Angel (1937)

A woman and her husband take separate vacations, and she falls in love with another man.

Director:

Ernst Lubitsch

Writers:

Melchior Lengyel (play), Guy Bolton (adaptation)

Stars:

Marlene Dietrich, Herbert Marshall, Melvyn Douglas

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Marlene Dietrich	...	Lady Maria Barker
Herbert Marshall	...	Sir Frederick Barker
Melvyn Douglas	...	Anthony Halton
Edward Everett Horton	...	Graham
Ernest Cossart	...	Christopher 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)

Storyline

Lord Frederick Barker is the British representative to the League of Nations. Current geopolitical tensions, which could lead to war if not dealt with, have him preoccupied with work, he more often than not feeling the need to deal with issues rather than delegate them to subordinates. As such, his wife, Lady Maria Barker, is feeling neglected, Frederick, totally devoted to and in love with his wife, unaware of her feelings. While he is in Geneva for work, she secretly flies to Paris under an assumed name to deal with her emotions with her old friend, the Grand Duchess Anna Dmitrievna formerly of Russia, the only person in Paris who knows her true identity. The Grand Duchess' general role in her social circle is to facilitate good times for others, with unspoken discretion. It is at the Grand Duchess' salon that Maria meets playboy Anthony Halton. While spending the evening together, Maria and Tony fall in love with each other, with Maria, under the circumstances, refusing to divulge ...

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Plot Keywords:

notre dame cathedral | arc de triomphe paris | one word title | comedy of manners | horse racing | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

29 October 1937 (USA)

Also Known As:

Engel

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Paramount paid $8,500 for Melchior Lengyel's play. The film length was gradually cut from 2916.94m (11 reels) to 2478.33m (nine reels) after pre-release showings in New York City and six California cities from 25 July 1937 to 13 September 1937.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Referenced in Rozprávky z Hollywoodu (1992)

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Soundtracks

The Barber of Seville
(1816) (uncredited)
Written by Gioachino Rossini
Excerpt hummed by Edward Everett Horton

User Reviews

Neglected gem, deserves reissuing.

The Lubitsch touch is omnipresent in this relatively unknown but extraordinary romantic comedy. The theme of a potential marital infidelity of a disaffected upper class wife (a gleaming Marlene Dietrich) is dealt with unusual sophistication and insight, building up slowly to a brilliant denouement, while the core dilemmas and the predicament of the main character are continuously and subtly underscored. The confrontations between the characters are a delight of restrained pathos, whereas Lubitsch, unsurprisingly, perfectly recreates a confined world of rigid social norms that suppresses any emotional profusion. All the performances are top notch, the secondary characters are equally memorable and the whole film is pervaded by the genius of one of cinemas most charismatic directors, Ernst Lubitsch. One wishes that modern romantic comedies had only maintained even a fraction of the wit and incisiveness that Lubitsch established as a norm in the 30s.