Dita Parlo

From 4 to 11 July 2025, EFSP follows the 44th edition of Le Giornate del Cinema Muto. The Italian town of Pordenone is again the location for the world’s leading international silent film festival. On today's programme is one of the 'Rediscoveries': Die Dame mit der Maske / The Lady with the Mask (Wilhelm Thiele, 1928). It was only the second film of lovely Dita Parlo (1906-1971). During the late 1920s and 1930s, Parlo was a star of German and French films, who also worked in Hollywood. Decades later, she inspired both Dita Von Teese and Madonna, the latter used her name and character from the classic L'Atalante (1934) for her 'Sex' book and 'Erotica' album.

German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4591/1, 1929-1930. Photo: Atelier Badekow, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4591/2, 1929-1930. Photo: Angelo Photos.


British postcard in the Picturegoer Series, London, no. 444. Photo: Ufa / Harlip.


French postcard by Editions O.P., Paris, no. 46. Photo: Star.


French postcard. Photo: Star. Publicity still for La Grande Illusion / The Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, 1937).


French postcard by Collection Rozan, no. 684. Photo: Studio Star. Dita Parlo in La grande illusion / The Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, 1937). Sent by mail in 1946.

Ufa drama school

Dita Parlo was born as Gerda Olga Justina Kornstädt in Stettin, Germany (now Szczecin in Poland) in 1906 (some sources say 1908). Her father was a forest ranger.

Dita was initially trained as a ballet dancer. Subsequently, she studied acting at the Babelsberg film school in Berlin. There she was discovered for the screen by producer Erich Pommer, and she was signed to a contract with the Ufa studio.

She made her first film appearance as the wife of soldier Lars Hanson in the silent war drama Heimkehr / Homecoming (Joe May, 1928). After her film debut, Dita Parlo quickly rose to stardom.

Her early Ufa films include Geheimnisse des Orients / Secrets of the Orient (Alexandre Volkoff, 1928) with Nicolas Koline and Iván Petrovich, Die Dame mit der Maske / The Lady with the Mask (Wilhelm Thiele, 1928), and Ungarische Rhapsodie / Hungarian Rhapsody (Hanns Schwarz, 1928), with Willy Fritsch.

In Manolescu - Der König der Hochstapler / Manolescu (Victor Tourjansky, 1929), she appeared opposite the legendary Russian film star Ivan Mozzhukhin.


Austrian postcard by Iris-Verlag, no. 5469.


Belgian postcard by S.A. Chocolat & Cacao, Kivou, Vilvo(o)rde. Photo: Ufa.


German collector card by Ross Verlag in the series Vom Werden deutscher Filmkunst - Der Stumme Film, picture no. 107, group 43. Photo: Ufa. Dita Parlo and Lars Hanson in Heimkehr / Homecoming (Joe May, 1928).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 104/3. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Ungarische Rhapsodie / Hungarian Rhapsody (Hanns Schwarz, 1928) with Willy Fritsch.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 116/4. Photo: Ufa. Willy Fritsch and Dita Parlo in the German early sound film Melodie des Herzens / Melody of the Heart (Hanns Schwarz, 1929).


Dutch postcard by De Rolprent. Ivan Mozzhukhin and Dita Parlo in Manolescu - Der König der Hochstapler (Viktor Tourjansky, 1929).


Polish postcard by Polonia, Krakow, no. 882. Photo: Ufa


Polish postcard by Polonia, Krakow, no. 1641. Photo: Ufa.

Hollywood

Dita Parlo appeared in the first sound film of the Ufa, Melodie des Herzens / Melody of the Heart (Hanns Schwarz, 1929) opposite Willy Fritsch.

In France, she also became popular and appeared in Au bonheur des dames / For the Happiness of Women (Julien Duvivier, 1930), an adaptation of Emile Zola's 1883 novel of the same name.

In 1931, she tried her luck in Hollywood. She often appeared in German-speaking versions of American films, and she played parts in the minor films Honor of the Family (Lloyd Bacon, 1931) with Bebe Daniels, and the comedy anthology Mr. Broadway (Johnnie Walker, 1933). The sketch with Parlo in the latter film was taken from an uncompleted film by Edgar G. Ulmer, titled Love's Interlude. This film was begun in 1932 at Peerless Productions.

After two years in Hollywood and no success, Dita Parlo moved to Paris. She married a Frenchman and would make only French films for the rest of her career.

Later, she was scheduled to appear in the proposed Orson Welles production of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness for RKO Radio Pictures. However, that project did not come to pass, and Welles began work on Citizen Kane.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3508/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Suse Byk, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3627/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Atelier Suse Byk, Berlin.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4100/1, 1929-1930. Photo: Paramount.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4100/1, 1929-1930. Photo: Ufa.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4382/1, 1929-1930. Photo: E.O. Hoppé, London.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 4843/1, 1929-1930. Photo: Alex Binder.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5374/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Atelier Bieber, Berlin.

