 361–62

letters to and from Marlene, 364–65, 368, 379–80

Marlene’s affair with, 356, 357–59, 361–62, 364–65, 368–69, 371, 379, 382, 383, 384, 486

marriage to Fournier, 397, 405, 462

Gable, Clark, 137

Gainsbourg, Serge, 506

Gance, Abel, 278

Garbo, Greta, 106, 137, 187, 223, 231, 263, 349, 356, 505

Garden of Allah (film), 238–39

Garland, Judy, 469, 473

Garmes, Lee, 184, 545n40

Gavin, James M., 381, 382, 384–85, 407, 562n4

George, Heinrich, 75, 279

George Eastman House, Rochester, 513

Georgi, Yvonne, 24–25

Geriatrea, 469

German Nansen Society, 437

German National Association of Visual Arts, 537n122

Germany:

anti-Semitism in, 314

and Battle of Stalingrad, 336

beaten-down men in, 22

compulsory military service in, 290, 295

currency reform in, 425

delusions of grandeur in, 45

exiles in U.S. from, 233–35, 259

expressionism in, 532n38

extraordinary year (1923), 27

Federal Republic, 425

industry and technology in, 13, 60

inflation in, 26–27, 54, 60, 63, 73, 81

instability in, 63, 160, 191, 203, 208

Kostümfilme in, 531n28

Kristallnacht in, 314

Marlene’s assets in, 208, 209, 225

Marlene’s films accepted in, 240

Marlene’s stage performances in, 462–67

military films in, 291–92

mountain films in, 88–101, 102–11, 115–23, 129, 273, 287, 413, 434, 534n72

Munich Agreement (1938), 313

Nazi Party in, see National Socialism

New Woman in, 22–24, 45, 57, 60, 68, 85–86, 115

Night of the Long Knives in, 277

1920s in, 27, 73, 532n38, 533n49

and Olympic Games (1936), 294, 295, 296, 297–98, 444

postwar films in, 426

post–World War I, 22, 53–54, 59–60, 85–86, 122

post–World War II, 411–12, 419

prelude to World War II in, 249, 287–88

Reichstag dissolved, 149

revolution of 1918 in, 10, 43, 45, 53, 59, 60

Sedan Day in, 53

Siegfried Line in, 330

stock market crash and world economic crisis (1929), 160, 208

Third Reich, 258, 421, 446

upward mobility sought in, 83

war-crimes trials in, 415–16, 419

Weimar Republic, 20, 22, 57, 61, 69, 79, 83, 147, 161, 171, 258, 475

World War I in, 11, 22, 34–38, 41–43

World War II in, see World War II

Gerron, Kurt, 163

Gershwin, George, 62, 73

Gert, Valeska, 26

Giacometti, Alberto, 462

Gilda (film), 448

Gillhausen, Rolf, 443, 445

Ginzburg, Carlo, 190

Gladitz, Nina, 517

Glas, Uschi, 521

Goddard, Paulette, 453, 485–86

Goebbels, Joseph:

and approved films, 263, 267

and banned films, 148

and banned songs, 373

death of, 412

diaries of, 422

and Leni’s films, 260–61, 263–64, 273, 274, 279, 280, 287, 288, 290, 292, 295, 296, 300, 303, 304, 305–6, 309, 328, 330, 332, 336, 341, 413, 421, 424

and Marlene, 240, 246–47

and Ministry of Propaganda, 262–63, 266, 305, 309, 321, 322, 328, 413

and Nazi rize to power, 21

socializing with Leni, 150–51, 260–62, 263–64, 307, 315, 334, 422

Goebbels, Magda, 150, 151, 260, 261

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von:

“Just Take My Life,” 500

“Reynard the Fox,” 470

Goetz, Ben, 303

Golden Earrings (film), 387

Gone With the Wind (film), 349

Goodman, Dean, 359, 382

Göring, Emmy, 431, 566n1

Göring, Hermann, 151, 261, 277, 292, 431

Gotthart, Bernhard, 94

Göttler, Fritz, 426

Goulding, Edmund, 263

Grant, Cary, 206

Granz, Norman, 462, 463

Great Depression, 204, 232, 235

Greatest Earthly Joy on Horseback, The (short film), 556n86

Great Leap, The (film), 103–6, 127

Great War, see World War I

Greenland, film shooting in, 138–43, 293, 335

Grimm-Reiter, Helene, 13–14

Grosskopf, Walter, 316

Grosz, George, 99

Guiness, Alec, 450

Guitry, Sasha, 311

Gulbranssen, Trygve, Beyond Sing the Woods, 331

Haas, Willy, 39

Habsburg Empire, 63

Haffner, Sebastian, 27, 35, 53, 160, 171, 262

Hameister, Willy, 297

Hammett, Dashiell, 193

Hampton, Hope, 482

Hanfstaengl, Ernst, 150, 151, 261–62

Harrison, Joan, 504

Harrison, Rex, 459

Hassell, Ulrich von, 296

Hauser, Arnold, 130

Hays Code, 201, 545n42

Hayworth, Rita, 352, 457

Head, Edith, 458

Heiden, Konrad, 293

“Heidenröslein” (song), 212

Heimatfilm (sentimental film in rural setting), 92

Hellman, Lillian, 452

Hemingway, Ernest, 473

death of, 471

Green Hills of Africa, 433–35, 436

and Leni, 432–34

and Marlene, 373–74, 406, 407–8, 453, 499

Hemingway, Mary Welsh, 373, 374, 453

Henning, Hanna, 137

Hepburn, Audrey, 402

Hepburn, Katharine, 247

Hermès accessories, 200

Hess, Rudolf, 268, 271, 273, 284, 334, 415

Hessel, Franz, 190, 507

Heuser, Kurt, 434

Hilpert, Heinz, 246–47

Himmler, Heinrich, 35, 286

Hindenburg, Paul von, 42, 77, 147–48, 276, 277

Hinkel, Hans, 265–67, 341

Hintner, Cornelius, 536n94

Hinze, Ingetraud, 396

Hitchcock, Alfred, 400

Hitchens, Gordon, 419

Hitler, Adolf:

attempted assassination of, 343

charisma of, 144, 268, 269, 271, 518

death of, 412, 413

and Leni, 28, 144–47, 149–52, 258–65, 267–69, 277–79, 283–84, 289–91, 292–93, 305–9, 331, 340, 421, 423, 518

and Leni’s films, 136, 148, 260, 261, 267, 271–72, 273–75, 277–78, 283–90, 291, 292–93, 295, 300, 305–7, 311–12, 321–23, 328, 329, 337, 424, 518

