You can't fault Chris Loffelmacher for being sweet on Marlene Dietrich: Her timeless, leggy androgynous beauty and sultry singing voice (not to mention the cruelly sexy German accent) still ring chimes for plenty of folks, a truth that Loffelmacher, director of the Denver Public Library's Fresh City Life series, clearly took to heart when planning his late-fall programs under the theme of Marlene Dietrich's ABCs.
Of course, the film segment was the easiest to spin, and tonight's offering, Blonde Venus, is pure Dietrich in every sense of the word: As a wild-haired entertainer, Dietrich has the floor start to finish in von Sternberg's sensuously lit drama, in the course of which she gets to sing these words: "Hot Voodoo, gets me wild/Oh, fireman, save this child / I'm going to blazes, I want to be bad!" Say no more. And I'll leave the costuming to your imagination.
The film screens at 6:30 p.m. in the B2 Conference Center on the lower level of the Denver Central Library, 10 West 13th Avenue; admission is free. For all the goods on Fresh City Life and the film series, visit the Fresh City Life website for details. -- Susan Froyd
For more ways to rock the night and kill the day, go to westword.com/calendar.
