The Blue Angel (1959)

I enjoyed the original "Blue Angel" with Marlene Dietrich. I happened onto the remake with May Britt and Curt Jurgens and I was bowled over. Curt Jurgens absolutely broke my heart with his portrayal as the professor who fell for "Lola-Lola". In his lowest depression when he explains the composition of a flower to the little student boy as he sits on a bench in a park, I burst into tears. When he loses it totally as the stage magician makes him a fool, dressing him as a clown, breaking eggs over his head, making him crow. I have never seen such an emotional yet silent collapse in my cinematic viewing. Curt Jurgens was fantastic in this movie and above all the "STAR" of the movie. May Britt? Yes, she did her part and she did it well. But that tragic professor? Jurgens was magnificent. Maginificent.

Just caught this on Fox Movie Channel, and can only wonder what the execs were smoking! Bad enough this turkey is stuffed with unnecessary exposition, but the ending destroys the whole point of the story! Folks, it doesn't get any sillier than Sgt. Schultz coming to the rescue!In the original, Lola Lola was a heartless bitch, but Dietrich made her utterly captivating. Britt, OTOH, was dull and annoying. And she was tone-deaf! How this got past Dmytryk and his music director is beyond me! It was Rath's vanity as much as his lust that caused his downfall, but Jürgens is too busy trying to look pathetic. How else can I put it? Everything about this Angel is wrong, all wrong!

This is one remake that is better than the original, even though that original is one of the classics of world cinema. This remake is also fundamentally different. In the original, Lola Lola was the main character. Not only that, but the professor was just a buffoon. Neither character was particularly appealing. Lola was cruel. The professor was a fool.In the remake, the professor is the main character and he is treated realistically. (I suspect that this is truer to the Heinrich Mann novel also.) The professor teaches biology, and for years has taught his boys about the birds and the bees--literally, without having a clue of the feelings associated with those birds and bees. Then, he sees Lola and is bowled over. It is easy for her to seduce him. The next morning, he, being a German gentleman, proposes marriage to her. She is touched and flattered and accepts. The school where he teaches is outraged and orders him to give up this plan, but the professor remains true to his intended. He is fired. He tries to get a position elsewhere, but all schools are closed to him. Soon, he has spent all his savings and he and Lola are reduced to poverty. Lola goes back to the cabaret job and supports him. Soon, the management demands that the professor stop being a sponge and earn his keep. ...I won't tell you the rest of the story. It is dramatic and moving. This is the definitive version of this story. Lola and the professor are sympathetic, and the movie is far more moving. The production values are high and the movie is in color. When will the owners of this movie see fit to put it on DVD?

I was very impressed with this movie. Wonderful love story. It held my attention the whole time. When I first started watching it, I thought to myself it was going to be very boring, but only after a few minutes, it captured my attention and there was no getting away from the TV. Very well acted by both lead actor and actress. I loved this movie so much and thought May Britt did such a wonderful job that I researched her on the internet and was shocked to find out that she was married to Sammy Davis, Jr. I suggest anyone who likes a good plot as well as a love story watch this movie.