Der blaue Engel (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 literature professor at a boys college. Most of his students don't much like him, often calling him "unrath" - German for garbage. Dr. Rath learns that many of his boys often frequent a cabaret called Der blaue Engel - 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 and shame them into not going again. Over several visits, Rath is able to catch the boys, but in the process he also understands what attracts the boys, namely the headlining performer Lola Lola. Rath falls under Lola's spell, he who falls in love with her - and she seemingly with him - so much so that he wants to marry her and give up his teaching career to be with her on her travels from cabaret to cabaret. 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 ...

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Plot Keywords:

nightclub | female corrupts male | unrequited love | based on novel | legs | 

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Certificate:

Not Rated

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

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,451, 15 July 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$77,982, 9 December 2001

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Marlene Dietrich had a somewhat restricted vocal range, which forced composer Friedrich Hollaender to tailor the music specifically to accommodate Dietrich's voice. Dietrich's unique singing talent, however, led to a lengthy second career as a concert singer after her film career waned.

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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

[singing]
Lola Lola: Falling in love again, never wanted to. What's a girl to do? I can't help it. What choice do I have? That's the way I'm made. Love is all I know, I can't help it. Men swarm around me like moths 'round a flame. And if their wings are singed, surely I can't be blamed.

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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

Referenced in Seinfeld: The Virgin (1992)

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Soundtracks

Ich bin die fesche Lola
(uncredited)
Written by Friedrich Hollaender
Performed by Marlene Dietrich

User Reviews

A classic of cinema

This movie should merit a place in the upper region of the 250 top movies, somewhere in the neighborhood of "Citizen Kane" and "Twelve Angry Men". Apparently it is not very well known in the USA.

In Germany and in countries where the German language is rather familiar, it is rightly considered as one of the classics of cinema.

Amazing, that Sternberg, only a couple of years after the invention of the "talky" could produce a masterpiece that has seldom been surpassed. It was this movie that launched the carreer of Marlene Dietrich, with her famous song "Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuss auf Liebe eingestellt".

I had seen the movie many years ago. When I saw it for the second time about a year ago, I realized that Emile Jennings acting, as the rather silly teacher at the local grammar school who sacrifies his career because of a cabaret girl, was not less impressive than that of Marlene Dietrich. A pity that I did never see another film with this great actor.