Paris

Dita Parlo starred as a provincial bride aboard a canal barge in the beautiful L'Atalante (Jean Vigo, 1934). She and her ship captain Jean (Jean Dasté) struggle through marriage as they travel on their barge L'Atalante along with the captain's first mate, Le père Jules (Michel Simon), and a cabin boy. Ben Parker at IMDb: "Finally saw Vigo's L'Atalante, his only feature film, which he reportedly could not complete before his death, and instantly it's one of my top favourite movies and easily one of the best pictures ever made. L'Atalante has everything going for it: it's sexy, romantic and incredibly funny. It's also immensely genuine"

Three years later, Dita Parlo played a peasant opposite Jean Gabin in another masterpiece La grande illusion / The Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, 1937). Donald J. Lamb at IMDb: "It is a wonder to see a film from the 1930s so definite in its view and opinions, yet so touching and revelatory. Jean Renoir's The Grand Illusion is a film of great importance, one that improves with each viewing."

After La grande illusion, Parlo appeared in eight more French films. She featured in the Spy film Mademoiselle Docteur / Street of Shadows (G. W. Pabst, 1937). She also co-starred with Erich von Stroheim in the historical drama Ultimatum (Robert Wiene, 1938). It was the final film of Wiene, who had been a leading director of German cinema, particularly noted for his work on expressionist films during the silent era. He died shortly before the film's completion, and it was finished by Robert Siodmak.

Following the outbreak of World War II, Dita Parlo was forced to return to Germany because of her nationality. That was the end of her film career. In 1949, she married a priest, Franck Gueutal. During the last thirty years of her life, she worked as a writer and appeared in only three films in small parts.

She made her final film appearance as a countess who always wins at gambling in La dame de pique / The Queen of Spades (Léonard Keigel, 1965), based on the story 'Pikovaya dama' by Alexander Pushkin. The countess had previously been given the secret that she can never reveal, and a poor Russian officer (Michel Subor) tries to force her hand with tragic results.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5397/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Paramount.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5496/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Atelier Manassé, Wien (Vienna).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5594/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Paramount. Collection: Didier Hanson.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 5792/1, 1930-1931. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Publicity still for Menschen hinter Gittern (Pál Fejös, 1930) with Gustav Diessl. This was the German language version of The Big House (1930). Pál Fejös or Paul Fejos was a Hungarian-born, multi-lingual director who worked at MGM at the time. He was assigned to direct both German- and French-language 'parallel versions' of The Big House, using different actors but the same costumes and sets at MGM.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 6248/1, 1931-1932. Photo: MGM.


Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 5381. Photo: E. Bieber, Berlin.


Austrian postcard by Iris Verlag, no. 6093. Photo: Metro-Goldwyn.


Austrian postcard by Iris-Verlag, no. 6687. Photo: Verleih Hugo Engel Film.

Burlesque

Dita Parlo died in 1971 in Paris. She was 65.

Parlo left strong impressions on all who caught her work. In 1992, Madonna said she was fascinated by Parlo. Madonna picked her name as an alias while touring and booking into hotels.

Madonna took her name again for the character she created for her legendary 'Sex' book and 'Erotica' album. Its title track commences with the line "My name is Dita, I'll be your mistress tonight... ".

Burlesque performer Dita Von Teese took her first name also in tribute to Dita Parlo.

Musician Steve Adey has a song called 'Dita Parlo' on his studio album The Tower of Silence (2012). The song was written in response to L'Atalante.


French card by Massilia. Collection: Amit Benyovits.


Vintage postcard. Photo: Studio Star.


French postcard by Viny, no. 66. Photo: Star.


French postcard by Editions P.I., Paris, no. 104. Photo: Star. Publicity still for La Grande Illusion (Jean Renoir, 1937).


French postcard by EPC (Editions et Publications cinématographiques), no. 203. Photo: Studio Star.


French postcard by Europe, no. 1086. Photo: Studio Intran.


Trailer for L'Atalante (1934). Source: BFI Trailers (YouTube).


Trailer of La Grande Illusion (1937). Source: Danios12345 (YouTube).

Sources: Thomas Staedeli (Cyranos), Operator 99 (Allure), Sandra Brennan (AllMovie - Page is now defunct), Filmportal.de, IMDb and Wikipedia.

Valentine's Day: Melodie des Herzens (1929)

It's Valentine's Day and we have a film special for everyone who loves romance... The German early sound film Melodie des Herzens/Melody of the Heart (Hanns Schwarz, 1929) which stars the lovely Dita Parlo and ‘Sunny Boy’ Willy Fritsch, Ufa's most often kissed star. The film started the wave of the über-romantic operetta films of the 1930s. 


