Josef von Sternberg

Directing

Josef von Sternberg

Born — Died

1894-05-29 — 1969-11-22

Place of birth

Vienna, Austria

Known for

Directing

Credits

52 titles

Josef von Sternberg, born Jonas Sternberg (29 May 1894 – 22 December 1969) was an Austrian-born film director and is among the few whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era. He is considered one of the earliest 'auteur' filmmakers, having filled many other roles on his films including those of cinematographer, screenwriter, and editor. Sternberg's style influenced later directors, particularly those of the film noir period. He is particularly noted for his distinctive mise en scène, use of lighting and soft lens, and collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich. Among his most important works are The Blue Angel (1930), Morocco (1930), Shanghai Express (…

Known for

Film credits

1960s · 5 titles

Series credits

Behind the camera

Jet Pilot poster
5.5

U.S. Air Force aviator Jim Shannon is tasked with escorting a Soviet pilot claiming -- at the height of the Cold War -- that she wants to defect. After falling in love with and marrying her, Shannon learns from his superiors that she's a spy on a mission to extract military secrets. To save his new wife from prison and deportation, Shannon devises a risky plan.

Jet Pilot

1957

The Blue Angel poster
7.3

Prim professor Immanuel Rath finds some of his students ogling racy photos of cabaret performer Lola Lola and visits a local club, The Blue Angel, in an attempt to catch them there. Seeing Lola perform, the teacher is filled with lust, eventually resigning his position at the school to marry the young woman. However, his marriage to a coquette -- whose job is to entice men -- proves to be more difficult than Rath imagined.

The Blue Angel

1930

The Blue Angel poster
7.3

Prim professor Immanuel Rath finds some of his students ogling racy photos of cabaret performer Lola Lola and visits a local club, The Blue Angel, in an attempt to catch them there. Seeing Lola perform, the teacher is filled with lust, eventually resigning his position at the school to marry the young woman. However, his marriage to a coquette -- whose job is to entice men -- proves to be more difficult than Rath imagined.

The Blue Angel

1930

Morocco poster
6.5

Mogador, Morocco. Late 1920s. A complex romance develops between a womanizing Legionnaire and a disillusioned Parisian cabaret singer.

Morocco

1930

Shanghai Express poster
7.0

A beautiful temptress re-kindles an old romance while trying to escape her past during a tension-packed train journey.

Shanghai Express

1932

The Devil Is a Woman poster
6.4

In the carnival in Spain in the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the exiled republican Antonio Galvan comes from Paris masquerade to enjoy the party and visit his friend Capt. Don Pasqual 'Pasqualito' Costelar. However, he flirts with the mysterious Concha Perez and they schedule to meet each other later. When Antonio meets Pasqualito, his old friend discloses his frustrated relationship with the promiscuous Concha and her greedy mother and how his life was ruined by his obsession for the beautiful demimondaine. Pasqualito makes Antonio promise that he would not see Concha. However, when Antonio meets Concha, she seduces him and the long friendship between Antonio and Pasqualito is disrupted

The Devil Is a Woman

1935

The Devil Is a Woman poster
6.4

In the carnival in Spain in the beginning of the Twentieth Century, the exiled republican Antonio Galvan comes from Paris masquerade to enjoy the party and visit his friend Capt. Don Pasqual 'Pasqualito' Costelar. However, he flirts with the mysterious Concha Perez and they schedule to meet each other later. When Antonio meets Pasqualito, his old friend discloses his frustrated relationship with the promiscuous Concha and her greedy mother and how his life was ruined by his obsession for the beautiful demimondaine. Pasqualito makes Antonio promise that he would not see Concha. However, when Antonio meets Concha, she seduces him and the long friendship between Antonio and Pasqualito is disrupted

The Devil Is a Woman

1935

The Shanghai Gesture poster
6.3

A gambling queen uses blackmail to stop a British financier from closing her Chinese clip joint.

