1 00:00:17,000 --> 00:00:21,519 ♪ Falling in love again 2 00:00:21,520 --> 00:00:24,599 ♪ Never wanted to 3 00:00:24,600 --> 00:00:28,199 ♪ What's a girl to do? 4 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:30,239 ♪ Can't help it ♪ 5 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:32,999 The Blue Angel is a remarkable film 6 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:35,479 and a remarkable piece of film history. 7 00:00:35,480 --> 00:00:39,479 This is the moment Marlene Dietrich stepped onto a global stage, 8 00:00:39,480 --> 00:00:42,839 guided by director Josef von Sternberg, 9 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:45,919 electing himself as her Svengali. 10 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:47,679 Though as he said, 11 00:00:47,680 --> 00:00:50,439 "I gave her nothing that she did not already have." 12 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:53,119 A new form of stardom emerged, 13 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:57,159 where actor and parts became versions of one another. 14 00:00:57,160 --> 00:01:01,439 Audiences would seek out Dietrich films for Dietrich alone. 15 00:01:01,440 --> 00:01:05,759 ♪ I often stop and wonder 16 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:08,359 ♪ Why I appeal to men 17 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,999 ♪ How many times I've blundered 18 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:15,639 ♪ In love and out again 19 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:18,919 ♪ They offer me devotion 20 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:22,359 ♪ I like it, I confess 21 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:25,919 ♪ When I reflect emotion 22 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,480 ♪ There's no need to get... ♪ 23 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:42,039 Provocative and thrilling, 24 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:45,679 the film tells the story of the schoolteacher 25 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:47,599 Professor Rath, played by Emil Jannings, 26 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:49,439 who loses his mind 27 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:54,279 over Dietrich's risque club singer Lola Lola. 28 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:58,760 She will entice him, seduce him and then abandon him. 29 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:01,759 Where would you say The Blue Angel stands, 30 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:05,199 not just in terms of film history, but world history? 31 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:07,839 Well, I mean, it's at a pivotal point 32 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:11,319 in so many things this film is made, and the making of the film 33 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:13,839 reflects all of the changes that are going on around it. 34 00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,879 First of all, in pure film terms, it's three years 35 00:02:16,880 --> 00:02:20,439 since The Jazz Singer, and all of the conventions of filmmaking 36 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:23,199 have been thrown up in the air by the arrival of sound. You know, 37 00:02:23,200 --> 00:02:26,119 suddenly acting has to change, the way that you make films 38 00:02:26,120 --> 00:02:29,719 has to change, everything is being torn apart and remade. 39 00:02:29,720 --> 00:02:34,319 At the same time, that's having a huge impact on the power base in cinema. 40 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:38,399 So Germany, which was a huge centre for making film in Europe 41 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,399 under the Silent era, is beginning to lose ground because of language, 42 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:46,519 so it's beginning to be, you know, the rise of Hollywood, the making of the new American Cinema. 43 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:51,159 But also it's shot in Berlin in '29, '30, 44 00:02:51,160 --> 00:02:54,879 at a time when Berlin is just going, the Weimar Republic is going from 45 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:57,639 a period of hyperinflation into a period of austerity, 46 00:02:57,640 --> 00:03:00,919 and these huge collapses in the fortunes of the middle class 47 00:03:00,920 --> 00:03:03,559 are starting to produce the move towards the Nazis. 48 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:07,039 There'll be a huge vote for the Nazis in the year the film is released, 49 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:10,079 and then three years later the Nazis come to power, 50 00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:12,279 And in a way, unconsciously or consciously, 51 00:03:12,280 --> 00:03:14,879 the film captures this. It captures the fear of loss, 52 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:19,919 the fear of being dragged into something that you would have no control over, 53 00:03:19,920 --> 00:03:24,479 the abandoning of old ways, and so the film, in a way, 54 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,599 is about its time, it's a film about the making of its time, 55 00:03:27,600 --> 00:03:30,559 but it's also a film about the making of film. 56 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:31,919 Al Jolson, 57 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:34,879 whose picture The Jazz Singer had started the talkie revolution, 58 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:36,880 brings bride Ruby Keeler to Hollywood. 