German collectors card in the series 'Vom Werden deutscher Filmkunst - Der Tonfilm', album no. 11, picture no. 4. Photo: Ufa / Ross Verlag. Dita Parlo and Willy Fritsch in Melodie des Herzens/Melody of the Heart (Hanns Schwarz, 1929).


Page of Dutch calendar, ca. 1930. We bought the pages at the VerzamelaarsJaarbeurs, The International Collectors Fair in Utrecht. The calendar had been part of the film memorabilia collection of the seller's father. Dita Parlo in Melodie des Herzens/Melody of the Heart (Hanns Schwarz, 1929).


Photo of a Dutch calendar, ca. 1930. Dita Parlo in Melodie des Herzens/Melody of the Heart (Hanns Schwarz, 1929).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 116/2. Photo: Ufa. Willy Fritsch in Melodie des Herzens/Melody of the Heart (Hanns Schwarz, 1929).

Earning enough money for a horse

In Melodie des Herzens/Melody of the Heart (Hanns Schwarz, 1929), Julia Balog (Dita Parlo), a young girl from the country, loses her job as a maid in pre-WWI Budapest, when she stays out too long with her beau, the soldier János Garas (Willy Fritsch), who is saving money to buy a horse to open a transport company.

After being unemployed and with rent long overdue, the landlady offers her a better job in a nightclub. Meanwhile, the János's family has decided that their son should marry the daughter of a rich farmer (Anni Mewes). When he finds out about Julia's profession, he accepts his parents' match after struggling with himself.

On the day of his engagement, Julia comes to his hometown with enough money to buy a horse, which leads to a conflict between Julia, the fiancee, her family, János himself and his parents.

Melodie des Herzens was shot in Hungary. The film was scripted by Hans Székely, cinematographed by Günther Rittau and Hans Schneeberger, and art direction was by Erich Kettelhüt. Initially, the film was intended to be silent, but halfway through production its producer Erich Pommer was ordered by his superiors to convert it into a sound film. 

Pommer took over the production management, assisted by Max Pfeiffer, The interior shots were shot in 1928 at the Ufa studios in Neubabelsberg, today's Babelsberg studio in Potsdam, the exterior shots were taken in the country in Hungary and in Budapest. Pfeiffer also managed the recordings in Hungary. Fritz Thiery was responsible for the sound.

Melodie des Herzens was the first sound film produced by the German major studio Universum Film AG (Ufa) and the second German sound film. Willy Fritsch speaks the first words in the film: "Ich spare nämlich auf ein Pferd." (Because I'm saving on a horse.) The texts on Werner Richard Heymann's melodies come from, among others, Hans Székely, Fritz Grünbaum, Fritz Rotter, Arthur Rebner and Fritz Löhner-Beda.

The film was simultaneously shot in three more versions: in English (Melody of the Heart), French (Mélodie du cœur) and in Hungarian (Vasárnap délután). Such multiple-language versions, which had been pioneered by British International Pictures, were popular in Europe until dubbing became more widespread.

Filming of Melodie des Herzens began in June 1929 and ended in September of the same year. Melodie des Herzens had its German premiere on 16 December 1929. Not least because of its different language versions, the film became a success and a classic in Europe. Melodie des Herzens has been credited with establishing the popularity of the operetta film.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 116/1. Photo: Ufa. Willy Fritsch and Dita Parlo in Melodie des Herzens (Hanns Schwarz, 1929).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 116/3. Photo: Ufa. Willy Fritsch in Melodie des Herzens (Hanns Schwarz, 1929).


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 116/4. Photo: Ufa. Willy Fritsch and Dita Parlo in Melodie des Herzens (Hanns Schwarz, 1929).

And for my own Valentine, a big 💖!

Sources: Stephan Eichenberg (IMDb), Wikipedia (German and English) and IMDb.

Ungarische Rhapsodie (1928)

Willy Fritsch, Dita Parlo and Lil Dagover play a love triangle in the wonderful Film Operetta Ungarische Rhapsodie/Hungarian Rhapsody (Hanns Schwarz, 1928). Many well-known names in the cast and the crew supported them in this marvellous production from the heydays of the Ufa under production manager Erich Pommer.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 104/1. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Ungarische Rhapsodie/Hungarian Rhapsody (Hanns Schwarz, 1928) with Willy Fritsch.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 104/2. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Ungarische Rhapsodie/Hungarian Rhapsody (Hanns Schwarz, 1928) with Willy Fritsch.


German collectors card by Ross Verlag for the album Vom Werden deutscher Filmkunst. Teil I. Der stumme Film (Cigaretten-Bilderdienst Altona-Bahrenfeld 1935), Bild no. 189, Gruppe 41. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Ungarische Rhapsodie/Hungarian Rhapsody (Hanns Schwarz, 1928).

