''The Blue Angel'' is a 1959 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

CinemaScope CinemaScope is an anamorphic lens series used, from 1953 to 1967, and less often later, for shooting widescreen films that, crucially, could be screened in theatres using existing equipment, albeit with a lens adapter. Its creation in 1953 by ...

directed by

Edward Dmytryk Edward Dmytryk (September 4, 1908 – July 1, 1999) was an American film director. He was known for his 1940s films noir, noir films and received an Academy Award for Best Director, Oscar nomination for Best Director for ''Crossfire (film), Cros ...

and starring

Curd Jürgens Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens (13 December 191518 June 1982) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens. He was well known for playing Ernst Udet in '' Des Teufels Gene ...

May Britt May Britt (born May Britt Wilkens; 22 March 1934) is a Swedish actress who had a brief career in the 1950s in Italy and later in the United States. She was married to American entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. from 1960 to 1968. Career Britt was ...

, and

Theodore Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He appeared in films, including '' The African Queen'' (1951), ''Moulin Rouge'' (1952), ' ...

. The film is a remake of

Josef von Sternberg Josef von Sternberg (; born Jonas Sternberg; May 29, 1894 – December 22, 1969) was an Austrian-American filmmaker whose career successfully spanned the transition from the silent to the sound era, during which he worked with most of the major ...

's 1930 film ''

The Blue Angel ''The Blue Angel'' (german: Der blaue Engel) is a 1930 German musical comedy-drama film directed by Josef von Sternberg, and starring Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings and Kurt Gerron. Written by Carl Zuckmayer, Karl Vollmöller and Robert Lie ...

'' about cabaret singer Lola-Lola and the troubled, aged Professor Rath, who falls for her much to his own detriment. Both films were based on

Heinrich Mann Luiz Heinrich Mann (; 27 March 1871 – 11 March 1950), best known as simply Heinrich Mann, was a German author known for his Social criticism, socio-political novels. From 1930 until 1933, he was president of the fine poetry division of the ...

's 1905 novel

Professor Unrat ''Professor Unrat, oder Das Ende eines Tyrannen'' (1905, trans. by Ernest Boyd as ''Small Town Tyrant''), which translates as "Professor Unclean", Herman G. Weinberg, 1967. p. 48 (footnote): "In German, the name "Rat" has the connotation of "couns ...

Premise

Professor Immanuel Rath (Curd Jurgens) is shocked to discover a number of his students have been frequenting a nightspot called the Blue Angel, where a scandalous entertainer named Lola (May Britt) performs. Rath attends the show one night to catch some of his boys in this den of wickedness, but he is soon drawn into Lola's sensual spell, and in time becomes involved in an obsessive romance with her that costs him his job, his savings, and his dignity.

Cast

as Professor Immanuel Rath (as Curt Jurgens) *

as Lola-Lola *

as Klepert *

John Banner John Banner (born Johann Banner, January 28, 1910 – January 28, 1973) was an Austrian-born American actor, best known for his role as Sergeant Schultz in the situation comedy ''Hogan's Heroes'' (1965–1971). Schultz, constantly encou ...

as Principal Harter *

Fabrizio Mioni Fabrizio Mioni (September 23, 1930 – 8 June 2020) was an Italian actor. He appeared in the films ''Roland the Mighty'', ''Hercules'', ''The Blue Angel'', ''Get Yourself a College Girl'', ''Girl Happy'', '' The Venetian Affair'', ''The Secret Wa ...

as Rolf *

Ludwig Stössel Ludwig Stössel (12 February 1883 – 29 January 1973) was an actor born in Lockenhaus, now Austria, then Hungary. He was one of many Jewish actors and actresses who were forced to flee Germany when the Nazis came to power in 1933. Biography St ...

as Dr. Fritz Heine

Background

In 1955, 20th Century Fox acquired the rights to remake the original film as a possible vehicle for

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

and

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...

, but both turned it down. Other actors reportedly considered for the film were

Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary ''Variety'', April 16, 1975, p ...

as Professor Rath and

Lou Jacobi Lou Jacobi (born Louis Harold Jacobovitch; December 28, 1913October 23, 2009) was a Canadian character actor. Life and early career Jacobi was born Louis Harold Jacobovitch in Toronto, Canada, to Joseph and Fay Jacobovitch. Jacobi began acting ...

as Klepert.

Reception

Reviews were mixed to negative.

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' panned the film as "ponderous", finding a "zombie-like quality" in Curd Jürgens' acting and describing the restraint placed upon May Britt as "difficult to fathom ... she looks and behaves like a normal ballet dancer in a Broadway musical show, not like a slinky sex-pot in a smoky night club in Berlin." ''

Harrison's Reports ''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City-based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publisher ...

'' disagreed and called Jürgens' performance "powerful", further opining that Britt "emerges as a gaminesque sprite with many of the qualities that brought fame to

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote, "As a box-office commodity 'The Blue Angel' will be a fair entry. It will not be the rocker that the Jannings-Dietrich impact made, and, while suffering inevitable comparison, neither Jurgens nor Miss Britt need be ashamed of their performances." Richard L. Coe of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' praised Jürgens for a "wholly engrossing performance", but called it "too bad" that the remake was "a soft, charmingly hued pastel that twins with Soap Opera." ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' wrote, "one need have no knowledge of the original to find the new version slow and lifeless. It totally lacks the stifling atmosphere of sordid and obsessive sexuality which is essential to give conviction to the German sadism of the story." ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' thought the new, happier ending of the remake was "a monstrosity" and found May Britt "a demure and vapid siren" when compared to Marlene Dietrich, adding, "The best that can be said for this travesty is that it may encourage someone to show the first version again."

Lawsuit

The director of the original 1930 film,

, sued Fox for $1 million, claiming that he owned the rights to a remake and that Fox had made a film "so inferior that it decreased the value of the original." The case was settled out of court.

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Angel 1959 films 1959 drama films American drama films American remakes of German films 1950s English-language films Films directed by Edward Dmytryk Films scored by Hugo Friedhofer Films set in cabarets Films with screenplays by Nigel Balchin Films set in West Germany 20th Century Fox films 1950s American films