175 - The Blue Angel

The film that introduced Marlene Dietrich to America, Josef von Sternberg's The Blue Angel tells the tragic story of a man who gives up everything for love. Emil Jannings is delightfully pompous and uptight as Professor Rath, a schoolteacher charmingly disarmed by Dietrich's seductive cabaret star Lola Lola. The two marry, but unable to change and consumed by jealousy, Rath loses his status, dignity and the woman he loves. Dietrich is captivating as Lola, wearing a seemingly permanent smirk of knowingness - much of the film's action takes place backstage, an environment she controls effortlessly, in which the fewer items of clothing she wears the more uncomfortable Rath grows. José notes a moment in which she ungraciously adjusts her underwear, and who cares who's watching - Mike remarks upon her legs, which at times are posed and filmed to take on a character all of their own. José considers the greatness of Dietrich's collaborations with von Sternberg, of which this was the first, and in particular the way he composes layered, complex imagery here. We discuss the film's characterisation and morality - it's a tragedy, and to some extent its cabaret world is responsible for Rath's decline, but because of his inability to understand and adapt to his new life, rather than an inherent immorality to the setting. Lola, too, isn't simply some succubus; she may find Rath socially useful to marry, given his status as a professor, but moreover her affection for him is apparent. And we consider the film's two-part structure, how it mirrors itself through its two memorable tracking shots in the classroom, the clown character into whom Rath is transformed, and Rath's rooster-like crowing on his wedding day taking on a different significance at the film's climax. The Blue Angel is ninety years old and remains as tragic and sexy as ever. Don't miss it if it's showing near you. Recorded on 22nd September 2019.