The Blue Angel (1959)

the audience applauded

Amateur movie with Big budget

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Curt Jurgens is magnificent! I don't even remember watching Mai Britt as LOLA-LOLA as I was so enthralled with Jurgens' performance. He was absolutely marvelous! Catch Curt in the movie he stars with Ingrid Bergman, as a Chinese warlord. And also in "Mephisto's Waltz" with Alan Alda. Curt is an all consuming and ultimo actor.And the fact Curt Jurgens was in a Nazi prison camp for one year at the end of WWII and survived is amazing. What a story he has lived. What he could have told of his life. There is also a website where Curt tells of his near-death heart attack in which he was experiencing the "out and in" of death, whilst demons were grabbing at him to take him away from the living. Fantastic!BOYD

***Some Spoilers*** Tragic story of a proud and principled man's fall from grace and right into the sleazy world of the towns red-light district and just what love, misguided as it was, had to do with it.Uptight and very Victorian about sex Landsburg biology professor Immanuel Rath, Curt Jurgens, is shocked to find out that a number of his students have been going down to the docks to get a look at Lola, May Britt, who's preforming as a cabaret dancer at the Blue Angel nightclub. Imannuel determined to stop his students from corrupting themselves by seeing semi-naked women dancing on stage goes down to the Blue Angel himself and instead of getting them, his students, to change their minds and go straight Imanneul himself gets hooked and falls madly in love with the sexy Lola.You have to say this for Lola which is that she told the love-sick, when he asked for her hand in marriage, Imannuel that it, their marriage, won't be a bed of roses and in no way took advantage of the foolish old man since she, not him, became the breadwinner of the family with Imannuel resigning from his job as a professor at the city's Northern High school. Being a marriage made in hell, for Imannuel, the former professor slowly lost all his pride as a man of distinction. Ending up as a gofer for Lola and living off her income had Imannuel not being able, or wanting, to get a job teaching since with Lola going from town to town to do her act he could never get to plant his feet in one place long enough to get one.We get to see poor Imannuel hit rock bottom when after sponging off both Lola and her boss, the manager of the troupe that she works with, Kelpert (Theodore Bikel) he's forced to finally get a real job. Instead of doing odd jobs like sweeping up the place Iannuel finally lands a decent job, at the cabaret, when the shows clown Dono, Wolfe Barzell, suddenly passes away. Told by Kelpert to make a fool of himself in front of the people of Landsburg, who knew him all his of his life, was a bitter pill to swallow for Imannuel but now with no pride or dignity left he reluctantly agreed to do it.At the opening night show Imannuel was resigned to play the straight-man, or clown, to Kelpert who sticks pins in him and cracks eggs over his head. When Imannuel sees his wife Lola, who up until then was so understanding of what he was going through, off-stage making out with her former but what seems like now new lover Rolf, Fabrizio Mioni, the poor guy just couldn't take it anymore. Breaking down and chirping like a chicken, as Kelpert cracked eggs over his head, in front of a shocked sell out crowd Imannuel had a complete and total emotional breakdown .I couldn't understand Lola's actions that lead her husband Imannuel to completely break down and make a fool of himself in front of the whole town of Landsburg. She knew what he was going through inside by being humiliated on the stage so why rub salt into his wounds by making out with Rolf right in front of him? Imannuel now a total wash-out and unable to even tie his own shoelaces is rescued from this hell that he, and no one else, imposed on himself by his good friend the administrator of the school, Northern High School, where he used to work principle Harter, John Bannor. We get to see as the movie ends Hater taking Emannuel back home to the school that he taught at for some 24 years.Sad story that in real life is very common among men, and women, who suppress their deepest and most personal sexual urges, by trying to be holier then thou then everyone else, only to have them explode in their face when their finally confronted with them. Like the very prudish and proper Immanuel Rath was to sadly find out in the movie "The Blue Angel".

There are not many remakes that can hold a candle to the original but this one is an exception. A well made production with fine performances from Jurgens and May Britt, who shines as showgirl Lola Lola. Ms. Britt did a wonderful job recreating the old Dietrich role and in my opinion was much better.

This movie, as noted above, sucks you in and sticks in your mind forever after having seen it. True, there is a love story in there somewhere, but there's also terrible cruelty. A great mix of tenderness and brutality.A definite for any movie-watching night.