THE BLUE ANGEL
Posted: July 14th, 2010, 5:16 am
I've seen the English Version of The Blue Angel twice over the last 5 years. It's one of the very best of the early talkies and a film in which we see Marlene Dietrich starting on a her way to stardom. I didn't even know the German version existed until I watched the Marlene documentary that Maxmilliam Schell produced. The first thing that makes it stand out is it's length, it's about 20 minutes longer than the English version, into this 20 minutes are packed more of the subtilties of the story, particularly the Professors emergance of suitor for Lola Lola's hand and his descent to despair.
For anyone not fimiliar with the story, Emil Jannings plays Professor Immanuel Rath, a lecturer at the local college, he has little rapport with the people around him, particularly the boys in his class, they tease him mercilessly and when he finds postcards in his favorite pupils books he decided to go to the night club The Blue Angel to confront Lola Lola, the object of the boys affections. The scenes in the Blue Angel where Marlene sings are iconic, Falling in Love Again and Blonde Women are sung bawdily and lustfully in German. Once in the nightclub Professor Rath has no idea how to behave, finds some of his boys but ends up staying out of curiosity and attraction whilst Lola Lola makes up. He comes back the next night and gets in an altercation with a sailor who has come back with champagne for Lola Lola, he defends her honour, something that doesn't happen in the nightclub world and the police are called, hiding beneath the floor Rath discovers some of his pupils. Once the police have left, Rath drinks champagne and a potent cocktail of drink and is led to the best seat in the house whilst Lola Loa sings to him. The next morning he is not in his lodgings but wakes up in Lola's bed. At breakfast she teases him, he's not the calibre of man she is used to, he amuses her although we never think she is very serious about him. He is dismissed from his job for his behaviour at the Blue Angel and promptly goes and proposes to Lola Lola, very sweetly after already telling the school principle she's his future wife.
For anyone not fimiliar with the story, Emil Jannings plays Professor Immanuel Rath, a lecturer at the local college, he has little rapport with the people around him, particularly the boys in his class, they tease him mercilessly and when he finds postcards in his favorite pupils books he decided to go to the night club The Blue Angel to confront Lola Lola, the object of the boys affections. The scenes in the Blue Angel where Marlene sings are iconic, Falling in Love Again and Blonde Women are sung bawdily and lustfully in German. Once in the nightclub Professor Rath has no idea how to behave, finds some of his boys but ends up staying out of curiosity and attraction whilst Lola Lola makes up. He comes back the next night and gets in an altercation with a sailor who has come back with champagne for Lola Lola, he defends her honour, something that doesn't happen in the nightclub world and the police are called, hiding beneath the floor Rath discovers some of his pupils. Once the police have left, Rath drinks champagne and a potent cocktail of drink and is led to the best seat in the house whilst Lola Loa sings to him. The next morning he is not in his lodgings but wakes up in Lola's bed. At breakfast she teases him, he's not the calibre of man she is used to, he amuses her although we never think she is very serious about him. He is dismissed from his job for his behaviour at the Blue Angel and promptly goes and proposes to Lola Lola, very sweetly after already telling the school principle she's his future wife.