Der blaue Engel
Encyclopedia
The Blue Angel is a film directed by Josef von Sternberg
in 1930, based on Heinrich Mann
's novel Professor Unrat
. The film is considered to be the first major German sound film
and it brought world fame to actress Marlene Dietrich
. In addition, it introduced her signature song, Friedrich Hollaender
's "Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)
".
) through a transformation from esteemed educator at the local Gymnasium
(college preparatory high school) to a cabaret clown in Weimar Germany. Rath's descent begins when he punishes several of his students for circulating photographs of the beautiful Lola Lola (Marlene Dietrich
) the headliner for the local cabaret
, The Blue Angel. Hoping to catch the boys at the club, Professor Rath goes there later that evening and meets Lola herself.
Consumed with desire and determined to remain at Lola's side, Rath returns to the night club the following evening (to return a pair of panties
that were smuggled into his coat by one of his students) and stays the night with her. The next morning, reeling from his night of passion, Rath arrives late to school to find his classroom in chaos and the principal furious with his behavior.
Rath subsequently resigns his position at the academy to marry Lola, but their happiness is short-lived, as they soon fritter away the teacher's meager savings and Rath is forced to take a position as a clown in Lola's cabaret troupe to pay the bills. His growing insecurities about Lola's profession as a "shared woman" eventually reduce him to a mere shell of the man he used to be, consumed by his lust and jealousy. The troupe returns to his hometown, where he is ridiculed and berated by the Blue Angel patrons, the very people he himself used to deride. As Rath performs his last act, he witnesses his wife embrace and kiss the strongman Mazeppa, her new love interest, and Rath is enraged to the point of insanity. He attempts to strangle Lola, but is beaten down by the other members of the troupe and locked in a straitjacket.
Later that night, Rath is freed, and makes his way towards his old classroom. Rejected, humiliated, and destitute, he dies in remorse, clenching the desk at which he once taught.
for pre-war Germany, but von Sternberg is very clear that he did not intend to make a political stand: "The year was 1929, Germany was undivided, although the real Germany, its schools and other places pictured in the film were not German and reality failed to interest me (Wakeman, 1046; Sternberg, 13)."
Marlene Dietrich's portrayal of a liberated night club performer not only cemented her stardom, but also established a modern embodiment of a vixen. Lola Lola's lusty songs (written by Friedrich Hollaender
, Robert Liebmann and Sam Winston) slither their way into Rath's heart, entrapping him and sealing his fate. The story's melancholic simplicity adds to the beauty of von Sternberg's most famous work and undoubtedly was a factor in its feverish success, in both Germany and America.
Emil Jannings
had asked Sternberg to direct him in his first sound picture, although Sternberg and Jannings had clashed on the set of their previous collaboration The Last Command
(1928), and von Sternberg had vowed never to work with the actor again. The following year, however, he and Jannings reconciled and they began to collaborate on a film about Rasputin for UFA-Paramount. Sternberg was less than intrigued by this prospect, however, and as an alternative he was offered the idea of an adaptation of the Heinrich Mann story Professor Unrat. Sternberg restructured the story to fit his tastes; simplifying moral themes and emphasizing the anguish of the teacher (Sternberg, 9-11).
The Blue Angel is famous for introducing the world to von Sternberg's ingénue, Marlene Dietrich. Her radiant sensuality might be blamed for the censorship the film faced in Pasadena, California
(Black, 50). C.V. Cowan, censor for Pasadena, found many scenes offensive and chose to cut them, though Jason Joy, the nation's censor, did not (Black, 50). Reception of the re-cut film was not good. Both the German and English versions are widely considered classics.
The film was banned in Nazi Germany
in 1933, as were all the works of Heinrich Mann
and Carl Zuckmayer
. Yet it is known that Hitler often viewed the film in his private cinema, and was mortified when Dietrich crossed the Rhine in American Army uniform a few days before his suicide.
Lola Lola's nightclub act has been parodied on film by Danny Kaye
(in drag
) as Fraulein Lilli in On the Double, Madeline Kahn
as Lili von Schtupp in Blazing Saddles
, and Helmut Berger
in Luchino Visconti
's The Damned.
A stage adaptation by Romania
n playwright Razvan Mazilu premiered in 2001 at the Odeon Theatre in Bucharest
, starring Florin Zamfirescu as the professor and Maia Morgenstern
as Lola Lola.
