Time: 108 Minutes
Cast:
Emil Jannings as Professor Immanuel Rath
Marlene Dietrich as Lola Lola
Kurt Gerron as Kiepert
Director: Josef von Sternberg

I went into a screening of The Blue Angel at my local film society fairly blind, I only knew it as being a black and white movie from 1930. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from it. Overall, I wouldn’t say I loved it, but I thought it was decent at least.

The Blue Angel is a bleak character drama with a straightforward plot, though it wasn’t the most captivating. It takes a while for the movie to get going, which is really when the protagonist first goes to the titular club and sees Marlene Dietrch’s character. The descent in the second half of the movie is where things really pick up as the protagonist is driven to madness by his own self and decisions. The movie begins as a form of tragicomedy, but by the final act it resembles something closer to a psychological horror and becomes uncomfortable to watch in a fitting way. I suppose that the destination and the unflinching way we see everything play out did make the wait worth it. One thing that does take away from it however is that without going into details, the actual descent is shown through glimpses and snapshots rather than us seeing a gradual decline, and so isn’t quite as effective as it could’ve been.

The movie benefits from some good performances. Emil Jannings gives a powerhouse performance as the protagonist. His character goes through a descent into madness, all of it from his own fault and decisions. The performance helps to convey a range of emotions and helps to sell his character’s decline and change. Marlene Dietrich is also great. Apparently, this is the movie that made her a star and I can see why. She has a lot of charisma and presence, and she steals every scene she’s in. Her character is rather flat and underwritten, but Dietrich does a lot with what she’s given.

The black and white cinematography looked good, though the sound mixing and design wasn’t the best, you can tell it was one of the earliest sound pictures. I am curious to check out director Josef von Sternberg’s other work after this.

The Blue Angel takes a while to get going and isn’t the most captivating, but it’s a decent descent into madness, well directed, and Emil Jannings and Marlene Dietrich give great performances.