Der blaue Engel (1930)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Director:

Josef von Sternberg

Writers:

Heinrich Mann (novel)
Carl Zuckmayer (writer) ...

Release Date:

3 January 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Musical

Plot:

Immanuel Rath, an old bachelor, is a professor at the town's university. When he discovers that some of his pupils often go into a speakeasy...

Plot Keywords:

Professor | Police | Dead Bird | Cuckold | Lust

Cast

Emil Jannings	...	Prof. Immanuel Rath
Marlene Dietrich	...	Lola Lola
Kurt Gerron	...	Kiepert (the magician)
Rosa Valetti	...	Guste (the magician's wife)
Hans Albers	...	Mazeppa (the strongman)
Reinhold Bernt	...	The clown
Eduard von Winterstein	...	The director of school (as Eduard V. Winterstein)
Hans Roth	...	The caretaker of the secondary school
Rolf Müller	...	Pupil Angst
Roland Varno	...	Pupil Lohmann (as Rolant Varno)
Carl Balhaus	...	Pupil Ertzum (as Karl Balhaus)
Robert Klein-Lörk	...	Pupil Goldstaub
Charles Puffy	...	Innkeeper (as Karl Huszar-Puffy)
Wilhelm Diegelmann	...	Captain
Gerhard Bienert	...	Policeman

Also Known As:

Professor Unrat (Germany) (working title)
The Blue Angel (USA)

Runtime:

124 min | USA:107 min (TCM print) | UK:106 min | 108 min (cut)

Country:

Germany

Language:

German | English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:PG (video rating) | UK:U | Finland:K-16 (1952) | Finland:K-8 (1993) | Norway:16 | Germany:12 (re-rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:(Banned) (1930) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Berlin, Germany

Company:

Universum Film (UFA)

Trivia:

Marlene Dietrich (Lola Lola) was, contrary to common belief, not the "star" of the film. She was not even a known actress. She was one of several students at an acting academy who were auditioned by director Josef von Sternberg for the role. Each of the girls was told to bring with them "a naughty song" which they would perform. Dietrich was so nervous and so sure that she would not get the role that she showed up without a song.

Quotes:

Lola Lola: They call me Lola.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le choc (1982)

Soundtrack:

Kinder, heut' abend, da such' ich mir was aus

Indelible images

I just got through watching The Blue Angel (1930) for the second time in a month. When I was watching the beginning this time, I thought: oh, this isn't as powerful as I remembered. I even thought Jannings was overdoing it a little -- he couldn't be as good as I remembered. And then it absolutely knocked me for a loop all over again.

Bear in mind that I have a tape that cost $3.98. The film looked old and scratchy, the tape quality was bad, and the sound was poor. This is one of the very earliest sound movies and the sound technique was sometimes distracting. After the first 20 minutes, I couldn't have cared less about the technology. The images of this film are burned into my brain. The business at the very beginning with the dead bird and the sugar cube, the caricatures on the blackboards, Lola's reaction to the marriage proposal, the wedding party and, most of all, the entire last half hour of this film -- none of that left me in the three weeks since my first viewing and it lost none of its impact the second time around.

Emil Jannings was just absolutely wonderful. His face in the mirror toward the end is heartbreaking. He doesn't have to say a word. This was Dietrich's debut, and she is great too, but it is Jannings' picture.

Highly recommended. 10/10