59 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:42,559 The world-famous Winnie Mae glides into the Los Angeles airport 60 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,079 after her epic-making flight around the world. Maurice Chevalier, 61 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,279 whose accent and outthrust lower lip had taken America by storm 62 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:52,479 the previous year, returns from Paris to star in The Love Parade. 63 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,239 Marlene Dietrich has just finished Morocco, 64 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:56,799 her first Hollywood film. 65 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:00,039 Marlene Dietrich is the key to this film. 66 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:02,559 She changed cinema acting. 67 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:06,719 Before that you had your Lilian Gishes, great actors all of these people. 68 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:11,559 But Marlene Dietrich comes on and there are moments in that film 69 00:04:11,560 --> 00:04:13,759 where it looks like she's doing nothing, 70 00:04:13,760 --> 00:04:17,919 you can't take your eyes off of her, and you're reading the movie 71 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:22,199 through her. Even if she's in the back and she's on, 72 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:25,559 she's in a frame with a great actor, but she is doing nothing. 73 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:30,879 And that is a great and interesting departure 74 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:35,479 for film acting. And partly, I'm thinking about it now, 75 00:04:35,480 --> 00:04:38,519 her songs and the things she did later in her life, 76 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:43,239 it's about a Germany that was exhausted, that had no more to prove. 77 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:45,359 There was nothing left in the locker. 78 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:49,039 It was a young country in terms of it being united, 79 00:04:49,040 --> 00:04:52,039 1870 under Bismarck, then it goes into the Franco/Prussian War 80 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:54,719 of 1871, then it goes into various little tiny wars, 81 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:58,839 and then there is World War I, in which it was defeated. 82 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:01,759 There is reparation. Germany was told 83 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:05,559 - that they started the war, you pay for it. - And this iswhat we think of 84 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:07,719 as the Weimar Republic, isn't it? The Weimar comes in 85 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,199 as a way to sort of hold the entity together. 86 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,599 Well, people were going to the shops with wheelbarrows full of currency. 87 00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:16,039 Nothing was worth anything, nothing. 88 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:21,280 And so all of the old alliances, all of the old links, break down. 89 00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:43,959 There is a theory that carried all the way through 90 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:47,399 to the Nazis, the theory of the stab in the back. 91 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:50,679 There was somebody within society who did this to us, 92 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:54,319 because we couldn't have allowed... this couldn't have happened to us 93 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:57,439 unless it had been done from within. So all of that is there, 94 00:05:57,440 --> 00:06:01,239 and you go into Berlin, the capital of the country, 95 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:05,359 the sort of beating heart of the nation, 96 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:07,439 even though it's a bunch of little nations, 97 00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,119 there's still Berlin, you go in 98 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:12,839 and the cabaret scene is inhabited by people from other countries. 99 00:06:12,840 --> 00:06:16,959 And they're doing different things. There are guys dressed as women, 100 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:19,599 women dressed as men, and we mustn't forget 101 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:24,519 that a lot of Germany was rural. There were people who looked at this 102 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:28,799 and saw this as almost one of the supreme examples 103 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:34,279 of why the country was defeated, and it had to stop. 104 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:37,039 So if you can imagine, and I think about it, 105 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:42,159 the exhaustion, the exhaustion in the population as a whole, 106 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:44,519 they were fighting amongst themselves, 107 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:48,599 there was a Freikorps, there was all of this fighting in the streets, 108 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:51,119 there were paramilitary groups, there was the Left, 109 00:06:51,120 --> 00:06:53,959 there was the Right, and there were people being thrown in the rivers, 110 00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:58,079 there were people being, you know... beer hall putsches. But there was some great cinema. 111 00:06:58,080 --> 00:07:01,599 There was, but within it comes The Blue Angel, 112 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:07,199 which is a kind of masterpiece and a masterclass 113 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:10,959 of what is happening underneath, within. 