The simultaneously-filmed English language
version was considered a lost film
for many years until a print was discovered in a German film archive and restored. This restored print of the English version had its U.S. premiere at the Castro Theatre
in San Francisco on 19 January 2009 as part of the "Berlin and Beyond" film festival.
announced that David Thompson
is currently writing the book for a musical adaptation of The Blue Angel. Stew
and Heidi Rodewald
will write the show's score, and Scott Ellis
will direct.
Josef von Sternberg
Josef von Sternberg — born Jonas Sternberg — was an Austrian-American film director. He is particularly noted for his distinctive mise en scène, use of lighting and soft lens, and seven-film collaboration with actress Marlene Dietrich.-Youth:Von Sternberg was born Jonas Sternberg to a Jewish...
in 1930, based on Heinrich Mann
Heinrich Mann
Luiz Heinrich Mann was a German novelist who wrote works with strong social themes. His attacks on the authoritarian and increasingly militaristic nature of pre-World War II German society led to his exile in 1933.-Life and work:Born in Lübeck as the oldest child of Thomas Johann Heinrich Mann...
's novel Professor Unrat
Professor Unrat
Professor Unrat , literally meaning “Professor Garbage”, is one of the most important works of Heinrich Mann and has achieved notoriety through film adaptations, most notably Der blaue Engel with Marlene Dietrich...
. The film is considered to be the first major German sound film
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
and it brought world fame to actress Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
. In addition, it introduced her signature song, Friedrich Hollaender
Friedrich Hollaender
Friedrich Hollaender was a German film composer.He was born in London, where his father, operetta composer Victor Hollaender, worked at the Barnum & Bailey Circus...
's "Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)
Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)
"Falling in Love Again " is the English language name for a 1930 German song composed by Friedrich Hollaender as Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt...
".
Plot
The Blue Angel follows Immanuel Rath (Emil JanningsEmil Jannings
Emil Jannings was a German actor. He was not only the first actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, but also the first person to be presented an Oscar...
) through a transformation from esteemed educator at the local Gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
(college preparatory high school) to a cabaret clown in Weimar Germany. Rath's descent begins when he punishes several of his students for circulating photographs of the beautiful Lola Lola (Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
) the headliner for the local cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
, The Blue Angel. Hoping to catch the boys at the club, Professor Rath goes there later that evening and meets Lola herself.
Consumed with desire and determined to remain at Lola's side, Rath returns to the night club the following evening (to return a pair of panties
Panties
Panties are a form of underwear, usually light and snug-fitting, designed to be worn by women or girls in the area directly below the waist. Typical components include an elastic waistband, a crotch panel to cover the genital area , and a pair of leg openings which, like the waistband, are often...
that were smuggled into his coat by one of his students) and stays the night with her. The next morning, reeling from his night of passion, Rath arrives late to school to find his classroom in chaos and the principal furious with his behavior.
Rath subsequently resigns his position at the academy to marry Lola, but their happiness is short-lived, as they soon fritter away the teacher's meager savings and Rath is forced to take a position as a clown in Lola's cabaret troupe to pay the bills. His growing insecurities about Lola's profession as a "shared woman" eventually reduce him to a mere shell of the man he used to be, consumed by his lust and jealousy. The troupe returns to his hometown, where he is ridiculed and berated by the Blue Angel patrons, the very people he himself used to deride. As Rath performs his last act, he witnesses his wife embrace and kiss the strongman Mazeppa, her new love interest, and Rath is enraged to the point of insanity. He attempts to strangle Lola, but is beaten down by the other members of the troupe and locked in a straitjacket.
Later that night, Rath is freed, and makes his way towards his old classroom. Rejected, humiliated, and destitute, he dies in remorse, clenching the desk at which he once taught.