lifestyle of, 150

losing self-control, 313

loss of power, 343, 367

and Marlene’s films, 240

and Marlene’s postwar stage performances, 463, 467

Mein Kampf, 149, 151, 293, 331, 431

movies about, 470–71

and Night of the Long Knives, 277

at the opera, 553–54n55

and party members, 276–77

postwar investigations about, 416

rise to power, 143–52, 203, 211, 213, 259, 264, 267, 431

takeovers in Europe, 70, 249, 257, 315

and the Volk, 268, 269, 288, 427

Wilder’s triumph over, 393–94

and World War II, 257, 313, 315, 319–23, 326–27, 331, 334, 335, 336, 367

Hitler Over Germany (film), 266

Hitler Youth, 285–86

Hitler Youth in the Mountains (film), 266

Hobsbawm, Eric, 141

Hobsbawm, Sidney, 141

Hoffmann, Erna, 19

Hoffmann, Heinrich, 150, 261

Hohenzollern dynasty, 43

Hölderlin, Friedrich, 99

Hollaender, Friedrich, 62, 158–59, 163, 168, 191, 233, 347, 393

Hollywood:

“box office poison” in, 247, 257

and Depression, 204, 232

exiles from Germany in, 233–35

film industry in, 236

Hays Code in, 201, 545n42

Leni boycotted in, 313–15, 415, 418, 514

Marlene’s life in, 193–94, 215, 232–34, 236, 249, 358, 389, 457

Marlene’s move to, 168–69, 171–73, 177–82, 187, 200

postwar, 504

scandals in, 201

in wartime, 351–52, 354, 372, 394

Hollywood Canteen, 352

Hollywood Victory Committee, 351–52

Holy Mountain, The (film), 90–99, 100–103, 145, 535n83

Homecoming (propaganda film), 70

Hörmann, Gheo von, 439

Horst Wessel Song, 272, 273, 289

Hugenberg, Alfred, 65, 77, 211

Huston, John, 351

Ickes, Paul, 138

Ihering, Herbert, 60

I Kiss Your Hand, Madame (film), 69, 399

“Illusions” (song), 393

Image, 513

Impressions of the Deep (film), 523

Internal Revenue Service, 256

International Exposition (1937), Paris, 307

International Olympics Committee, 294

Interview, 511–12

Isherwood, Christopher, 452

Israel, Marlene’s stage performances in, 466–67, 479

Italy:

Leni’s visit to, 426–27

postwar filmmaking in, 426, 427, 428

It’s in the Air (musical revue), 71–73, 75, 156

Jabs, Waldemar, 162

Jacob, Peter, 340, 416, 417, 418, 420, 432

Jacobi, Lotte, photographs of Leni by, 86–87, 118

Jacobi, Mia, 86

Jäger, Ernst, 280, 313, 413

Jagger, Bianca, 511, 514

Jagger, Mick, 446, 511, 514

Jannings, Emil:

and The Blue Angel, 155, 156, 158, 163–64, 166–68, 169, 172

in Pandora’s Box, 57

and Paramount, 209

socializing, 77

and sound films, 162

in Tragedy of Love, 67

and von Sternberg, 152–55, 163–64

Janowitz, Hans, 128

Jaques-Dalcroze, Émile, 19

Jaworsky, Heinz von, 99, 127, 131, 538n8

Jazz Singer, The (film), 161

Jigsaw (film), 399

“Johnny wenn du Geburtstag hast” (song), 191, 212, 482

Johnson, Lyndon B., 489

Joyce, James, 278

Judgment at Nuremberg (film), 469–70, 502, 570n43

Jung, Edgar, 277

Jünger, Ernst, 121–22

Just a Gigolo (film), 500

Kafka, Franz, 19

Karajan, Herbert von, 345

Karlweis, Oskar, 72, 73

Kasten, Jürgen, 128

Kästner, Erich, 75, 385

Kau people of Nuba tribe, 444, 515

Kennedy, Edward M. “Ted,” 471, 489

Kennedy, John F., 256, 471–72

Kennedy, Robert F., 471

Kent, Sidney, 168

Kerr, Deborah, 450

Kettelhut, Erich, 67

Kettner, Horst, 441–42, 444, 514, 516, 521, 522, 524

Kiesewetter, Knut, 572n6

Kindler, Helmut, 423–25

Kirch, Leo, 521

Kisch, Egon Erwin, 86

Kishon, Ephraim, 467

Kismet (film), 362, 370

Kissinger, Henry A., 521

Klamt, Hermann, 80, 81

Klamt, Jutta, 82–84, 533n58

Klarsfeld, Beate, 510

Klausener, Erich, 277

Kleist, Heinrich von, Penthesilea, 328–29

Klimt, Gustav, 69

Klingenberg, Werner, 313

Knef, Hildegard, 408–9, 464, 465, 499, 503

Knight Without Armour (film), 239–40, 246

Koebner, F. W., 27–28

Kohner, Paul, 140, 302–4, 512

Kokoschka, Oskar, 242

Kolbe, Georg, 242

Kollwitz, Käthe, 99

Kolpé, Max, 228, 250, 384, 390, 409, 455, 499, 500, 507

Koppenhöfer, Maria, 328, 330

Korda, Alexander (Sander), 68, 130

Kortner, Fritz, 77–78

Kosleck, Martin, 547n83

Koster, Henry, 402–3

Kracauer, Siegfried, 92

Kramer, Stanley, 469, 570n43

Krauss, Werner, 57

Krenek, Ernst, Jonny, 532

Kretschmer, Elfriede, 572n6

Kreuder, Peter, 191, 291

Kreutzberg, Harald, 222–23

Kuchenbuch, Herbert, 117–18

Kunzmann, Theresia, 177

Lacombe, Georges, 386

Ladies’ Home Journal, 570n45

Lady Is Willing, The (film), 360

Laemmle, Carl, 139, 140, 141

Lagerfeld, Karl, 506

LaGuardia, Fiorello, 368

Lamarr, Hedy, 246

Lamprecht, Gerhard, 128

Lancaster, Burt, 469

Lanchester, Elsa, 458

Lang, Fritz, 504

and Dr. Mabuse, 54

and M, 147

and Marlene, 238, 405–7

and Metropolis, 112

and Nibelungs, 162, 263

and Rancho Notorious, 405–7

and Woman in the Moon, 111

Langendorf, Captain, 413

Langhaeuser, Rudolf, 325

Langlois, Henri, 512

Lantin, Rolf, 299

Lantschner, Guzzi and Otto, 280, 321, 327, 556n94

Lasker-Schüler, Else, 158

Last Command, The (film), 154

Lastfogel, Abe, 362

Last Laugh, The (film), 128, 154

La Strada (film), 428

Las Vegas, Marlene’s stage appearances in, 448–49, 451, 452–54, 457, 461

Laughton, Charles, 458, 459

“La Vie en Rose” (song), 400, 487

“Laziest Gal in Town, The” (song), 400, 451

League of Nations, 287, 295

Leap, The (short film), 556n86

“Leben ohne Liebe kannst du nicht” (song), 191

Lebensreformer (back to nature advocates), 18

Le Corbusier, 19

Lehnich, Oswald, 296

Leip, Hans, 561n35

Leisen, Mitchell, 387

Leni, Paul, 67

Leni Riefenstahl Film Inc., 316, 335, 336–37

Lenya, Lotte, 86

Lerman, Leo, 369, 404, 449, 482

Leuwerik, Ruth, 432

Levin, Julius, 48

Lewitan, Joseph, 533n54

Liberman, Alexander, 401–2, 477

Liberman, Tatjana, 402

Liebknecht, Karl, 528n14

Life, 408, 437

“Lili Marleen” (song), 373, 451, 467

Lindbergh, Charles, 208

Lion, Margo, 72, 73, 74–75, 130, 210, 384, 531n36

Little Napoleon, The (film), 67

Locarno Pact, 294

Loesser, Frank, 347

Lollobrigida, Gina, 427

London, Marlene’s stage performances in, 450–52, 461

Loren, Sophia, 462, 521

Lorre, Peter, 233

Los Angeles, see Hollywood

Losch, Eduard von, 30–31, 37–38

Losch, Josefine von, see Dietrich, Josefine

Louis, Jean, 448, 459–60

Louys, Pierre, The Woman and the Puppet, 227

Love (film), 263

Lowlands (film), 330–34

based on opera by d’Albert, 330

cast and crew of, 279, 330, 337–39, 341, 342, 423–24, 517

comparisons with, 333

failure of, 343, 414, 428

filming of, 331–32, 516

lawsuits related to, 423–24

Leni as director of, 330, 333, 341–43

Leni’s acting in, 135, 330, 333, 343

Leni’s changing claims about, 330, 333–34, 413, 573n12

Leni’s continued work on, 411, 414, 421, 426, 427

meaning sought in, 559n44, 573n12

story of, 332–33

L. R. Studio Films, Inc., 126

Lubitsch, Ernst, 45, 105, 154, 209, 231, 243, 398, 504

Luddy, Tom, 512

Ludendorff, Erich, 45

Ludwig, Emil, 244

Luft, Friedrich, 465

Lukács, Georg, 130

Lund, John, 392

Lutze, Viktor, 285, 286

Luz, Oskar, 437

M (film), 147

Madam Doctor (film), 262

Madame Doesn’t Want Children (film), 68, 130, 390

Mademoiselle Docteur (film), 421

Madonna, 505

Magnani, Anna, 396, 432

Magnum Photos, 436

Mahir, Sabri, 85

Mahler, Gustav, 355, 467

Maillol, Aristide, 242

Mainz, Friedrich, 425

Maltese Falcon, The (film), 351

Mamoulian, Rouben, 211, 212, 223

Man by the Roadside (film), 362

Mann, Abby, 570n43

Mann, Erika, 86, 307

Mann, Heinrich:

and The Blue Angel, 155–56, 179

Professor Unrat, 155, 169, 170

Mann, Klaus, 86, 125

Mann, Thomas, 54, 160–61, 233, 254

Mannheim, Karl, 130

Mannheim, Lucie, 158–59

Manon Lescaut (film), 67–68

Manpower (film), 359–60

Manstein, Erich von, 322–23, 325

Manton, Maria, 359

Marais, Jean, 432, 452

Marlene (film), 502–3

Marzahn concentration camp, 338–39, 423, 517

Massary, Fritzi, 455

Matul, Tamara, 204, 241, 532n43

abortions of, 456

death of, 477, 478

health issues of, 256, 409, 476–77

as Maria’s nanny, 75

and Marlene’s money, 396–97, 409

in New York, 353

other lovers of, 353

in Paris, 214, 226, 251

passport of, 226–27, 353

as Sieber’s lover, 75–76, 157, 190–91, 194, 238, 256–57, 353, 409, 410, 455–56

Matz, Peter, 569n22

Maxglan camp, 338, 424, 517

May, Joe, 67

May, Karl, 89

May, Mia, 504

Mayer, Carl, 127–29, 133, 279, 312, 513, 538n11

May-Film, 63, 64

Mazdaznan movement, 83

McLaglen, Victor, 188

Meadows, Earle, 302

Medal of Freedom, 395

“Mein blondes Baby” (“My Blonde Baby”) (song), 467

Menjou, Adolphe, 183, 184

Messner, Reinhold, 521

Messter, Oskar, 76

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 247, 302–4, 362

Metropolis (film), 112

Meyen, Harry, 465

Meyerinck, Hubert von, 63, 72

Mies van der Rohe, Ludwig, 19

Milestone, Lewis, 148, 389

Miller, Lee, 374

Minde-Pouet, Georg, 329

Minetti, Bernhard, 59, 330, 332, 334, 337, 341, 342, 343, 516

Miracle of the Snowshoe: A System for Skiing Correctly, The (film), 94, 103

Mitchell, Margaret, Gone With the Wind, 331

Modern Dubarry, A (film), 531n30

Moissi, Alexander, 34

Mollinger, Dolly, 256

Monroe, Marilyn, 402

Montand, Yves, 462, 465

Monte Carlo Story (film), 456–57

Morocco (film), 179–87

Academy Award nominations for, 208

comparisons with, 190, 197

filming of, 546–47n73

premiere of, 203

story of, 183–87, 350

vocal numbers from, 191

Moroder, Giorgio, 523

Morris, Glenn, 301, 302, 315

Mosheim, Grete, 57, 64, 455

Mountain of Destiny (film), 88–90, 94–95

Müller, André, 573n12

Müller, Hermann, 171

Müller, Ray, 110, 274, 521

The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl, 127, 519–20

Munich Agreement (1938), 313

Munkacsi, Martin, 119

Murnau, Friedrich Wilhelm, 128, 133–34, 154

Musil, Robert, 45

The Man Without Qualities, 17

Mussolini, Benito, 131, 137, 286, 295, 330, 331, 365

Muthesius, Eckart, 344

Nannen, Henri, 443

Nansen passports, 226–27, 353

National Film Archives, 417

National Geographic, 437

National Socialism (Nazi party):