The Shanghai Gesture

1941

The Shanghai Gesture poster
6.3

A gambling queen uses blackmail to stop a British financier from closing her Chinese clip joint.

The Shanghai Gesture

1941

Blonde Venus poster
6.8

In an effort to be able to afford expensive treatment for her gravely ill American husband, a retired German entertainer returns to the cabaret as Blonde Venus and catches the eye of a wealthy politician.

Blonde Venus

1932

Blonde Venus poster
6.8

In an effort to be able to afford expensive treatment for her gravely ill American husband, a retired German entertainer returns to the cabaret as Blonde Venus and catches the eye of a wealthy politician.

Blonde Venus

1932

Blonde Venus poster
6.8

In an effort to be able to afford expensive treatment for her gravely ill American husband, a retired German entertainer returns to the cabaret as Blonde Venus and catches the eye of a wealthy politician.

Blonde Venus

1932

Macao poster
6.3

Nick Cochran, an American in exile in Macao, has a chance to restore his name by helping capture an international crime lord. Undercover, can he mislead the bad guys and still woo the attractive singer/petty crook, Julie Benson?

Macao

1952

The Docks of New York poster
7.0

A blue-collar worker on New York's depressed waterfront finds his life changed after he saves a woman attempting suicide.

The Docks of New York

1928

The Docks of New York poster
7.0

A blue-collar worker on New York's depressed waterfront finds his life changed after he saves a woman attempting suicide.

The Docks of New York

1928

The Scarlet Empress poster
6.9

During the 18th century, German noblewoman Sophia Frederica, who would later become Catherine the Great, travels to Moscow to marry the dimwitted Grand Duke Peter, the heir to the Russian throne. Their arranged marriage proves to be loveless, and Catherine takes many lovers, including the handsome Count Alexei, and bears a son. When the unstable Peter eventually ascends to the throne, Catherine plots to oust him from power.

The Scarlet Empress

1934

The Scarlet Empress poster
6.9

During the 18th century, German noblewoman Sophia Frederica, who would later become Catherine the Great, travels to Moscow to marry the dimwitted Grand Duke Peter, the heir to the Russian throne. Their arranged marriage proves to be loveless, and Catherine takes many lovers, including the handsome Count Alexei, and bears a son. When the unstable Peter eventually ascends to the throne, Catherine plots to oust him from power.

The Scarlet Empress

1934

Crime and Punishment poster
6.3

Former student Raskolnikov is pushed to murder when struggling to pay the rent on his apartment. When the murder is being investigated by the police, Raskolnikov struggles between trying to hide his guilt and the pressure to confess.

Crime and Punishment

1935

The Last Command poster
7.4

A former Imperial Russian general and cousin of the Czar ends up in Hollywood as an extra in a movie directed by a former revolutionary.

The Last Command

1928

Dishonored poster
7.0

The Austrian Secret Service sends its most seductive agent to spy on the Russians.

Dishonored

1931

Dishonored poster
7.0

The Austrian Secret Service sends its most seductive agent to spy on the Russians.

Dishonored

1931

The Case of Lena Smith poster
6.0

A peasant girl goes to great lengths to protect her child in 19th century Vienna. The film is considered lost, and only four minutes of footage are known to remain.

The Case of Lena Smith

1929

Underworld poster
7.1

Boisterous gangster kingpin Bull Weed rehabilitates his former lawyer from his alcoholic haze, but complications arise when he falls for Weed's girlfriend.

Underworld

1927

The Exquisite Sinner poster
8.0

Adapted by Alice Duer Miller from a novel by Alden Brooks, the film concerns a young man who forsakes the humdrum business world for the bohemian life of an artist. Josef von Sternberg had been the original director of Exquisite Sinner, but MGM was dissatisfied with the picture and refused to release it. When the film finally surfaced in 1926 (a full year after its completion), it had been radically altered by staff director Phil Rosen.

