The Blue Angel (1930)

An elderly professor's ordered life spins dangerously out of control when he falls for a nightclub singer.

Director:

Josef von Sternberg

Writers:

Heinrich Mann (novel), Carl Zuckmayer

Stars:

Emil Jannings, Marlene Dietrich, Kurt Gerron

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Emil Jannings	...	Professor Immanuel Rath
Marlene Dietrich	...	Lola Lola
Kurt Gerron	...	Kiepert, the Magician
Rosa Valetti	...	Guste, His Wife
Hans Albers	...	Mazeppa, the Strong Man
Reinhold Bernt	...	Der Clown / The Clown
Károly Huszár	...	Proprietor of The Blue Angel (as Karl Huszar-Puffy)
Die Weintraub Syncopators	...	Group Cast Performers (as The Weintraub Syncopators)
Eduard von Winterstein	...	Schuldirektor / The Director of School (as Eduard V. Winterstein)
Hans Roth	...	Hausmeister / The Caretaker of the Secondary School
Rolf Müller	...	Gymnasiast Angst / Pupil
Roland Varno	...	Gymnasiast Lohmann / Pupil (as Rolant Varno)
Carl Balhaus	...	Gymnasiast Ertzum / Pupil (as Karl Balhaus)
Robert Klein-Lörk	...	Gymnasiast Goldstaub / Pupil
Wilhelm Diegelmann	...	Kapitän / Captain

Storyline

Germany 1924. Middle aged Dr. Immanuel Rath is a stuffy literature professor at a boys' school. Most of his students don't much like him, often ridiculing him by sending him unflattering anonymous notes and drawings. Dr. Rath learns that many of his boys often frequent a cabaret called the Blue Angel, which he believes is corrupting their impressionable young minds. He heads to the Blue Angel himself to catch the boys in the act, shame them into not going again, but also to ask the headlining performer, anglophone Lola Lola, to cease and desist performing her show. Over several visits, Rath is able to catch the boys, but he himself starts to fall for Lola, and she seemingly with him. His infatuation with her threatens his teaching career. Their relationship ends up not being what either envisioned, the question being how they will both deal with their disintegrating relationship and the reasons behind that disintegration.

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Plot Keywords:

professor | nightclub singer | nightclub | female corrupts male | unrequited love | 

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Taglines:

Täglich nur noch bis Donnerstag auf tausendfachen Wunsch! Zum letzten Male! (Feiburger Zeitung, ((Freiburg, Baden-Wûrttemburg)) 11 Februar 1931)

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Lola Lola's erotic costume of stockings, high-heeled shoes, and a top hat was largely inspired by drawings from the Belgian artist Felicien Rops.

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Goofs

When the professor returns to his class and the boys burst out in uproar, the drawing on the blackboard shows three lines with Lola's name. The director, drawn by the noise, enters the class and now there are only two lines. After the class is dismissed, the third line has returned.

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Quotes

Lola Lola: [singing] They call me Naughty Lola, I'm known far and wide. I have a pianola that is my joy and pride. They call me Naughty Lola, the men all go for me. But I don't let any man lay a paw on my keys.

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Alternate Versions

Simultaneously shot in two versions (English and German) with the same cast; the German (with English subtitles) version is more popular because of the heavy German accents of the cast in the English language version. English lyrics for the songs were written by Sam Lerner.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood Singing & Dancing: A Musical History - 1970's (2009)

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Soundtracks

Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt
(uncredited)
Written by Friedrich Hollaender
Performed by Marlene Dietrich

User Reviews

Stick to the German

Firstly, this version is almost the exact same as the German version, but of course in English. That means it is still wonderful, but with all of the "Unrath" puns removed.

The only reason to just stick with the German is because most of the language in this film is either still German, or hard to understand due to th actors' thick accents, Marlene, surprisingly, is perfectly accent less despite not knowing any English. Since the DVD release does not have subtitles, or even closed captions, it is hard to follow the film without either knowing German, or rewinding to understand what Jannings and everyone else is saying.

Fans of the German version should still just check it out as a historical novelty and to hear Marlene (accent less) and see how similar and/or different the film is.

Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German English French

Release Date:

5 December 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Blue Angel

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$4,410

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universum Film (UFA), UFA Tonfilm, Universum Film (UFA)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 107 min (TCM print) 108 min (German) 94 min (English)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Klangfilm) Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1