anti-Semitism of, 259, 296, 314, 336

and the arts, 83, 290

covert continuity of, 521

and cultural revolt (1968), 443

and Day of Freedom, 515

exiles in U.S. from, 233–34

factions within, 276–77

failed 1923 putsch, 286

fanatical pathos of, 288, 296

forced laborers used by, 343–44

Germany ruled by, 258

Horst Wessel Song, 272, 273, 289

ideology of, 447

and Leni, 130, 136, 147, 264–68, 273, 275, 315, 413, 422, 442–43, 518, 523

and Leni’s films, 261, 264, 270–75, 279, 288, 296–97, 299–300, 321, 330, 333, 417, 420–21, 425, 435, 446

nations liberated from, 411

and Night of the Long Knives, 277

and Olympic Games, 296, 301–2, 304, 440

party rallies, 268, 269–72, 275, 277, 278, 279, 282–87, 290, 412, 417, 422, 440

post–World War II, 413–15, 419

public disenchantment with, 276

and Remarque, 248

rise to power, 21, 147–50, 211, 213, 215, 259, 280, 431

and Triumph of the Will, 515

and Victory of Faith, 270–75, 515

Nazi party, see National Socialism

NBC, 464

Negri, Pola, 28, 45

Neurath, Konstantin von, 273

Neutra, Richard, 242, 548n110

Neville-Willing, Donald, 450

New Look, 423

New Objectivity, 278

Newton, Helmut, 523

New Woman, 22–24, 45, 57, 60, 68, 85–86, 115, 446

Nibelungs, The (film), 162, 263

Nietzsche, Friedrich, 18, 99

Night of the Long Knives, 277

Niven, David, 450

No Highway in the Sky (film), 402–3

Normandy, Allied landings in, 340, 367

Norwich, Lord and Lady, 450

Nosferatu (film), 133

Nuba people, 436–44, 446–47, 514, 520, 521–22

Nuremberg:

Judgment at Nuremberg (film), 469–70, 502, 570n43

war-crimes trials in, 415–16, 419

Office of Strategic Services (OSS), 372–73

Olivier, Laurence, 450

Olympia (film), 290, 294–312

Festival of Beauty (Part II), 310–11

Festival of Nations (Part I), 309–10

filming of, 297–301, 342, 440, 556n94

as fine sports film, 309

honors and awards to, 311

international versions of, 309, 311–12, 313, 315, 321

premiere of, 308–9

reissue of (1960s), 444

at Telluride Film Festival, 512

Olympia Film Inc., 295, 303

Olympiaverlag, publisher, 423

Olympic Games (1932), 296

Olympic Games (1936), 294, 295, 296, 297–302, 313, 440, 444, 520

Olympic Games (1940), 313

Olympic Games (1972), 444

Opel, Margot von, 307, 329

Orla, Ressel, 66

Orlik, Emil, 66

OSS (Office of Strategic Services), 372–73

Owens, Jesse, 302

Pabst, G. W., 69, 106, 108–9, 121, 335

Pacific Film Archive, 512

Palmer, Lilli, 506

Palucca, Gret, 24, 25

Pan Am, Marlene’s ads for, 485

Pandora’s Box (drama), 57, 58, 69

Papen, Franz von, 149, 273, 277

Paramount Pictures, 169, 180–81, 182, 187, 192, 202, 214, 226, 236, 415

Paramount Studios, 204–5, 209, 211, 247, 249, 387

Pasternak, Joe, 168, 257, 347–49

Patcevitch, Iva, 403

Patton, George S., 375, 376

Pavlova, Anna, 84

Pawlinin, Helge, 434

Penthesilea (proposed film), 316, 320, 327–30, 340, 445

“Peter” (song), 191, 482

Peters, Erna, 272

Petersen, Ernst, 96, 111

Peukert, Detlev, 35

Piaf, Edith, 400, 465

Picasso, Pablo, La Gameuse, 242

Pickford, Mary, 111

Pinthus, Kurt, 60

Piscator, Erwin, 113

Pittsburgh (film), 360–61

Piz Palü, see White Hell of Piz Palü, The

Poelzig, Hans, 19, 56

Poland:

German invasion of, 319, 321, 325, 326

Leni’s attempt to film in, 320–25

Marlene’s travel to, 472

Warsaw ghetto uprising, 472

Polgar, Alfred, 424

Pommer, Erich, 157, 162, 179, 259

Pompidou, Georges, 487

Porten, Henny, 39–40

Porter, Cole, 400

Power, Tyrone, 458

Prager, Walter, 152, 275, 280

Prager, Willy, 72

Preminger, Otto, 504

Prévert, Jacques, 383

Prinzhorn, Hans, 19, 529n18

Putti, Lya de, 67

“Quand l’amour meurt” (song), 184

Queen Christine (film), 223

Rabenalt, Arthur Maria, 335

Raether, Arnold, 264, 265–67, 268, 274

Raffé, Rudolf, 536n94

Raft, George, 359

Rancho Notorious (film), 405–7, 564n48

Rasmussen, Knud, 139

Rathenau, Walter, 160

Raubal, Geli, 151

Ravel, Maurice, 461

Reagan, Nancy, 501

Reagan, Ronald, 501

Rebel, The (film), 263, 267

Red Devils, The (film), 432

Reichenau, Walther von, 323, 324

Reich Film Chamber, 296, 299

Reinhardt, Max, 56, 59, 62, 71, 75, 80, 162, 246, 259, 328

Reinl, Harald, 330

Reisch, Walter, 203, 372, 390, 409, 482, 500, 504, 506, 545n48

Reitz, Robert, 48–49

Remarque, Erich Maria “Boni,” 243–57

affair with Marlene, 245–46, 251–56, 353–56, 358, 359, 499

All Quiet on the Western Front, 244

Arch of Triumph “Ravic novel,” 248, 253, 254, 356, 389

art collection of, 256

and Black Fox, 471

citizenship of, 252, 354, 355

death of, 485–86, 498

and end of affair, 243, 251, 353–54, 355, 356, 357

Flotsam, 253

health issues of, 398, 485

and Judgment at Nuremberg, 471

and Leni, 105, 114, 148, 307

messages to and from Marlene, 243, 247–49, 253, 254, 352, 388–89, 398, 452–53

moods and drinking of, 256–57, 356

in New York, 253–54

in Paris, 249–51

personal traits of, 244, 248, 251

post–World War II, 398

and preludes to World War II, 249

remarriage to ex-wife, 248, 250

socializing, 257, 307, 353, 397–98, 500

Three Comrades, 247

and World War II, 352–53, 356, 361

Renoir, Jean, 357

Revue, 423–24

Rhineland, German takeover of, 294

Ribbentrop, Joachim von, 422

Richard, Frida, 330

Richee, Eugene, 232

Riefenstahl, Alfred Theodor Paul (father), 7–9, 12–16

aspiring to wealth, 12, 23

attempts to control his daughter, 9, 10, 11, 13–14, 15–16, 20–21, 22, 25, 83, 127