The Exquisite Sinner

1926

The Exquisite Sinner poster
8.0

Adapted by Alice Duer Miller from a novel by Alden Brooks, the film concerns a young man who forsakes the humdrum business world for the bohemian life of an artist. Josef von Sternberg had been the original director of Exquisite Sinner, but MGM was dissatisfied with the picture and refused to release it. When the film finally surfaced in 1926 (a full year after its completion), it had been radically altered by staff director Phil Rosen.

The Exquisite Sinner

1926

Thunderbolt poster
5.7

A criminal known as Thunderbolt is imprisoned and facing execution. Into the next cell is placed Bob Moran, an innocent man who has been framed and who is in love with Thunderbolt's girl, without knowing of their relationship. Thunderbolt hopes to stave off the execution long enough to kill young Moran for romancing his girl.

Thunderbolt

1929

Anatahan poster
6.8

From June 1944, twelve Japanese seamen are stranded for seven years on an abandoned and forgotten island called Anatahan.

Anatahan

1953

Anatahan poster
6.8

From June 1944, twelve Japanese seamen are stranded for seven years on an abandoned and forgotten island called Anatahan.

Anatahan

1953

An American Tragedy poster
6.3

A social climber charms a debutante, seduces a factory worker and commits murder.

An American Tragedy

1931

An American Tragedy poster
6.3

A social climber charms a debutante, seduces a factory worker and commits murder.

An American Tragedy

1931

An American Tragedy poster
6.3

A social climber charms a debutante, seduces a factory worker and commits murder.

An American Tragedy

1931

Sergeant Madden poster
7.5

A dedicated police officer is torn between family and duty when his son turns to a life of crime.

Sergeant Madden

1939

The King Steps Out poster
6.0

Princess is destined to marry the Emperor, until her sister steps in.

The King Steps Out

1936

The Masked Bride poster
10.0

An American millionaire wants to reform a Parisian cabaret singer who moonlights as a jewel thief.

The Masked Bride

1925

I, Claudius poster
10.0

An unfinished 1937 film adaptation of life and times of the Roman Emperor, Claudius. The production was dogged by adverse circumstances, culminating in a car accident involving co-star Merle Oberon that caused filming to cease before completion.

I, Claudius

1937

The Town poster
6.0

The Town was a short propaganda film produced by the Office of War Information in 1945. It presents an idealized vision of American life, shown in microcosm by Madison, Indiana. It was created primarily for exhibition abroad, to provide international audiences a more well-rounded view of America, and was therefore produced in more than 20 translations. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.

The Town

1944

The Fashion Side of Hollywood poster
6.5

Compilation of lighting and costume tests from various films, most notably Sternberg's "The Devil Is a Woman" (1935).

The Fashion Side of Hollywood

1935

No artwork available
8.0

Joan and Magdalen are the daughters of a fisherman. Magdalen leaves her fiancé, Peter, to run off to the big city. Joan and Peter marry. Magdalen's return years later causes trouble for the marriage, but Joan and Peter remain together in the end.

A Woman of the Sea

1926

No artwork available
8.0

Joan and Magdalen are the daughters of a fisherman. Magdalen leaves her fiancé, Peter, to run off to the big city. Joan and Peter marry. Magdalen's return years later causes trouble for the marriage, but Joan and Peter remain together in the end.

A Woman of the Sea

1926

The Drag Net poster
6.5

Captain Timothy 'Two Gun' Nolan is appointed head of the New York detective force, and as his first act, rounds up every criminal in town. Gang boss 'Dapper' Frank Trent stands bail for all of them as independent minor gang-leader. Setting out to get Trent, Nolan moves in on his hideout, assisted by his friend 'Shakespeare.' Trent kills Shakespeare, but makes Nolan believe it is his shot that has done so. Nolan resigns his commission and becomes a drunk. Found unconscious by Trent, he is offered as the pièce de résistance at a gangland banquet which 'The Magpie' attends. A lost film.

The Drag Net

1928