Line #13 Film/Desire1936


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ca77f6f2_d6a0_4406_b20c_d1b9f88d49d3.jpeg]]
2
3	''Desire'' is a 1936 film directed by Creator/FrankBorzage, starring Creator/GaryCooper and Creator/MarleneDietrich.
4
5	Dietrich plays Madeleine, a jewel thief. After executing a clever scam and absconding from Paris with a pearl necklace worth 2.2 million francs, Madeline flees for the border with Spain ahead of the police. Also heading for Spain is Tom (Cooper), an American auto engineer on vacation. A MeetCute near the border is followed by Madeline slipping the pearls into Tom's coat to avoid being caught with them at customs. After they make it into Spain Madeline steals his car, only to realize that Tom's coat was in his suitcase, which he kept. Tom for his part wants to find the lady who stole his car, and eventually tracks her down to the sea coast resort of San Sebastián. Naturally, romantic sparks fly.
6
7	The part of Carlos, Dietrich's partner in crime, was originally supposed to be played by Dietrich's RealLife boyfriend Creator/JohnGilbert. Unfortunately Gilbert had a heart attack brought on by chronic alcoholism soon before production was supposed to start, and was immediately replaced. Shortly thereafter Gilbert had another heart attack and died.
8
9	----
10	!!Tropes:
11
12	* AsYouKnow: The opening where Tom is practicing his speech to his boss rather neatly establishes that Tom is an engineer from the Detroit auto industry who wants a vacation.
13	* BreachOfPromiseOfMarriage: Tom says that he grows on people. As an example he cites one girl back home, who didn't like him at first, but he was persistent, and he grew on her, until..."She sued me."
14	* ChekhovsGun: The ridiculous ad on the spare tire of Tom's automobile. Tom later spotting the spare tire on the back of a hay cart lets him know where Madeline crashed the car.
15	* CoincidentalBroadcast: Naturally, the radio at Madeline's hotel suite plays a broadcast of the hunt for the jewel thieves.
16	* ConflictBall: It's not really clear why Carlos doesn't simply take the pearls himself and get out of town, rather than insisting Madeline dump Tom and come with him.
17	* CoolOldLady: "Aunt" Olga, Madeline's other partner in crime, a cheerful old criminal.
18	--> "I never drank until I went to jail."
19	* ExactWords: When the jeweler is selling the pearls to Madeline, he mentions the return policy. She dismisses this, saying "If I take these pearls, you will never see them again." That's because she's going to steal them.
20	* FakeAristocrat: Carlos and Madeline's fake identity, as exiled Russian nobility.
21	* FakeOutOpening: The opening scene has Tom determinedly speaking to his boss, demanding a vacation. The camera eventually moves to show that the boss isn't even there and Tom is just rehearsing his speech.
22	* GilliganCut: Carlos wants to get Tom out of the hotel so they can ditch him in town and then make their escape. He badgers Tom about going into town with him. Finally he says "I don't want to be polite but I must insist." Cut to Carlos driving into town alone.
23	* INeedAFreakingDrink: When the cops arrive and Carlos and Madeline think they're done for, he says "Give me a drink, quick!", and hurriedly downs what she pours. It turns out the cops are only there for the minor matter of Tom's stolen car.
24	* MeetCute: First there's the RoadsideWave as Madeline drives past Tom on a muddy road at high speed. Then they reach the border at the same time, where Tom has to disarm the horn on Madeline's car when it gets stuck. Then she dumps the necklace into his pocket at customs in order to avoid getting arrested.
25	* NoDoubtTheYearsHaveChangedMe: Carlos, pretending to be a prince and Madeline's uncle, greets her with "The years have changed me, but you remain as charming as ever." It's all BS for the benefit of the porter.
26	* OneDialogueTwoConversations: Madeline steals the necklace with a clever con in which she tells the jeweler to bring the necklace to her husband the psychiatrist, while telling the psychiatrist, who is not her husband, that the jeweler is her husband and he is crazy. This sets up a little conversation after Madeline zips out with the necklace in hand in which the jeweler thinks he's concluding a deal and the psychiatrist thinks he's interviewing a disturbed patient. The line "How do you sleep?", delivered by the doctor to the jeweler, is taken entirely the wrong way.

Context Film / Desire1936