business of, 12, 13, 17, 344

death of, 343, 346

and his son, 12–13, 16

and Leni’s career, 29, 80, 308

Riefenstahl, Bertha Ida Scherlach (mother), 7–8

aspiring to wealth, 12, 13, 23

and the cinema, 14

and her husband’s strictness, 10

and Leni’s artistic ambitions, 14, 80

and Leni’s career, 308

and Leni’s early years, 10, 13

post–World War II, 411, 419–20

Riefenstahl, Heinz (brother):

artistic interests of, 12

childhood of, 9

death of, 346

father’s plans for, 12–13, 16

and his father’s business, 344–46

and Leni’s ambition, 89

and Leni’s work, 295, 306, 308, 557n7

and Nazi party, 344–45

and Olympia Film Inc., 295

Riefenstahl, Helene Amalia Bertha, see Riefenstahl, Leni

Riefenstahl, Inge (Heinz’s wife), 306

Riefenstahl, Leni, 10–29, 79–152, 319–46, 431–47, 511–24

and Africa, 433–35, 436–47, 515

and aging, 442, 444, 446, 514, 516, 519, 520–24

ambition of, 11, 16, 21, 27–29, 82, 84–85, 87, 89, 105–6, 110, 125, 127, 128, 129, 147, 149, 261–62, 269, 275, 278, 287, 296, 513–14, 519–20

arrests and escapes of, 412

art, beauty, and strength as core of, 83, 105, 517

artistic rise of, 81–83, 128, 136

as artist with nothing to learn, 25, 82

assets confiscated, 419, 421–23, 435

attention sought by, 11, 142–43, 419, 423, 432

Behind the Scenes of the Reich Party Rally Film, 280

birth and family background of, 7–8, 265

boxing lessons taken by, 85

car accident of, 433–34, 436

career advancement of, 80, 124–27, 136, 147, 261, 264, 287, 291, 314, 320, 427, 514, 518

childhood of, 8–9, 122

as “child of nature,” 9, 10, 95, 96, 123

as cinema fan, 14, 112

comeback of, 446–47

competition avoided by, 26, 119

Coral Gardens, 518, 520

as dancer, 14–16, 18–19, 20–21, 22, 25, 27, 29, 79–81, 84, 92, 93, 96–97, 104, 105, 117, 124, 145, 440, 523

“Dances of Eros” performed by, 29

dealings with men, 11, 27–28, 29, 80, 84, 87, 90–92, 99–102, 105, 110–11, 113–14, 123, 125–27, 131, 140, 142, 147, 148–49, 151, 261, 293, 301, 330, 340, 341–42, 442

death of, 524

and deep-sea diving, 515, 516, 518–19, 520, 524

denazification hearings of, 420–22, 425

deported from Austria, 419

disregarding her father’s wishes, 9, 10, 11, 13–14, 15–16, 20–21, 22, 25, 127

divorce of, 420, 432

“Dream Blossom” choreographed by, 96

fading influence of, 313, 314, 326, 330, 340, 436

and fame, 293, 313, 314, 444, 511, 518, 520

as film actress, 15, 95, 97, 99, 103–5, 108, 111, 116–17, 124, 125, 135, 136, 137, 273, 312, 330, 333, 343, 426, 428; see also Riefenstahl, Leni, films acted in

film apprenticeship of, 123, 126; see also Riefenstahl, Leni, films directed by

financing sought by, 27–29, 81, 259, 423, 425, 426, 432, 436, 535n81

first sexual experience, 28

flights from reality, 114, 342–43, 411, 436, 438, 440–41, 513–15

and Goebbels, 150–51,
260–64, 274, 295, 300, 305–6

health problems of, 335–36, 339–40, 343, 420, 516–17, 522, 524

in helicopter accident, 522

history rewritten by, 80, 90, 128, 136–37, 261, 263–64, 274, 280, 312, 326, 330, 412, 413, 417–19, 421–23, 507, 513–15, 517–18, 521

and Hitler, 144–47, 149–52, 258–65, 267–69, 273–75, 277–79, 283–84, 289–91, 292–93, 305–9, 331, 337, 412, 417–18, 421, 423, 424, 440, 515, 517–18, 520

honors and awards to, 137, 289–90, 295–96, 311, 417

houses built by, 306–7, 515–16

income of, 95, 105, 124, 292, 295, 336–37, 413, 421, 423, 439

international travel of, 293–94, 307, 313–15

interrogations of, 413–16, 418

judicial inquiry initiated against, 523

knee injury of, 84, 87, 88, 89, 93

The Last of the Nuba, 444, 514, 520

lawsuits initiated by, 423–25, 517

and Marlene, 112–14

marriage of, 340

memoirs of, 25, 114, 128, 326, 426, 507, 516–17, 519, 552n39

and modeling, 86–87

and mountain films, 88–101, 102–11, 115–23, 129, 261, 267, 269, 273, 278, 287, 292, 413, 433, 434, 440, 442

Müller’s film about: The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl, 127, 519–20

and Mussolini, 295

and Nazi party, 130, 136, 263, 264–68, 273, 275, 280, 290, 293, 315, 330, 333, 413, 420–22, 425, 435, 518, 523

in New York, 514

and Nuba people, 436–44, 446–47, 514, 519, 520, 521–22

outsider status of, 25, 440

peasants and Gypsies used for filming by, 337–39, 423–25, 434, 439, 517, 519, 523

People of Kau, 445, 515

photographs by, 438–47, 511, 515, 516, 518–19, 520

physical appearance of, 86, 120, 446, 514

piano lessons of, 13

and politics, 143–44, 147, 148, 259, 308, 313, 314–15, 413–14, 426

post–World War II, 411–28, 431

production company of, 126

professional contacts of, 85, 297, 299–300, 321, 421, 427, 441–42

public image of, 292, 293, 313, 520–21

reputation of, 136

on the run, 411

Schulberg’s visit to, 416–19

self-confidence of, 29, 91, 95, 99

self-image of, 102–3, 105, 329–30, 333, 412, 413, 414, 419–20, 522, 523

self-promotion of, 82, 89, 91, 106, 114, 118, 127, 131, 144, 145–48, 151, 292, 314

