The Blue Angel (1959)
Director:
Edward Dmytryk
Writers:
Nigel Balchin, Robert Liebmann
Stars:
Curd Jürgens, May Britt, Theodore Bikel
May Britt attempts to follow in the footsteps of Marlene Dietrich in this glossy Hollywood remake of the German classic. Professor Immanuel Rath (Curt 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 in order 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. Josef von Sternberg's original version of The Blue Angel was actually a good bit franker and more sensual than this version, which adds a happier ending, along with color and CinemaScope. A year after this film's release, star May Britt made headlines when she married entertainer Sammy Davis Jr..