Cast
- Emil JanningsEmil JanningsEmil Jannings was a German actor. He was not only the first actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, but also the first person to be presented an Oscar...
as Prof. Immanuel Rath - Marlene DietrichMarlene DietrichMarlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
as Lola Lola - Kurt GerronKurt GerronKurt Gerron was a German Jewish actor and film director.-Life:Born Kurt Gerson into a well-off merchant family in Berlin, he initially studied medicine but was called up for military service in World War I. Seriously wounded he qualified as a military doctor of the German Army...
as Kiepert, the magician - Rosa ValettiRosa ValettiRosa Valetti , born Rosa Vallentin, was a German actress, cabaret performer and singer.- Biography :Rosa Valetti was born in Berlin, the daughter of industrialist Felix Vallentin and sister of actor Hermann Vallentin. She played her first roles in the theatres of suburban Berlin...
as Guste, the magician's wife - Hans AlbersHans AlbersHans Philipp August Albers was a German actor and singer. He was the single biggest male movie star in Germany between 1930 and 1945 and one of the most popular German actors of the twentieth century.- Life and work :...
as Mazeppa, the strongman - Reinhold Bernt as The clown
- Eduard von Winterstein as The director of school
- Hans Roth as The caretaker of the secondary school
- Rolf Müller as Pupil Angst
- Roland Varno as Pupil Lohmann
- Carl Balhaus as Pupil Ertzum
- Robert Klein-Lörk as Pupil Goldstaub
- Charles Puffy as Innkeeper
- Wilhelm Diegelmann as Captain
- Gerhard Bienert as Policeman
- Ilse Furstenberg as Rath's Maid
Soundtrack
- Marlene Dietrich - "Ich bin von Kopf bis Fuß auf Liebe eingestellt" (Written by Friedrich HollaenderFriedrich HollaenderFriedrich Hollaender was a German film composer.He was born in London, where his father, operetta composer Victor Hollaender, worked at the Barnum & Bailey Circus...
) - "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen wünscht Papageno sich!" (from the opera The Magic FluteThe Magic FluteThe Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
) (Music by Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
) - Marlene Dietrich "Ich bin die fesche Lola" (Written by Friedrich Hollaender)
- Marlene Dietrich - "Nimm Dich in Acht vor blonden Frau'n" (Written by Friedrich Hollaender)
- Marlene Dietrich - "Kinder, heut' abend, da such' ich mir was aus" (Written by Friedrich Hollaender)
Production history
Von Sternberg calls the story "the downfall of an enamored man" (Sternberg, 11) and calls Rath "...a figure of self-satisfied dignity brought low (Wakeman, 1045)." Some critics saw the film as an allegoryAllegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
for pre-war Germany, but von Sternberg is very clear that he did not intend to make a political stand: "The year was 1929, Germany was undivided, although the real Germany, its schools and other places pictured in the film were not German and reality failed to interest me (Wakeman, 1046; Sternberg, 13)."
Marlene Dietrich's portrayal of a liberated night club performer not only cemented her stardom, but also established a modern embodiment of a vixen. Lola Lola's lusty songs (written by Friedrich Hollaender
Friedrich Hollaender
Friedrich Hollaender was a German film composer.He was born in London, where his father, operetta composer Victor Hollaender, worked at the Barnum & Bailey Circus...
, Robert Liebmann and Sam Winston) slither their way into Rath's heart, entrapping him and sealing his fate. The story's melancholic simplicity adds to the beauty of von Sternberg's most famous work and undoubtedly was a factor in its feverish success, in both Germany and America.
Emil Jannings
Emil Jannings
Emil Jannings was a German actor. He was not only the first actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, but also the first person to be presented an Oscar...
had asked Sternberg to direct him in his first sound picture, although Sternberg and Jannings had clashed on the set of their previous collaboration The Last Command
The Last Command (film)
The Last Command is a 1928 silent film directed by Josef von Sternberg, and written by John F. Goodrich and Herman J. Mankiewicz, from a story by Lajos Biró. Star Emil Jannings won the very first Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performances in this film and The Way of All...
(1928), and von Sternberg had vowed never to work with the actor again. The following year, however, he and Jannings reconciled and they began to collaborate on a film about Rasputin for UFA-Paramount. Sternberg was less than intrigued by this prospect, however, and as an alternative he was offered the idea of an adaptation of the Heinrich Mann story Professor Unrat. Sternberg restructured the story to fit his tastes; simplifying moral themes and emphasizing the anguish of the teacher (Sternberg, 9-11).
The Blue Angel is famous for introducing the world to von Sternberg's ingénue, Marlene Dietrich. Her radiant sensuality might be blamed for the censorship the film faced in Pasadena, California
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
(Black, 50). C.V. Cowan, censor for Pasadena, found many scenes offensive and chose to cut them, though Jason Joy, the nation's censor, did not (Black, 50). Reception of the re-cut film was not good. Both the German and English versions are widely considered classics.