Special Film Unit of, 321–23

speech lessons for, 117–18

sports played by, 9, 10, 16, 22

Struggle in Snow and Ice, 110, 127, 138, 513

studio lot built for, 315–16

success achieved by, 258–59, 274, 289–90, 302, 309, 311–12, 321, 327

teen years of, 10–23

at Telluride Film Festival, 512–13, 514

training her body, 9, 85, 93, 103, 316

triumph over her father, 29, 83

as typist in her father’s office, 15–16, 83

and war, 316, 319–27, 330–31, 334–35, 346

Wonders under Water, 518

work ethic of, 292–93, 299–301, 305

working through her pain, 14, 82, 84, 104, 108–10, 433–34, 518–19

Riefenstahl, Leni, films acted in:

Avalanche, 115–20, 127, 162, 435

The Great Leap, 103–4, 106, 127

The Holy Mountain, 93–99, 100–103, 145, 535n83

Piz Palü, 107–11, 116, 120, 139, 263

S.O.S. Iceberg, 138–43, 145, 273

White Frenzy, 119, 124–25, 127, 131, 140

Riefenstahl, Leni, films directed by:

archive of, 435–36, 515–16

Black Cargo, 434–35

The Blue Light, see Blue Light, The

critical reviews of, 137, 138

Day of Freedom—Our Wehrmacht—Nuremberg 1935, 290, 291–92, 323, 415, 416–17, 515

dreams as sources for, 129, 136, 268, 333, 418, 427

Lowlands, see Lowlands

military precision in planning of, 269–70, 280–83, 297–98, 300–301, 305, 306

money squandered on, 332, 335

Olympia, 290, 294–312, 315, 321, 342, 440, 512

and postwar hearings, 420–22

postwar projects, 432–33

remakes of, 436

technical innovations in, 134–35, 287, 311, 555n80

Triumph of the Will, see Triumph of the Will

Victory of Faith, 152, 264, 270–75, 276, 415, 416–17, 515

Riefenstahl film Inc., 316, 335, 336–39

Rilke, Rainer Maria, 19, 57, 243, 385

Riml, Walter, 127, 131, 137, 142, 280

Rist, Sepp, 115, 121, 142, 279

Rittau, Günter, 112, 162

Riva, John Michael, 401

Riva, Maria Elisabeth:

as actress, 219, 459

birth of, 63

childhood of, 66–67, 75, 76, 77, 238

children of, 395–96, 398, 399, 401, 457, 462, 476

citizenship of, 65

and her father, 202, 214, 366, 382, 493

and her mother, 66, 190–91, 192, 193–94, 381–82, 403, 461, 462, 466, 478, 486, 488, 510

as “Maria Manton,” 359

Marlene in U.S., 171

Marlene’s attachment to, 196, 382, 505

on Marlene’s life, 49, 77, 167

and Marlene’s memoirs, 498–99

and Marlene’s work, 199–200, 217, 230, 239, 366, 462

marriage to Goodman, 359, 382

marriage to Riva, 390

as teenager, 257

travel to Europe, 213, 215

Riva, Paul, 457

Riva, Peter, 395–96, 397, 398, 401, 510, 572n22

Riva, William, 390

Robison, Arthur, 67

Rodger, George, 436–37, 438, 566–67n10

Le Village des Noubas, 437

Rodin, Auguste, 242

Röhm, Ernst, 271, 273, 276–77, 285

Roman, Martin, 542n71

Rome:

Allied conquest of, 367

Leni’s visit to, 426–27

Rommel, Erwin, 327

Room Upstairs, The (Martin Roumagnac) (film), 386–87

Roosevelt, Franklin D., 204, 235–36, 350

Rops, Félicien, 165

Rossellini, Roberto, 396, 426, 427

Rossino, Alexander B., 325

Roth, Joseph, 11, 61–62, 76, 128, 469

Rundstedt, Gerd von, 323

Ruttmann, Walter, 105, 278–80, 553n45, 553n46

Sagan, Françoise, 452

Sagan, Leontine, 137

Saint Laurent, Yves, 462, 503

Salonom, Erich, 288

Salvador, Henri, 400

Salvation Hunters (film), 196

Sanders-Brahms, Helma, 559n44, 573n12

Sarris, Andrew, 221

Scarlet Empress, The (film), 216–17, 218–21, 223, 228, 238, 240

Schaub, Julius, 341, 411

Schaub, Wilma, 411–12

Scheib, Hans, 297

Schell, Maximilian, 158, 469, 502–3, 570n43

Schiaparelli, Elsa, 374

Schiele, Egon, 242

Schiffer, Claudia, 521

Schiffer, Marcellus, 71–73, 210

Schirach, Baldur von, 285–86

Schlageter, Albert Leo, 279

Schleicher, Kurt von, 277

Schmidt-Rottluff, Karl, 242

Schnauber, Cornelius, 564n48

Schneeberger, Gisela, 280

Schneeberger, Hans:

and The Blue Angel, 112, 162

and The Blue Light, 127, 137, 556n97

The Exploding Mountain by, 121

Leni’s relationship with, 101, 103–5, 109, 110, 111–12, 113, 124, 127, 420

and Lowlands, 279

and mountain films, 91, 101, 103–5, 109, 115, 127, 137, 162

and professional contacts, 112, 114, 121

as trustee of Leni’s possessions, 565n12

war experiences of, 121

Schneider, Hannes, 103, 119, 121

Schneider, Romy, 432, 462, 473, 503, 506

Schönberg, Arnold, 233, 533n49

Schubert, Franz, 80

Schulberg, B. P., 205, 415

Schulberg, Budd, 415–19

Schultze, Norbert, 561n35

Schwarzenbach, Annemarie, 307

Seidman, Ginette and Paul-Émile, 475

Selznick, Irene, 459

Senso (film), 428

Seven Sinners (film), 349–50

Shanghai Express (film), 197–200, 213, 240, 351

Shaw, George Bernard, Misalliance, 246

Shirer, William, 285

Sieber, Anton, 64

Sieber, Ernst, 507

Sieber, Rudolf Emilian “Rudi”:

