L'angelo azzurro

This is one remake that is better than the original, even though that original is one of the classics of world cinema. This remake is also fundamentally different. In the original, Lola Lola was the main character. Not only that, but the professor was just a buffoon. Neither character was particularly appealing. Lola was cruel. The professor was a fool.

In the remake, the professor is the main character and he is treated realistically. (I suspect that this is truer to the Heinrich Mann novel also.) The professor teaches biology, and for years has taught his boys about the birds and the bees--literally, without having a clue of the feelings associated with those birds and bees. Then, he sees Lola and is bowled over. It is easy for her to seduce him. The next morning, he, being a German gentleman, proposes marriage to her. She is touched and flattered and accepts. The school where he teaches is outraged and orders him to give up this plan, but the professor remains true to his intended. He is fired. He tries to get a position elsewhere, but all schools are closed to him. Soon, he has spent all his savings and he and Lola are reduced to poverty. Lola goes back to the cabaret job and supports him. Soon, the management demands that the professor stop being a sponge and earn his keep. ...

I won't tell you the rest of the story. It is dramatic and moving. This is the definitive version of this story. Lola and the professor are sympathetic, and the movie is far more moving. The production values are high and the movie is in color. When will the owners of this movie see fit to put it on DVD?

I was very impressed with this movie. Wonderful love story. It held my attention the whole time. When I first started watching it, I thought to myself it was going to be very boring, but only after a few minutes, it captured my attention and there was no getting away from the TV. Very well acted by both lead actor and actress. I loved this movie so much and thought May Britt did such a wonderful job that I researched her on the internet and was shocked to find out that she was married to Sammy Davis, Jr. I suggest anyone who likes a good plot as well as a love story watch this movie.

Remake of a 1930 classic that starred Marlene Dietrich and Emil Jannings in a mismatched love affair. In the remake, Curt Jurgens has the Jannings role of an aging professor who becomes entranced with a tawdry cafe singer (Britt). He marries her and it's all downhill from there. He quickly becomes her toady. Britt as the singer Lola Lola is nothing to write home about, but Jurgens pulls out all the stops as the beleaguered professor whose life quickly falls apart after he becomes involved with the singer and her subculture. His marriage proposal scene is almost painful to watch in its intensity. Theodore Bikel plays the singer's impresario. I would suggest you stick with the original. Dietrich exuded a star power that Britt completely lacks. If you do watch it, watch it for Jurgens' masterful portrayal of a desperate man.

I have seen the movie exactly one time, shortly after it came out. At the time, I had never seen the original version, nor did I know anything about the story. The Blue Angel was the 2nd movie of a double feature, and I almost didn't stay for it! The story is an old German folk tale, but it is so reflective of what can and does happen in life. A big regret, for me, is that the May Britt version has, as far as I can determine, never been put on video tape or disc. When I, finally, got to see the old, original movie, I thought it was very poorly done -- corny humor in places where I didn't feel it was appropriate. I'm surprised at the fame the original created and the lack thereof for the remake. - bearandgrinnit

Curt Jurgens is magnificent! I don't even remember watching Mai Britt as LOLA-LOLA as I was so enthralled with Jurgens' performance. He was absolutely marvelous! Catch Curt in the movie he stars with Ingrid Bergman, as a Chinese warlord. And also in "Mephisto's Waltz" with Alan Alda. Curt is an all consuming and ultimo actor.

And the fact Curt Jurgens was in a Nazi prison camp for one year at the end of WWII and survived is amazing. What a story he has lived. What he could have told of his life. There is also a website where Curt tells of his near-death heart attack in which he was experiencing the "out and in" of death, whilst demons were grabbing at him to take him away from the living. Fantastic!

BOYD