Fresh off the performance in The Blue Angel which catapulted her into stardom, actress Marlene Dietrich arrived in Hollywood as part of a two-film deal with Paramount Studios parlayed by her mentor and compatriot, the director Josef von Sternberg. When Dietrich alighted from the train at Pasadena Station on 14 April 1930, von Sternberg was there to welcome her. To this end, he was accompanied by two gifts purchased for Dietrich by their mutual employer.

The first gift was a bouquet, which he planted into the starlet’s arms. The second gift was this exceptional Rolls-Royce Phantom I, chassis S317KP, undoubtedly the most famous of only five Springfield-built Phantom Is fitted with the fascinating and versatile dual-cowl Transformable Phaeton body from Parisian coachbuilders Hibbard & Darrin.

S317KP immediately featured alongside Dietrich in her debut Paramount film, Morocco. Rolls-Royce records (on file) show S317KP was transferred from Paramount Studios to Dietrich on 26 November 1930. Morocco opened in movie theaters a few days later, the acclaim of which earned Dietrich—despite enduring fame and commercial success—her sole Oscar nomination. She rarely if ever drove the car, instead preferring chauffeured travel with her studio-appointed driver, Harry Wright.

After several years, S317KP moved into the care of pioneering automobile collector J.R. “Bob” Creighton, in whose family it passed by descent until 1995, when it was sold then exhibiting a partially disassembled, highly original “barn find” state.

In 2007, noted collector John O’Quinn purchased and promptly submitted the car to marque expert Rick Hamlin of Wellington, Kansas for an exacting, multi-year, six-figure restoration back to its original specifications.

Hamlin’s team entirely disassembled the original coachwork, revealing fascinating details of Hibbard & Darrin’s patented Sylentlyte cast-Alpax construction method, as well as remnants of S317KP’s original gold-flaked Medium Green Metallic paint, which has been fastidiously recreated. The prominent, heavy beltline molding and delicate, scrolled door handles are Hibbard & Darrin hallmarks, while the dual cowl design’s signature, tightly nested trapezoidal windows exhibit yet another feature which the coachbuilder patented. The cabin and exterior are both highly detailed in the firm’s typical fashion, with exquisite fine hardware and book-matched wood inlays throughout. The Dietrich car’s unusual rearview mirror and sporty two-piece Vee-windshield design are identifying features that underscore its excellent provenance.

From O’Quinn’s estate, S317KP moved to The Mitchell Collection of Montgomery, Texas until 2015, and under their ownership it was exhibited (and claimed class awards) at many of the most exclusive concours in the United States including Hilton Head, Amelia Island, and Pebble Beach.

No collection of significant pre-war classics is complete without a Springfield Rolls-Royce, and few are more graceful and important than S317KP, the Marlene Dietrich Transformable Phaeton, now offered from the Terence E. Adderley Collection.