Marlene Dietrich stars as Bijou, a nightclub singer whose mere presence causes men to riot. Her unholy aura causes her to be exiled from one South Pacific island as the film begins, so she heads out for another island with her lunkhead bodyguard Little Ned (Broderick Crawford) and two-bit magician Sasha (Mischa Auer) in tow. It doesn't take long for Bijou to land a new nightclub singer job, and even less time for her to set the menfolk aflame, including sleazeball Antro (Oskar Homolka) and US Navy Lt. Dan (John Wayne).
This meandering flick changes moods almost as often as Dietrich changes outfits, from silly farce to heartfelt romance to menacing drama. The supporting cast is excellent, although Dekker is wasted as a drunken ship's doctor, and Crawford's loud brute grows a bit tiresome. Dietrich, who was 38 at the time of filming, looks ten years older, thanks to too much weight loss, an unflattering hairstyle, and some regrettable outfits. She's beginning to resemble the slightly inhuman mannequin she would become in the last half of her life, too artificial and almost a parody of her 30's heyday. Even her throaty singing seems like a takeoff on her own inimitable style, like someone doing an exaggerated impersonation of Marlene Dietrich.
Wayne's admiration onscreen seems very genuine, and it's been stated by multiple sources that it continued offscreen, as well. The climactic barroom brawl loses some steam by using cartoonishly sped-up action and an obvious stunt double for Wayne, although it does provide the unexpected sight of seeing John Wayne in a fist fight with Oskar Homolka.
