Edgar Ulmer, noting actor William Dieterle’s girth and tendency to play knights in armour, claimed his nickname in the German theatre was “the Iron Stove,” adding, “He was a big guy, not talented…”
As a director, WD could be pretty dynamic, as we’ve seen here recently. But once in a while he could still strap on the metalwear and stomp a movie to smithereens ‘neath his clanking, rollicking hornpipe. Moisten your index finger and turn the page to the Auteurs’ Notebook, where you may learn about the berserkly fatuous horrors of MAGIC FIRE, a botched Wagner biopic which bends the knee before Art, only to have Art teabag it contemptuously in the face.
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