aging, 469, 492–93

birth certificate of, 63

chicken farm of, 410, 455, 475, 478, 479, 480, 485

citizenship of, 226

death of, 497–98, 499

diaries of, 455, 456, 506

family background of, 64

film connections of, 64, 67

film work of, 68, 69, 71, 194, 202, 214, 226, 353

as grandfather, 396, 401, 476

health problems of, 455–56, 475, 493

and Maria (daughter), 202, 214, 366, 382, 493

Marlene in U.S., 171, 201, 208, 211, 212

and Marlene’s assets in Germany, 208, 209, 225

and Marlene’s lovers, 202, 209, 211, 222, 251, 252, 253, 353, 357, 365, 371, 389, 404, 455, 475, 480

marriage to Marlene, 63–67, 157, 193, 257, 379

messages to and from Marlene, 192, 201, 202–4, 209–10, 211–13, 221–22, 225–27, 253, 359, 360, 380, 382, 388, 395, 471

money from Marlene, 76, 202–3, 209, 215, 222, 371, 409–10, 455–56, 477, 492–93

in Paris, 194, 202, 209, 211, 213–14, 221, 226, 238, 251, 395

separate life of, 67, 75, 157, 194, 410, 488

Tamara as lover of, 75–76, 157, 190–91, 194, 227, 238, 256–57, 353, 409, 410, 455–56

U.S., family visits of, 201–2, 208, 238, 241, 353, 409

Signoret, Simone, 506

Silk Stockings (musical), 408

Simmel, Johannes Mario, 244

Sinatra, Frank, 367, 501

skiing, Arlberg technique,
103

Skoronel, Vera, 25

Slezak, Walter, 261

Sokal, Harry, 28–29

affair with Leni, 29, 101–2, 125–26

departure from Germany, 259

as film producer, 91, 101, 106, 119, 125, 126, 127, 426, 513, 556n97

financial support to Leni from, 28, 29, 82, 90–91, 312

gifts from, 90

war experience of, 121

wealth of, 81

Sol y Sombra (film), 432

Song of Songs (film), 212, 214, 223, 224

Sontag, Susan, “Fascinating Fascism,” 446–47, 514, 520

Sorge, Ernst, 142, 149

Sorkin, Marc, 108

S.O.S. Iceberg (film), 138–43, 145, 152, 273

Soupault, Philippe, 278

Southern California, American dream in, 234–35

Soviet Union:

German invasion of, 336

Marlene’s stage performances in, 472–73, 479

Spanish Civil War, 331

Sparkuhl, Theodor, 67

Speer, Albert, 305, 520

and International Pavilion, Paris (1937), 307

and Leni, 267–68, 343

and Leni’s family, 344, 345, 411

and Leni’s films, 267–68, 315, 412

memoirs of, 267–68, 334

and party congresses, 267, 282–83

Spender, Stephen, 191, 452

Spiro, Eugen, 119–20

Spitz, René, 130

Spoilers, The (film), 360

Spoliansky, Mischa, 62, 71, 156, 191, 506

Springer, Axel, 506

Stage Fright (film), 400–401, 402

Stauffenberg, Claus Schenck Graf von, 343

Steel Animal, The (film), 290, 291, 342, 435, 554n67, 559n41

Stern, 442–43, 445

Sternberg, Josef von “Jo,” 152–59

affair with Marlene, 167–68, 172, 182, 190, 192–93, 197, 208, 210, 215–18, 227, 229–30, 241, 355, 460

art collection of, 241–42

in Berlin, 211

and Blonde Venus, 204–6, 210

and Blue Angel, 112–13, 157–59, 162–73

death of, 481, 498

and The Devil Is a Woman, 227–28

as director, 216, 217, 218, 349

and Dishonored, 188–90

early years of, 195–96

and end of the affair, 221, 229–30, 233, 237, 238, 242–43, 256, 479–80

fading influence of, 229

and financial matters, 203

and Jannings, 152–55, 163–64

and Leni, 113–14, 413

Marlene created by, 159, 165, 167, 172, 196–97, 216–18, 227, 229–30, 395, 476, 506

Marlene discovered by, 503–4, 541n62

and Marlene’s film roles, 164, 166–69, 179–87, 197–200, 212, 215, 217, 227, 230, 231–32, 350, 406, 503

