The Blue Angel (Der Blaue Engel) (1930)
92%RT Audience Score: 86%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Marlene Dietrich steals more than one show in this backstage tragedy about a lowly professor besotted with a cruel and enigmatic singer.
The Blue Angel is a classic film that showcases the incredible acting talents of Emil Jannings and the seductive allure of Marlene Dietrich. It’s a cautionary tale about the dangers of obsession and the consequences of giving into temptation. But let’s be real, the real star of the show is Lola, the cruel enchantress who steals the heart of the professor and leaves him a broken man. She’s the ultimate femme fatale, and we can’t help but be entranced by her every move. So, if you’re in the mood for a little bit of decadence and a whole lot of drama, The Blue Angel is the perfect film for you. Just don’t blame us if you find yourself falling under Lola’s spell.
Production Company(ies)
Columbia Pictures, Relativity Media, Scott Rudin Productions,
Distributor
Image Entertainment Inc., Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Berlin, Germany
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
1930
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.20 : 1
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Runtime:1h 34m
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Language(s):German, English, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 3, 1930 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 6, 2007
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
The Blue Angel, drama, German, Emil Jannings, Marlene Dietrich, Hans Albers, Kurt Gerron, Rosa Valetti, Eduard von Winterstein, directed by Josef von Sternberg, written by Carl Zuckmayer, Robert Liebmann, Karl Vollmöller, produced by Erich Pommer, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Sydney Morning Herald, Guardian, Empire Magazine, Chicago Reader, TIME Magazine, Variety, Deep Focus Review, Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Cine-Mundial, The Spectator, MPAA rating, tragedy, cabaret performer, professor, lust, marriage, sexuality, shadows, German expressionism, silent film, sound film, audience score, critic consensus, critic reviews, audience reviews, horror movies, MCU movies, Netflix series, TV premiere dates
Worldwide gross: $4,410
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $97,624
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 3,028
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 10,646
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Marlene Dietrich – Lola Lola
Hans Albers – Mazeppa
Kurt Gerron – Kiepert
Rosa Valetti – Guste
Eduard von Winterstein – The Director of School
Director(s)
Josef von Sternberg
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Erich Pommer
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (46) | Top Critics (13) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (2)
Emil Jannings portrays this role superbly… This surely is one of the finest examples of tragic acting yet furnished from the screen.
August 6, 2019
SMH Staff
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Once the party’s over, the money’s lost and the humiliation has set in, what leader, what purifying force can rescue everyone from this devastating shame, while supplying something of the same erotic, exalting excitement?
May 30, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
A remarkable performance from Emil Jannings.
July 28, 2008 | Rating: 4/5
Kim Newman
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The first film collaboration between Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich, this reeks with decay and sexuality.
July 28, 2008
Don Druker
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
If The Blue Angel is familiar material, it is also the sort of hing that Jannings does better than anyone else.
July 28, 2008
TIME Staff
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
On top of the drawing power of Jannings comes the discovery of a new magnet, Marlene Dietrich.
June 2, 2008
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
The Blue Angel launched a legendary collaboration between Josef von Sternberg and Marlene Dietrich in Hollywood.
February 14, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
It Is a great role for Emil Jannings — one of his best… Miss Dietrich Is all that she should be in the role of the cruel enchantress, Lola, although it did seem to us that the vulgar side of the part had been unnecessarily overdone.
August 1, 2020
Martin Dickstein
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
Its success is guaranteed. [Full Review in Spanish]
September 10, 2019
Francisco J. Ariza
Cine-Mundial
There can be few moments in the cinema more truly horrible than the scene when the ruined professor shambles on to the stage of the disreputable tavern.
August 6, 2019
Edgar Anstey
The Spectator
…part exploitation piece, part morality tale.
August 5, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Josh Larsen
LarsenOnFilm
Unlike the monsters of Murnau and Wiene, Blue Angel’s light is equal to its darkness
May 31, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Christopher Machell
CineVue…
Plot
Germany 1924. Middle aged Dr. Immanuel Rath is a stuffy literature professor at a boys’ school. Most of his students don’t much like him, often ridiculing him by sending him unflattering anonymous notes and drawings. Dr. Rath learns that many of his boys often frequent a cabaret called the Blue Angel, which he believes is corrupting their impressionable young minds. He heads to the Blue Angel himself to catch the boys in the act, shame them into not going again, but also to ask the headlining performer, anglophone Lola Lola, to cease and desist performing her show. Over several visits, Rath is able to catch the boys, but he himself starts to fall for Lola, and she seemingly with him. His infatuation with her threatens his teaching career. Their relationship ends up not being what either envisioned, the question being how they will both deal with their disintegrating relationship and the reasons behind that disintegration.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t have anything goofy or funny or odd to say about The Blue Angel, but Emil Jannings’ performance is described as “superb” and “one of the finest examples of tragic acting yet furnished from the screen.”
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