An elderly professor's ordered life spins dangerously out of control when he falls for a nightclub singer.An elderly professor's ordered life spins dangerously out of control when he falls for a nightclub singer.An elderly professor's ordered life spins dangerously out of control when he falls for a nightclub singer.
Eduard von Winterstein
- Der Schuldirektor
- (as Eduard V. Winterstein)
Roland Varno
- Lohmann
- (as Rolant Varno)
Carl Balhaus
- Ertzum
- (as Karl Balhaus)
Károly Huszár
- Der Wirt
- (as Karl Huszar-Puffy)
Die Weintraub Syncopators
- Group Cast Performers
- (as The Weintraub Syncopators)
Friedrich Hollaender
- Pianist
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThere are various accounts of why Marlene Dietrich was cast as Lola Lola, but the one given by director Josef von Sternberg in his autobiography is that Dietrich came to test for the film with a bored, world-weary attitude because she was convinced she wasn't going to get the role and was merely going through the motions - and Sternberg hired her because that world-weary attitude was precisely what he wanted for the character.
- GoofsWhen 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.
- Alternate versionsSimultaneously 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.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Double-Headed Eagle: Hitler's Rise to Power 1918-1933 (1973)
- SoundtracksIch bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt
(uncredited)
Written by Friedrich Hollaender
Performed by Marlene Dietrich
Featured review
Well-told but tough to watch
The Blue Angel is a tough film for me to watch, because I am a very sympathetic viewer. I have a dreadfully hard time dealing with a plot that is almost entirely made up of a man's downfall. This story is focused on a respected professor who gets entangled with a nightclub singer, and watches his life go down the tubes. I felt so sorry for this man, and kept looking back on his decisions earlier in the film that led him down this road. Because of certain cultural differences between the world at that time, and the world of today, it was hard not to question why he even allowed himself into this position in the first place. Emil Jannings helped sell me on the film, though, because he does a great job of portraying the main character and showing his decline as the film progresses.
I think one of the biggest questions I was left with after watching The Blue Angel was whether the professor ever felt any affection at all towards the nightclub singer. It almost seems like the situation caught up with him and he was forced into something he didn't want from the beginning. That made the film even harder for me to watch, because it makes this disaster feel unavoidable. I admire how this movie evoked a strong reaction from me, but it wasn't an enjoyable reaction in any way. At least it doesn't fall into the trap of many other films that torture their likable protagonist and try to sell that as a source of comedy. I always squirm in my chair with movies like The Blue Angel, but at least that's what it seems the film-makers were trying to accomplish this time.
I think one of the biggest questions I was left with after watching The Blue Angel was whether the professor ever felt any affection at all towards the nightclub singer. It almost seems like the situation caught up with him and he was forced into something he didn't want from the beginning. That made the film even harder for me to watch, because it makes this disaster feel unavoidable. I admire how this movie evoked a strong reaction from me, but it wasn't an enjoyable reaction in any way. At least it doesn't fall into the trap of many other films that torture their likable protagonist and try to sell that as a source of comedy. I always squirm in my chair with movies like The Blue Angel, but at least that's what it seems the film-makers were trying to accomplish this time.
helpful•91
- blott2319-1
- Jul 27, 2020
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $500,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $4,410
- Runtime1 hour 44 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.20 : 1
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