114 00:07:10,960 --> 00:07:14,039 It is exemplified by this really straight 115 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:18,119 'I'm the king, I'm the one who knows how to do it' professor, 116 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:22,639 and this woman, who tells him, beware of blonde women, 117 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:25,039 and he doesn't hear her. I mean, the irony is 118 00:07:25,040 --> 00:07:28,919 that this period in the Weimar Republic, you know, 119 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:33,759 while there is a great deal of sort of poverty and you know, austerity, 120 00:07:33,760 --> 00:07:37,479 it was a time when the arts flourished. 121 00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:39,999 It's extraordinary, I mean, you know, it's not the first time 122 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:42,279 this has happened. And cinema especially. 123 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:46,039 And one of the reasons that did is because it didn't matter 124 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:49,559 how much it took to actually make films, 125 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:53,199 they could sell them very cheaply because of the recession 126 00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:57,439 and because of the Reichsmark as it was then, was so low in value. 127 00:07:57,440 --> 00:07:59,600 So they could sell those films abroad. 128 00:08:04,320 --> 00:08:07,759 ♪ Spring has come, the birdies sing, all is bright and cheerful 129 00:08:07,760 --> 00:08:10,759 ♪ Hear the cuckoo in the trees, giving us an earful ♪ 130 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:12,919 These were the early days of sound, 131 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:16,919 and we too are bewitched by Dietrich's stage presence. 132 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:20,719 Singing her wild songs, she is a force of human nature. 133 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:23,519 The Blue Angel captures a moment in time 134 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:25,919 and also strikes out into the future. 135 00:08:25,920 --> 00:08:28,439 Cinema was never the same again. 136 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:57,319 My name is... Emanuel Rath, 137 00:08:57,320 --> 00:08:59,680 Professor of the local school. 138 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:03,280 You ought to know enough to take off your hat. 139 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:24,679 Well, are you still here? 140 00:09:24,680 --> 00:09:29,479 I must ask you to stop entertaining the boys of my class. 141 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:32,519 Sure, I have nothing else to do. 142 00:09:32,520 --> 00:09:36,359 The Austrian-born but American-raised von Sternberg 143 00:09:36,360 --> 00:09:39,639 came to Berlin looking for a spark 144 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:42,119 to reignite his flagging Hollywood career. 145 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:47,879 The Blue Angel was a co-production between Paramount and German giants UFA, 146 00:09:47,880 --> 00:09:51,599 with self-styled great Emil Jannings already set for the lead. 147 00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:54,479 Produced by the legendary Eric Pommer, 148 00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:57,799 and loosely based on the novella by Heinrich Mann, 149 00:09:57,800 --> 00:10:01,399 the scandalous Weimar production was talk of the town, 150 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:05,720 especially the question of who would play the seductress, Lola. 151 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:10,999 But in a way I think we shouldn't overthink it 152 00:10:11,000 --> 00:10:13,759 in a sense, because we're looking in hindsight, 153 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:15,919 we're looking at it from backwards 154 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:18,879 and seeing what came, what happened. 155 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:22,119 They didn't really there was going to be a Depression. 156 00:10:22,120 --> 00:10:24,959 They didn't really know... they knew there was a Nazi element, 157 00:10:24,960 --> 00:10:28,199 but there were a lot of parties on the Right 158 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:31,679 that were in Germany, so they didn't really know. 159 00:10:31,680 --> 00:10:33,799 What they wanted to do was make money. They wanted 160 00:10:33,800 --> 00:10:36,439 to compete in a market that they saw 161 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:40,919 was going to be THE market, the artistic market, the market. 162 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:44,719 They had a link with Paramount, it was possible to do this. 163 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:48,159 Now how could they compete? How could they talk 164 00:10:48,160 --> 00:10:52,719 to the world cinema market with their product? 165 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:56,439 How could they do that? And maybe one of the ways 166 00:10:56,440 --> 00:11:01,239 was to make film that could be in a sense translated culturally 167 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:02,519 in a strange way, I think. 