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:

character name as title | nickname as title | notre dame cathedral | arc de triomphe paris | one word title | 

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Taglines:

SHE MET HIM IN PARIS...AND SNUBBED HIM IN LONDON...for this time her HUSBAND WAS ALONG! (print ad - Lubbock Morning Avalanche - Palace Theatre - Lubbock, Texas - March 9, 1938) -

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

The last film for Marlene Dietrich at Paramount under her seven-year contract with the studio. It was not renewed due to a series of recent flops for he films at the box office.

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Quotes

Anthony Halton: I must have done something very nice in my life to be so beautifully rewarded.
Maria: Do you really mean that?
Anthony Halton: And so much more. You're an angel.

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Connections

Referenced in Sinatra: All or Nothing at All: Part 1 (2015)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Male female triangle

This is a Dietrich film, her last starring role at her home studio, Paramount. She is supported by 2 of the top Hollywood leading men - Douglas and Marshall - and dressed sumptuously by Travis Banton. The film should have been a money-maker for its studio, but apparently it was too sophisticated for the small-town public and she became 'Box Office Poison' after its release. Variety, in its disparaging but humorous review, said that you could hang coats from Dietrich's eyelashes. I attentively kept an eye on those eyelashes and have to admit that they ARE long, but not long enough to hang a coat on.

I liked this film. I especially liked Dietrich's aristocrat diplomat husband - Marshall - devoted to duty to fend off WW2. And I liked Dietrich. She has servants who attend to all personal and household tasks and therefore she has nothing to do. She is bored. She flies to Paris and has a romantic evening with a stranger - Douglas - a piano playing playboy who is infatuated with her. In the end she chooses the man who is the only one who can give her the happiness she craves. Females can learn a trick or 2 or more re how to attract and keep a man from closely observing Dietrich in this film. In what was once common terminology, she is a "man's woman." How times and the culture have changed.

BTW, 'Angel', although it has bits of comedy supplied by the servants, is not a comedy, but is instead a light-hearted, sophisticated marital drama.

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