The Blue Angel
The Blue Angel

The Blue Angel

1930
Movie
108 min
German

Prim professor Immanuel Rath finds some of his students ogling racy photos of cabaret performer Lola Lola and visits a local club, The Blue Angel, in an attempt to catch them there. Seeing Lola perform, the teacher is filled with lust, eventually resigning his position at the school to marry the young woman. However, his marriage to a coquette -- whose job is to entice men -- proves to be more difficult than Rath imagined.

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Insights

IMDb7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes95%
Director: Josef von SternbergGenres: Drama, Romance

Plot Summary

Professor Unrat, a stern Gymnasium teacher, finds himself infatuated with Lola Lola, a cabaret singer at the Blue Angel nightclub. His obsession leads him to defy his respectable position and societal norms, ultimately resulting in his dramatic downfall. The film explores themes of desire, authority, and the destructive power of obsession.

Critical Reception

The Blue Angel was a critical and commercial success, cementing Marlene Dietrich's international stardom and is widely regarded as a masterpiece of German cinema. Its daring exploration of themes and Sternberg's masterful direction were highly praised.

What Reviewers Say

  • Praised for its provocative exploration of desire and societal hypocrisy.
  • Marlene Dietrich's performance as Lola Lola is iconic and captivating.
  • Josef von Sternberg's direction is lauded for its atmospheric and psychologically intense portrayal.

Google audience: N/A

Fun Fact

Marlene Dietrich's iconic performance as Lola Lola was her breakthrough role, leading to a contract with Paramount Pictures and her subsequent Hollywood career.

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TMDB Reviews

1 reviews
CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

This really is a story of bitter-sweet love and Emil Jannings and Marlene Dietrich carry it off with consummate skill. He as a set-in-his-ways academic bent on ensuring his pupils are not corrupted by the distracting influences of "the Blue...