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Lux Redux: Hollywood's Timeless Theater

The Song of Songs: A Sculptor’s Passion, A Lover’s Fall

Posted April 2, 2025 · 61 min

About this episode

In Lux Radio Theater’s haunting and poetic Christmas broadcast, "The Song of Songs: A Sculptor’s Passion, A Lover’s Fall", Marlene Dietrich delivers a mesmerizing performance as Lily, a naive young woman whose journey from innocence to heartbreak is carved—quite literally—into stone. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. co-stars as Richard Waldo, a tormented sculptor who discovers in Lily the perfect model—and muse—for his most ambitious work. But when obsession, betrayal, and social ambition collide, their fragile love story shatters beneath the weight of art, pride, and sacrifice. Lionel Atwill is chilling as Baron von Merzbach, the wealthy patron who sees Lily as a possession to be acquired. With a passionate script adapted from Herman Sudermann’s novel and Edward Sheldon’s play, and underscored by biblical echoes from The Song of Solomon, this unforgettable production explores the tension between artistic inspiration and emotional devastation. Cast Members: Marlene Dietrich, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Lionel Atwill, Pedro de Cordoba, Cecil B. DeMille, Louis Silvers Special Guests: Walt Disney, James Cromwell, Helen Wills Moody

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