Hot flirtation

The silent Ufa romantic drama Ungarische Rhapsodie/Hungarian Rhapsody (Hanns Schwarz, 1928) is set during harvest time on the plains of Hungary, in Mezohegyes.

A young and handsome Willy Fritsch stars as the Hussar Franz, Lieutenant Count von Turoczy, who is brooding about his future. Though born into an aristocratic family, his father drank away the family fortune.

He also must deal with the army regulation that an officer must have forty-five thousand crowns before he can take a wife. Franz loves charming Marika (Dita Parlo) a commoner whose father works as the estate manager for the wealthy Baron Barsody. But Marika just wants to love someone who works with her on the field and rejects him.

When Baron Barsody's beautiful wife, Camilla (Lil Dagover) visits the estate, Franz begins a hot flirtation with her at the harvest festival. Turoczy is betrayed by a jealous gipsy, and now the husband's anger threatens him. Marika recognises the danger to her lover and saves her beloved Hussar. Of course, they love and live happily ever after.

Ungarische Rhapsodie has several well-known supporting actors in its cast, like Fritz Greiner as Marika’s father, Erich Kaiser-Titz as General Hoffmann, Leopold Kramer as Baron Barsody, Harry Hardt as Oberleutnant Barany, Italian actor Osvaldo Valenti as the ensign, and Paul Hörbiger as a waiter.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 104/3, 1925-1935. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Ungarische Rhapsodie/Hungarian Rhapsody (Hanns Schwarz, 1928) with Willy Fritsch and Dita Parlo.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 104/4. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Ungarische Rhapsodie/Hungarian Rhapsody (Hanns Schwarz, 1928) with Willy Fritsch and Dita Parlo.


German postcard. Erich Pommer Produktion for Ufa. Photo: Ufa. Postcard based on a publicity still for Ungarische Rhapsodie/ Hungarian Rhapsody (Hanns Schwarz, 1928).

A definite Ernst Lubitsch feel

Austrian director Hanns Schwarz (1888–1945) specialised in the genre of the ‘Film Operetta’, which was already very popular in the silent (!) era. Examples are Die Csardasfürstin (1927) with Liane Haid and Die Wundebare Lüge Der Nina Petrovna/The Wonderful Lies of Nina Petrovna (1929) with Brigitte Helm and Franz Lederer.

His Ungarische Rhapsodie/Hungarian Rhapsody (1928) is also a delicious example of his craft. Overseer-3 at IMDb: “With a definite Ernst Lubitsch feel, this romantic and sexy German silent should be much better known. Starring a devilishly handsome young Willy Fritsch as an impoverished soldier lusting after a forbidden love, a devastatingly beautiful Dita Parlo (famous from Grand Illusion, but here with long dark hair instead of blonde) as his sensible lady love, and a kittenish Lil Dagover, playing the bored wife of an aristocrat who comes between them, and directed by Hanns Schwartz, this film is highly recommended for all romantics.”

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien at IMDb: "The most remarkable aspect of this film which perhaps lingers too long on Hungarian picturesqueness, is the important German cast that starred in the film. In addition to the skilful Herr Schwarz direction with its attentiveness to love and lust, we have a screenplay written by another important German director, Herr Joe May, who directed films so important for silent cinema history as Heimkehr (1928) and Asphalt (1929).”

Another important figure behind the film was Erich Pommer, Ufa’s production manager who helped to create an incredible amount of unforgettable classics for the studio during the Weimar period. Both Pommer, script-writers Joe May and Hans Székely, and the Jewish Schwarz had to flee after the rise of the Nazis.

Sadly, the German cinema would never fully recover from the immense artistic brain drain that happened in 1933. It also broke so many interesting careers in the cinema, like those of Pommer, Schwarz, May and Székely.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 104/5. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Ungarische Rhapsodie/Hungarian Rhapsody (Hanns Schwarz, 1928) with Willy Fritsch and Lil Dagover.


German postcard by Ross Verlag. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Ungarische Rhapsodie/Hungarian Rhapsody (Hanns Schwarz, 1928) with Willy Fritsch.


German postcard by Ross Verlag, no. 3965/1, 1928-1929. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Ungarische Rhapsodie/Hungarian Rhapsody (Hanns Schwarz, 1928) with Osvaldo Valenti. Collection: Marlene Pilaete.


German collectors card by Ross Verlag in the series Vom Werden deutscher Filmkunst - Der Stumme Film, picture no. 111, group 43. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Ungarische Rhapsodie/Hungarian Rhapsody (Hanns Schwarz, 1928) with Lil Dagover and Willy Fritsch.

Source: Overseer-3 (IMDb), Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien (IMDb), Filmportal.de, Wikipedia and IMDb.

This post was last updated on 5 January 2024.