'Racy' letter from Ernest Hemingway to Marlene Dietrich goes on sale

Letters are part of a collection up for auction in LA

Racy letter from Ernest Hemingway to Marlene Dietrich goes on sale (Getty Images )

A “racy” letter from Ernest Hemingway to his “best pal” Marlene Dietrich has gone on auction.

In it, Hemingway provides the German actress with advice on her upcoming performance in Las Vegas, six years before his death.

Hemingway also imagines staging her performance, where he said he would have "something novel like having you shot onto the stage, drunk, from a self propelled minnenwerfer".

Dietrich's grandson J David Riva, who is selling the letter as part of a collection of her items, said the American author and Dietrich had remained close friends after meeting on a trans-Atlantic ship voyage, according to Sky News.

But the pair’s relationship did not develop into a romance, Mr Riva insisted.

"Ernest Hemingway and Marlene were the best of pals, it's the only way of putting it. It's like two college guys that were out on a bender, that's pretty much their relationship," he said.

"You know, she spoke a lot about politics, she spoke a lot about different things that were going on in her life in a much more personal and less 'Marlene Dietrich' way and I think that's the interesting thing about the letters," he added.

The Oscar nominated actress starred in films such as Morocco and Shanghai Express. She died in Paris aged 90.

The items are currently being exhibited at the Hollywood Museum. Bidding on the letter is open until 8 April.