The film was banned in Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
in 1933, as were all the works of Heinrich Mann
Heinrich Mann
Luiz Heinrich Mann was a German novelist who wrote works with strong social themes. His attacks on the authoritarian and increasingly militaristic nature of pre-World War II German society led to his exile in 1933.-Life and work:Born in Lübeck as the oldest child of Thomas Johann Heinrich Mann...
and Carl Zuckmayer
Carl Zuckmayer
Carl Zuckmayer was a German writer and playwright.-Biography:Born in Nackenheim in Rheinhessen, he was four years old when his family moved to Mainz. With the outbreak of World War I, he finished school with a facilitated "emergency"-Abitur and volunteered for military service...
. Yet it is known that Hitler often viewed the film in his private cinema, and was mortified when Dietrich crossed the Rhine in American Army uniform a few days before his suicide.
Lola Lola's nightclub act has been parodied on film by Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
(in drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
) as Fraulein Lilli in On the Double, Madeline Kahn
Madeline Kahn
Madeline Kahn was an American actress. Kahn was known primarily for her comedic roles in films such as Paper Moon, Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, What's Up, Doc?, and Clue.-Early life:...
as Lili von Schtupp in Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles
Blazing Saddles is a 1974 satirical Western comedy film directed by Mel Brooks. Starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder, the film was written by Brooks, Andrew Bergman, Richard Pryor, Norman Steinberg, and Al Uger, and was based on Bergman's story and draft. The movie was nominated for three...
, and Helmut Berger
Helmut Berger
Helmut Berger is an Austrian-born German film and television actor. He is most famous for his work with Luchino Visconti, particularly in his performance as King Ludwig II of Bavaria in Ludwig, for which he received a special David di Donatello award.He appears primarily in European cinema, but...
in Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo was an Italian theatre, opera and cinema director, as well as a screenwriter. He is best known for his films The Leopard and Death in Venice .-Life:...
's The Damned.
A stage adaptation by Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n playwright Razvan Mazilu premiered in 2001 at the Odeon Theatre in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, starring Florin Zamfirescu as the professor and Maia Morgenstern
Maia Morgenstern
Maia Morgenstern is a Romanian film and stage actress, described by Florin Mitu of AMOS News as "a symbol of Romanian theater and film". In the English-speaking world, she is probably best known for the role of Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ...
as Lola Lola.
The simultaneously-filmed English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
version was considered a lost film
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
for many years until a print was discovered in a German film archive and restored. This restored print of the English version had its U.S. premiere at the Castro Theatre
Castro Theatre
The Castro Theatre is a popular San Francisco movie palace which became San Francisco Historic Landmark #100 in September 1976. Located at 429 Castro Street, in the Castro district, it was built in 1922 with a Spanish Colonial Baroque façade that pays homage—in its great arched central window...
in San Francisco on 19 January 2009 as part of the "Berlin and Beyond" film festival.
Musical adaptation
In April 2010, PlaybillPlaybill
Playbill is a monthly U.S. magazine for theatregoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most Playbills are printed for particular shows to be distributed at the door...
announced that David Thompson
David Thompson (writer)
David Thompson is an American writer and playwright. He graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.- Career :His theatre credits include And The World Goes 'Round , The Look of Love, Thou Shalt Not, Flora the Red Menace , Steel Pier , and the 1996...
is currently writing the book for a musical adaptation of The Blue Angel. Stew
Stew (musician)
Mark Stewart , known by his stage name Stew, is a singer/songwriter/playwright from Los Angeles. In the early 1990s, he formed a band called The Negro Problem and later went on to release albums under his own name...
and Heidi Rodewald
Passing Strange
Passing Strange is a rock musical about a young African American's artistic journey of self-discovery in Europe, drawing on heavy elements of existentialism, metafictional comedy, and the Künstlerroman. The musical's lyrics and book are by Stew with music and orchestrations by Heidi Rodewald and Stew...
will write the show's score, and Scott Ellis
Scott Ellis
Scott Ellis is an American stage director and television director.-Biography:Ellis has directed numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway productions, including the New York City Opera Company revivals at the New York State Theatre: A Little Night Music and 110 in the Shade up to his current show, the...
will direct.
External links
- Îngerul Albastru at Odeon Theatre (stage production)
- Dissecting 'The Blue Angel' - a structure breakdown.