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 Liebmann – with uncredited contributions by Sternberg – it is based on Heinrich Mann's 1905 novel Professor Unrat (Professor Filth) and set in an unspecified northern German port city.[2] The Blue Angel presents the tragic transformation of a respectable professor to a cabaret clown and his descent into madness. The film is the first feature-length German full-talkie and brought Dietrich international fame.[3] In addition, it introduced her signature song, Friedrich Hollaender and Robert Liebmann's "Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)". It is considered to be a classic of German cinema.
| The Blue Angel | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| German | Der blaue Engel |
| Directed by | Josef von Sternberg |
| Written by |
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| Based on | Professor Unrat by Heinrich Mann |
| Produced by | Erich Pommer |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Günther Rittau |
| Edited by |
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| Music by |
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| Distributed by | Universum Film A.G. |
Release date |
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Running time | 108 minutes |
| Country | Germany |
| Languages |
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| Box office | $77,982 (2001 re-release)[1] |
The film was shot simultaneously in German- and English-language versions, although the latter version was thought lost for many years. The German version is considered to be "obviously superior";[4] it is longer and not marred by actors struggling with their English pronunciation.[5]