memoirs of, 481

messages to and from Marlene, 210, 211, 215–16, 218, 242–43, 405

and Morocco, 179–87, 197

move to Hollywood, 168–69, 179, 233

name change of, 196

and The Scarlet Empress, 216–17, 218–21, 228

and Shanghai Express, 197–200

and Sieber, 202, 209, 211, 222, 455, 480

socializing with, 238, 256, 257, 356, 405, 466, 468, 480–81

travels of, 242–43

and war, 257

Sternberg, Riza von, 167, 182, 192, 200–201, 202

Stern Film, Inc., 434

Stewart, James, 347, 348, 354, 402

Stolze, SS-Hauptsturmbannführer, 321, 424

Storr, Hermann, 321

Stout, Rex, 491

Strachan, Robin, 566n9

Strasser, Gregor, 277

Stravinsky, Igor, 355

Streicher, Julius, 275

Strength and Momentum (short film), 556n86

Stresemann, Gustav, 160

Sudan, civil war in, 522

Sudermann, Hermann, Song of Songs, 211

Sudetenland, Hitler’s threats against, 313

Sullavan, Margaret, 248

Swanson, Gloria, 512

Sym, Igo, 70

“Taking a Chance on Love” (song), 364

Taming of the Shrew, The (Shakespeare), 57

Tauber, Richard, 76, 77, 399, 467

Taylor, Elizabeth, 401, 402

Taylor, Maxwel D., 563n26

Technicolor, 238

Tel Aviv, Marlene’s stage appearances in, 466–67

Telluride Film Festival, 512–13, 514

Temporary Nationality Act (1945), 565n6

Thale boarding school, 15

Théatre de L’Étoile, Paris, 462

Thielscher, Guido, 61

Thielscher Girls, 61–62

Thomas, Danny, 362, 363, 366

Threepenny Opera, The (film), 86

Three Stars on the Cloak of the Madonna (film), 432

Time, 521

Time of Silence and Darkness (film), 517

Tobis Cinema, 240, 334, 425

Toller, Ernst, 75

Torberg, Friedrich, 455, 475, 485

Touch of Evil (film), 457–58

Toulouse-Lautrec, Henri de, 165

Towns, Forrest, 302

Tracy, Spencer, 469, 470

Tragedy of Love (film), 64, 67, 164

Traut, Walter, 316, 321, 434, 435

Trenker, Luis, 423

death of, 519

and Great Leap, 103

and Holy Mountain, 91, 95, 96

and Leni, 89–92, 95, 100–101, 102, 103, 105

marriage of, 105

and Mountain of Destiny, 89–90, 94–95

and The Rebel, 263, 267

Struggle in the Mountains by, 120–21

Trezona, Charlie, 371–72, 396–97

Triumph of the Will (film), 92, 275–91

Behind the Scenes of the Reich Party Rally Film, 280

cast and crew for, 278–82

filming of, 279–80, 284, 290, 305

and Hitler, 277–79, 283–90

honors and awards for, 289–90, 295–96, 307

impact of, 288, 447

Leni as director of, 277–85, 287, 288–90

Leni’s changing claims about, 287, 417, 515

and party rallies, 275–76, 278–80, 282–87

postwar distribution of, 435

premiere of, 288–89

preparations for, 280–81, 283

and war-crimes trials, 415–16

Trümpy, Berthe, 25

Tucholsky, Kurt, 67

Gripsholm Castle, 147

Twardowski, Hans Heinrich von, 547n83

Two Neckties (revue), 156, 157

Tynan, Kenneth, 451–52, 471, 473, 481–82, 491, 499, 507

Ucicky, Gustav, 69, 70

Udet, Ernst:

and Avalanche, 115, 117

and Fanck, 140, 142

and Leni, 111–12, 326–27

and Marlene’s Aunt Jolly (Felsing), 117, 237

and Piz Palü, 106

and S.O.S. Iceberg, 142, 143

and World War I, 121, 151

Ufa Film Company, 112

and The Blue Angel, 153, 154, 155

and The Great Leap, 106

and The Holy Mountain, 95

and Manon Lescaut, 67–68

ownership of, 65

and postwar films, 426

and sound film, 154, 161–62

and Triumph of the Will, 277–78

Uhlans (cavalry regiment), 4

Ultraphon studio, 191

United States:

Anti-Nazi League in, 314

censorship in, 362

economy of, 204, 232, 235

entry into World War II, 336, 350, 360

propaganda films, 360–61

radio in, 569n20

Universal Pictures, 138–40, 145, 148, 168, 353

USO (United Service Organizations), 362–67, 370–71, 373–76

Vajda, Ladislav, 106, 130

Valentino, Rudolph, 183

Valetti, Rosa, 75, 157

van Gogh, Vincent, 242

Vanity Fair, 523

Veidt, Conrad, 75, 76, 77

Venice Biennale, 137

Victory of Faith (film), 152, 264, 270–75, 276, 415, 416–17, 515

Viertel, Berthold, 130

Viertel, Peter, 425

Viertel, Salka, 233, 425

Vigny, Benno, Amy Jolly, 180

Visconti, Luchino, 426, 427, 428, 545n32

Vogel, Ady, 425

Vollmoeller, Karl, 27–28, 80, 155

von der Hyde, Horst Alexander, 240

von Losch family, 31, 38, 41, 42

Von Mund zu Mund (“From Mouth to Mouth”) (musical production), 62

Wachsmann, Franz, 233, 542n71

Wagner, Josef, 572n21

Wagner, Winifred, 150

Waldoff, Claire, 62, 77

Wallace, Peggy Ann, 513

Wallburg, Otto, 72

Wallenberg, Captain, 413

Wandervogel movement, 17

Wanger, Walter, 181, 545n41

Warhol, Andy, 511

Wäscher, Aribert, 330

Wassman, Hans, 62

Wayne, John, 349

Way of All Flesh, The (film), 154

Wedekind, Frank, Pandora’s Box, 58

Weigel, Helene, 472

Weihmayr, Franz, 267, 268, 280

Weill, Kurt, 532n38

Weimar Republic, 20, 22, 57, 61, 69, 79, 83, 147, 161, 171, 258, 475

Weintraub Syncopators, 163

Weissmuller, Johnny, 315

Welles, Orson, 457, 487, 506

Welsh, Mary, see Hemingway, Mary Welsh,

Werfel, Franz, 355

West, Mae, 247

Westfront (film), 121

West Wall (film), 330

White Frenzy, The (film), 119, 124–25, 127, 131, 140

White Hell of Piz Palü, The (film), 106–11, 113, 116, 120, 130, 139, 263

White Water (short film), 556n86

Widmark, Richard, 469

Wieman, Mathias, 115, 127, 335

Wiesinger, Paula, 537n120

Wigman, Mary, 19, 23–26, 80, 529n18

Wilder, Billy, 390–95, 398, 409, 454–55, 498, 504, 510

Wilding, Michael, 401, 506

Wilhelm I, Kaiser, 33

Wilhelm II, Kaiser, 12, 22, 33, 36, 42, 45

Will, Elisabeth, 399, 468–69

death of, 488

see also Dietrich, Elisabeth Ottilie

Williams, Tennessee, 452

Windsor, Duchess of, 506

Windt, Herbert, 306, 328

Winterstein, Eduard von, 162–63

With the Berlin SA to Nuremberg (film), 262

Witness for the Prosecution (film), 458–60

Wolfe, Thomas, You Can’t Go Home Again, 301–2

Woman in the Moon (film), 111

Woman One Longs For, The (film), 77–78, 297

Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl, The (film), 127, 519–20

World War I:

“aristocracy of the trenches,” 286

in Berlin, 11, 22, 34–38, 41–43

combat pilots, 283–84

high spirits in, 34–35

and Marlene, 30, 34–38, 41–43, 48

and postwar period, 22–24, 45–46, 53–54, 59–60, 76–77, 86–87, 122

social changes in, 45

U.S. entry into, 235

veterans in film industry, 120–22

World War II, 319–27

Allied victories in, 340–41, 367, 370, 419

Battle of the Bulge, 375

in Berlin, 339, 353

censorship in, 362

and Hitler, 257, 313, 315, 319–23, 326–27, 331, 334, 335, 336, 367

and Marlene, 351–52, 361, 362–76, 382–83, 474

onset of, 257

Pearl Harbor bombing, 336, 350

postwar period, 380–81

prelude to, 249–51, 252, 256, 257

U.S. entry into, 336, 350,
360

U.S. radio broadcasts in, 372–73

war films in, 291, 320–25

Wüst, Ida, 72

Wyman, Jane, 400

“You Do Something to Me” (song), 364

“You Go to My Head” (song), 364

Youth Movement, 17–18

Zambona, Jutta, 248, 250, 354, 560n6

Ziegfeld, Florenz, 62

Zielke, Ilse, 342

Zielke, Willy, 290, 291, 341–42, 435, 559n40, 559n41

Zille, Heinrich, 99

Zuckmayer, Carl, 75, 106, 155–56, 289, 354

Zukor, Adolph, 236

Zweig, Stefan, The World of Yesterday, 54–55