Angel (1937)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Melchior Lengyel (play)
Guy Bolton (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

29 October 1937 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

I want love - and I'm going to get it!

Plot:

Woman and her husband take separate vacations, and she falls in love with another man. |

Plot Keywords:

Paris | Unrequited Love | Servant | Gambling | Salon

Cast

Marlene Dietrich	...	Maria 'Angel' Barker, aka Mrs. Brown
Herbert Marshall	...	Sir Frederick Barker
Melvyn Douglas	...	Anthony 'Tony' Halton
Edward Everett Horton	...	Graham
Ernest Cossart	...	Christopher 'Chris' Wilton
Laura Hope Crews	...	Grand Duchess Anna Dmitrievna
Herbert Mundin	...	Mr. Greenwood
Dennie Moore	...	Emma MacGillicuddy Wilton
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ivan Lebedeff	...	Prince Vladimir Gregorovitch (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (re-rating) (2006) | UK:12 | France:U | Finland:K-16 | Portugal:M/12 | USA:Approved (PCA #3399)

Filming Locations:

Santa Anita Park - 285 West Huntington Drive, Arcadia, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Quotes:

Maria: What's the matter, darling? Is it France?
Sir Frederick: No, no. It's Yugoslavia.
Maria: Oh, I see.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Le cinéma passe à table (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Angel

How has it been overlooked?

Lubitsch is recognized as one of the great directors of the 30s, and yet this wonderful film is not on any of the usual critical lists of notable films. Perhaps it was too modern for its time. It is perhaps Dietrich's best English performance (though even here she could be a bit more subtle), but the real star is the director, shining in the shots he composes and performances he coaxes from his actors. Lubitsch is a master of subtlety, and when he places important moments off-screen, it is in such a way as to heighten their impact. Since the censorship code is in effect, the sexual elements are cleverly concealed. For example, Halton and Barker discover that in Paris they both visited the same... seamstress. The naive Hays Office must have thought that was the joke, but the real joke is on them for it is clear--at least today--that the two did not visit her to get their sewing done. The sophistication of the film is unusual for its time.

Pages could be written about this film. Suffice it to say that if you like 30s film at all, see this. In certain moments, it feels perfect. Probably one of the top 25 of the decade.