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 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 | reference to william shakespeare | 

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Taglines:

You Too, Will Be Aroused By Her Intoxicating Beauty! "This Woman Makes a Man of Dignity a Slave to Love!" (Print Ad- San Jose Evening News ((San Jose Calif.)) 3 January 1931)

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many actresses from the stage and screen were considered for the role of Lola Lola. Early contenders were Gloria Swanson, Phyllis Haver, Louise Brooks, Brigitte Helm, Lya De Putti, Lucie Mannheim, Trude Hesterberg, Käthe Haack and Lotte Lenya. Leni Riefenstahl later claimed to have been considered for the role, but her claim is dubious. Director Josef von Sternberg chose Marlene Dietrich, with whom he was by then having a love affair.

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Goofs

When the professor returns to the night club and sees Lola again, he gets covered in her make-up and moves to the mirror to clean himself up, which he does not completely manage. Yet, when confronting the captain, his clothes are completely clean. After he has thrown him out of doors, the stains reappear.

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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

Referenced in Northern Exposure: The Graduate (1995)

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Soundtracks

Kinder, heut' abend, da such' ich mir was aus
(uncredited)
Written by Friedrich Hollaender
Performed by Marlene Dietrich

User Reviews

First great sound film.

Today, most people know this film as featuring Marlene Dietrich's signature tune "Falling in Love Again." But it was the first sound film to be made in Germany; and is the first great sound film to be made anywhere. Although it exists also in an English version that was made at the same time, both Dietrich and Jannings give better performances in their native language; and, as the sound is rather poor, it is easier to follow in German with the English sub-titles. Jannings was the first actor to win an Academy Award (though not for this film) and his performance as the professor who is lead to ruin by a femme fatale remains one of the memorable film performances. Fans of Dietrich should not miss this film which brought her international success. This is one of those films that only grows with continued viewing. If you were fond of Cabaret, then this is the real Germany between the World Wars. Highly recommended.

Details

Country:

Germany

Language:

German English French

Release Date:

5 December 1930 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Blue Angel

Filming Locations:

Marlene-Dietrich-Halle, Studio Babelsberg, Potsdam, Brandenburg, 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