Morocco (1930)

Part of our series Wild, Weird, Wicked: Films from Before the Code!

A cabaret singer (the sultry, irresistible Marlene Dietrich, in an iconic performance) and a Legionnaire (Gary Cooper) fall in love, but their relationship is complicated by the results of his womanizing and due to the appearance of a rich man who wants her for himself.

Gorgeously shot by the legendary cinematographer Lee Garmes and the first of Dietrich’s six films for Paramount with director Josef von Sternberg, Morocco was nominated for four Oscars. It won none, but it gave us Marlene Dietrich in a tuxedo, in itself worth all the little gold statues the world can bestow.