L'ange bleu

Firstly, this version is almost the exact same as the German version, but of course in English. That means it is still wonderful, but with all of the "Unrath" puns removed.

The only reason to just stick with the German is because most of the language in this film is either still German, or hard to understand due to th actors' thick accents, Marlene, surprisingly, is perfectly accent less despite not knowing any English. Since the DVD release does not have subtitles, or even closed captions, it is hard to follow the film without either knowing German, or rewinding to understand what Jannings and everyone else is saying.

Fans of the German version should still just check it out as a historical novelty and to hear Marlene (accent less) and see how similar and/or different the film is.

... As I was surprised at the way college students behave and the way that they were treated in Weimar Germany as depicted in this film. Professor Immanual Rath (Emil Jennings) behaves tyrannically towards his students, and they try to undermine him at every turn. They mercilessly bully one student just because he wants no part of their nighttime carousing. In short, they act like high school kids, not college students, so I am somewhat wondering if this was a college as I understand the word in the United States. But I digress.

Rath finds postcards with music hall performer Lola (Marlene Dietrich) on them among his students' things, and initially goes to The Blue Angel to catch his students in the act of - I dunno, acting like college students? - again, I'm not sure why there's the need to so tightly control the behavior of adults. But Rath gets caught up in the atmosphere himself. He's been shut inside his ivory tower so long that he's forgotten what the outside world is like, and once he ventures out, it's game over. He's utterly unequipped to see Lola for who she really is - a woman who makes a living by charming men, and who does a good job of it. When he has the opportunity to talk to her and becomes sympathetic, he suddenly sees her as a victim of what we call today human trafficking rather than a corrupter of his students.

The more time he spends with her, the more he falls for her, but by proposing to her, he again puts her into a box in which she doesn't fit, that of a wife who will do the wifely duties he expects of her. Lola, though never explaining herself and that's part of the greatness of the film, seems amused by Rath's naive and simple ways and goes willingly into the marriage. But, again, Roth doesn't realize that marriage probably does not mean to Lola what it means to him.

Although Jannings puts in a powerhouse performance, I understand why Marlene Dietrich stole the show. Rath changes drastically over the course of the film, and he has to sell that, but Dietrich has the more subtle job of selling the changes in how Rath sees Lola without changing who Lola fundamentally is. Director Von Sternberg gives her much less to do than in their subsequent collaborations, but she does the most she can with the material.

There's lots that's never said. For one thing there is, from the first time Rath enters The Blue Angel, the haunting presence of "The Clown". The actor who plays him is not uncredited- his role is billed as "The Clown". Rath sees him with that constant sullen expression, hears him being scolded and chided by the empresario of the troupe, and you never hear him speak. Considering all that happens, I'm wondering if he too is a past husband of Lola's. One that she also cast aside once she got bored and perhaps never bothered to divorce. After all, she can't help it, as she is so fond of saying.

The only bad thing I can say about it is the pacing, which seems to be a problem in many Von Sternberg films. But it is worth sticking with to the end.

I think this is more a commentary on the human condition than it is a movie review. von Sternberg presents Professor Rath as pompous, rather inflexible and naive, and then reduces him gradually to a pitiful, self-debasing wretch - much like Tyrone Power's character in "Nightmare Alley". Rath, appears to me, not so much the victim as a drunken jaywalker who wanders out into traffic and is totally shocked when he is hit by a truck. Emil Jannings, without doubt, delivers everything that von Sternberg could have asked for.

I have never been a big Marlene Dietrich fan, but I have to admit that, in this early effort, her utter sexuality and the casual way she dispenses it is hypnotic. Her character is also complex. Between her first encounter with Rath and those final scenes, her attitude toward him changes from amusement and ridicule to concern, pity, and even affection. His return to his home town and his descent into total degradation is painful to watch, yet she chooses this opportunity to humiliate him even further by offering herself to Mazeppa while he watches. I'm baffled.

The corruption and hopelessness of the German cafe circuit is a perfect backdrop for this study of the human condition. When one reaches their absolute nadir - like Rath - there are few choices left. Suicide, violent hostility, or if you are lucky - the determination and will to climb out of the cesspool. Rath was a day late and a reichsmark short. I would like to think that if he had more time he would have made it.

Joseph von Sternberg 'packaged' his muse, Marlene Dietrich to become a world star with "The Blue Angel". The disturbing story of a revue entertainer (Dietrich) and the middle aged professor(Emil Jannings)who falls madly in love with, and later is destroyed by her, based on the novel "Professor Unrat".

Many unforgettable songs by Friedrich Hollander are featured, most noteworthy of course "Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuss auf Liebe eingestellt" ("Falling in Love Again") and "Ich bin die feche Lola" ("They Call Me Naughty Lola").

There is an English language version available (filmed simultaneously for an intended International release), but I recommend the original German with subtitles. Many effects are lost with the former. I can highly recommend this film, a must for fans of either the stars or the director!*****

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.