The Blue Angel (1929/30)
Inhalt - Content
Beim Besuch des Nachtlokals "Der blaue Engel" verfällt der sittenstrenge und selbstgerechte Professor Rath der verführerischen Sängerin Lola Lola. Seine Obsession kostet ihn Ansehen und Anstellung, woraufhin er Lola heiratet und ihr auf Tournee folgt. Am Ende seines sozialen Abstiegs verdingt er sich als Lachnummer im Bühnenprogramm, während Lola einen neuen Liebhaber findet. Rasend vor Wut will Rath den Nebenbuhler umbringen, was ihm jedoch nicht gelingt. Endgültig gedemütigt, irrt er durch seine alte Heimatstadt und bricht schließlich in seinem ehemaligen Klassenzimmer tot zusammen.
Visiting the night club "The Blue Angel", puritanical, self-righteous teacher Rath hopelessly falls for seductive singer Lola Lola. Rath is obsessed with the woman, and after he loses his work and reputation, he marries Lola and joins her on tour. His social decline continues, and while he is reduced to the laughing stock of the show, Lola takes a new lover. Blind with rage, Rath tries to kill the rival, but fails miserably. Humiliated, he stumbles around his old home town and finally drops dead in his former classroom.
Kritik
The plot of THE BLUE ANGEL recalls that of THE WAY OF ALL FLESH, Mr. Jannings's first American silent film, but in this current chronicle, instead of being a bank employe, Mr. Jannings impersonates a professor of English literature in a German boys' high school. The story is cleverly told in most of the sequences, while penultimate scenes would be all the better if they were curtailed or modified, as the actual ending is quite impressive. ... As an actor who speaks his lines, Mr. Jannings is perhaps even better than he was in his mute productions, for the speech to a great extent governs his actions and it stays him from his penchant for unnaturally slow movements. There are times here when no words pass the lips of the characters for uncomfortable seconds, but the final analysis is that it is a decidedly interesting picture with exceptionally fine performances contributed by Mr. Jannings and Miss Dietrich, the latter being much more the actress than she is in MOROCCO.
Mordaunt Hall: Mr. Jannings and Miss Dietrich. IN: New York Times, 6.12.1930.
Regie: Josef von Sternberg. Regie-Assistenz: Carl Winston. Buch: Robert Liebmann, Josef von Sternberg; nach dem Roman »Professor Unrat« von Heinrich Mann. Adaptation: Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmoeller. Englische Bearbeitung: Carl Winston. Kamera: Günther Rittau, Hans Schneeberger. Bauten: Otto Hunte, Emil Hasler. Kostüme: Tihamér Varady. Kostüm-Ausführung: Theaterkunst Hermann J. Kaufmann. Maske: Waldemar Jabs, Oscar Schmidt. Schnitt: Sam Winston. Ton: Fritz Thiery. Musik: Friedrich Hollaender. Orchestrierung: Franz Wachsmann. Musik-Ausführung: Weintraubs Syncopators. Musik-Titel: »A Man, Just a Regular Man«, »Falling in Love again«, »They Call Me Naughty Lola«, »Those Charming, Alarming Blonde Women«.
Darsteller: Emil Jannings (Professor Immanuel Rath), Marlene Dietrich (Lola Lola), Kurt Gerron (Kiepert, Zauberkünstler), Rosa Valetti (Guste, seine Frau), Hans Albers (Mazeppa), Reinhold Bernt (Clown), Eduard von Winterstein (Schuldirektor), Hans Roth [= Johannes Roth] (Pedell), Rolf Müller (Gymnasiast Anst), Rolant Varno (Gymnasiast Lohmann), Carl Balhaus (Gymnasiast Ertzum), Robert Klein-Lörck (Gymnasiast Goldstaub), Karl Huszar-Puffy (Wirt), Wilhelm Diegelmann (Kapitän), Gerhard Bienert (Polizist), Ilse Fürstenberg (Raths Wirtschafterin), Weintraubs Syncopators, Friedrich Hollaender.
Produktion: Universum-Film AG (Ufa), Berlin [Erich Pommer-Produktion der Ufa]. Produzent: Erich Pommer. Aufnahmeleitung: Viktor Eisenbach. Drehzeit: 4.11.1929 – 22.1.1930, 20. – 25.5.1930 (Nach-Synchronisation). Drehort: Ufa-Ateliers Neubabelsberg. Länge: 107 min, 9583 ft = 2921 m. Format: 35mm, s/w, 1:1.19, Tobis-Klangfilm. Uraufführung: 3.7.1930, London (Trade Show); 2.8.1930, London (Regal Theatre); 5.12.1930, New York (Rialto).