Engel

Wonderful Lubitsch comedy about a distracted husband, a neglected wife and an ardent suitor that has all the magic, humor, romance of the directors previous work. Dazzling camera work by Charles Lang make Deitrich look positively luminous. All the cast are perfect. The audience I saw this with at the LACMA Museum screening were utterly entranced by this neglected masterwork. Kudos to UCLA for restoring this treasure to its original splendor and to LACMA programer Ian Birnie for giving us the opportunity to see this little gem in all its glory. A 10 out of 10.........

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.

Immediate promise of romance and flourishes of drama to flavor light humor and amusement: it's very easy to simplify 'Angel' to the most basic description - but also foolish. This is a wonderfully enchanting and entertaining picture, rich with detail in so many ways. The costume design of Travis Banton is exquisite and fetching, as well as the set design and decoration. Much credit to Charles Lang's vibrant cinematography that, in combination with fine lighting, only serves to further amplify star Marlene Dietrich's already irrepressibly radiant beauty and natural charm (as well as make every scene, generally, very pleasing to the eyes). And even these only just match the brilliant wit and intelligence of the adapted screenplay concocted between Samson Raphaelson and Frederick Lonsdale. 'Angel' distinctly declines the sort of robust comedy and absurdism that we recognize in many of director Ernst Lubitsch's other pictures, but in its stead we're treated to sharp cleverness in the craft of every word of dialogue, every character, and every scene. It's marvelously absorbing and immediately rewarding as a viewer, and just as fully engaging as any more outrageous romp or dire drama.

The very arrangement of each moment, on paper and on film, is bursting with such barely restrained anticipated tension, but is also so tremendously perfect, resonant, fluid, and organic that the picture could only be described as mellifluous in its presentation. And that quality is a fine reflection, of course, of the performances given by the cast. This goes for everyone, even Edward Everett Horton and Ernest Cossart in smaller supporting parts as Graham and Mr. Wilton, but nonetheless exhibiting outstanding and gratifying presence, poise, and delivery. Herbert Marshall and Melvyn Douglas equally command terrific nuance and precise personality as Frederick Barker and Anthony Halton respectively, splendidly calming and electrifying at the same time as the two men both build the unspoken pressure and keep it under control with their charisma. Above all, Dietrich demonstrates stupendous range tempered with fabulous, very deliberate subtlety, and is marked with an irresistible gracefulness and allure that heightens all these facets of her acting. Well and truly, every portrayal here is spotless, pristine as any comparison our imagination may conjure for the word.

The most lofty of descriptors can only do so much to begin to convey the great elegance and refined artistry of this movie. Why, I haven't even touched on the story here, though suffice to say that it handily stays in step with every other piece of praise I've proffered. I began watching with no foreknowledge save for the names involved, and perhaps I already had high expectations based certainly on Lubitsch's direction, but also Douglas and Dietrich's attachment. And still any presumptions I may have had before watching were far exceeded - this is an impeccable, striking feature, an exemplar of the sublime skillfulness and aesthetic techniques of film-making that can be applied even to more common narratives that eschew experimental or avant-garde ambitions. I have watched many lovely, captivating pictures, but can recount very few that have been so readily, completely bewitching. Viewers should know the genres the title plays with before committing to it, but otherwise I'd have a hard time believing this couldn't be enjoyed by all, nor thinking of anyone I wouldn't recommend it to. 'Angel' is a phenomenal slice of 30s cinema that stands tall with the very best of both previous years and subsequent decades, and is well worth seeking out wherever one may find it.

Ernst Lubitsch was an incredibly talented director, who to me rarely made a dud, with his best films even being masterpieces. Even his lesser films are worth a look, even if just once, and better than a lot of directors at their worst.

'Angel' is not among his best films, being not in the same league as 'The Merry Widow', 'Ninotchka', Heaven Can Wait', 'The Shop Around the Corner' and especially 'Trouble in Paradise'. It is however, for all its imperfections, one of his more overlooked films. Some may say 'Angel' is a gem, others may say it's a rare dud. To me, it's neither but is much better than its reputation suggests.

By all means it could have been better. It does lag in places, not helped by a story being a bit thin for the running time, with some of the romantic melodrama laid on too thickly at times. Herbert Marshall, who is more capable of giving a good performance but has also given some dull ones, is rather somnolent in his role. A few of the secondary roles are underwritten, Edward Everett Horton while still being very funny in particular is under-utilised.

With those being said, while just lacking the famous "Lubitsch touch", being on subdued form and lacking the risqué edge, Lubitsch does direct with his customary class and subtlety. He also has some beautiful visual touches, in a lovingly photographed and designed film that clearly loves Marlene Dietrich, judging by now positively luminous she looks.

Music is appropriately whimsical in places while also sweeping without being overbearing. The script does have some sparkling humour in the supporting roles and typically sophisticated with a warm charm. The story is less than perfect but has some fun and charming moments.

Dietrich is as aforementioned luminous, has a class and elegance and gives her character good comic timing and pathos. In the supporting roles, Horton and Ernest Cossart are particularly entertaining with their back and forth standing out of the comedy.

In conclusion, could have been better but overlooked. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Lubitsch is recognized as one of the great directors of the 30s, and yet this wonderful film is not on any of the usual critical lists of notable films. Perhaps it was too modern for its time. It is perhaps Dietrich's best English performance (though even here she could be a bit more subtle), but the real star is the director, shining in the shots he composes and performances he coaxes from his actors. Lubitsch is a master of subtlety, and when he places important moments off-screen, it is in such a way as to heighten their impact. Since the censorship code is in effect, the sexual elements are cleverly concealed. For example, Halton and Barker discover that in Paris they both visited the same... seamstress. The naive Hays Office must have thought that was the joke, but the real joke is on them for it is clear--at least today--that the two did not visit her to get their sewing done. The sophistication of the film is unusual for its time.

Pages could be written about this film. Suffice it to say that if you like 30s film at all, see this. In certain moments, it feels perfect. Probably one of the top 25 of the decade.