168 00:11:02,520 --> 00:11:05,319 But they knew that what they had to do 169 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,359 was international, whatever they had to do, 170 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:11,559 because the country was unstable. So we should talk a bit 171 00:11:11,560 --> 00:11:13,919 about this relationship between UFA and Paramount 172 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:17,719 which led to The Blue Angel. Yeah, so UFA was probably 173 00:11:17,720 --> 00:11:21,519 the strongest, most powerful studio in Europe at that time, 174 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:24,679 and it had been doing incredibly well in the Silent era. 175 00:11:24,680 --> 00:11:27,199 It had made reputations, it had made art forms, 176 00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:30,559 it had redefined cinema, it had brought a lot of the stuff 177 00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:32,879 that we now see - Calagari, Metropolis. 178 00:11:32,880 --> 00:11:35,519 Absolutely. All the kind of greats, yeah. Things that we now 179 00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:38,399 all take for granted in cinema begin with that studio. 180 00:11:38,400 --> 00:11:42,559 But as soon as sound comes along, that studio faces this existential problem 181 00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:45,159 that most of the world that will buy their cinema 182 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:50,079 is English-speaking. So Eric Pommer, 183 00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:52,999 the guy in charge of the studio, had built a relationship in America, 184 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,719 he understands America is the largest market for cinema in the world, 185 00:11:56,720 --> 00:12:01,999 and he has this idea that perhaps by making films that are both in German and in English, 186 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,599 he wants to shoot the films together, side by side, 187 00:12:04,600 --> 00:12:07,599 so each scene will be shot twice, once in German, once in English, 188 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:11,039 then he can start to play on the world stage again. 189 00:12:11,040 --> 00:12:15,479 But he's in debt. The film studio had lost an enormous amount of money 190 00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:18,479 on Metropolis, they are in terrible debt. So he goes 191 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:22,079 to Paramount and they do a deal. Paramount loans them $4 million, 192 00:12:22,080 --> 00:12:25,919 in exchange for which there is sort of a distribution arrangement 193 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:29,839 whereby Paramount are guaranteed German screens for all their films, 194 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:33,879 and UFA get some distribution in America. The main thing UFA gets 195 00:12:33,880 --> 00:12:37,439 is survival. But this is not a co-production deal. 196 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:39,599 So the first project they do, The Blue Angel, 197 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:43,159 the fact that it's an American-German production, 198 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:45,839 that's not part of the contract, it's a sort of a happy accident 199 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:49,319 based on this enormous amount of negotiating they've done over the amount of money 200 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,000 and the fact that there are a lot of Germans in Paramount at the time. 201 00:13:08,240 --> 00:13:12,359 Well, Professor, how do you like me now? 202 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:14,839 Obviously central to the story of The Blue Angel 203 00:13:14,840 --> 00:13:19,519 is director Josef von Sternberg. He had been born in Austria, 204 00:13:19,520 --> 00:13:22,519 he had come to America, he had been brought up in Queens. 205 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:26,119 He had come to Hollywood and become an eminent director 206 00:13:26,120 --> 00:13:30,359 in Hollywood. But he was very much caught up with this rivalry 207 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:33,359 with an old Berliner, Ernst Lubitsch, 208 00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:36,399 and in fact when the production was put together 209 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,879 between Paramount and UFA, I think they wanted Lubitsch first, 210 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:43,479 because he was the premier director in Hollywood at that time, 211 00:13:43,480 --> 00:13:46,999 certainly of romantic comedies, and Lubitsch wasn't interested 212 00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:49,159 in going back to Berlin. He was far too big for that. 213 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:53,919 So it sort of fell to von Sternberg, who was having a bit of a lull, 214 00:13:53,920 --> 00:13:56,039 you know, his films weren't making as much money, 215 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:59,519 and I think he knew he was in search of something, 216 00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:01,999 he was in search of a muse, and he hadn't found it yet. 217 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:07,919 But he came to Berlin, and Pommer offered him a Rasputin project, 218 00:14:07,920 --> 00:14:10,759 which he didn't want to make, and said so in a press conference, 219 00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:15,399 "I'm not going to make Rasputin." And he then was handed this book 220 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:18,799 by Heinrich Mann, which piqued his interest. 221 00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:22,479 Now, what do you know about the original novella 222 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:23,839 the film is based on? 223 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:29,319 Well, Heinrich Mann was the younger brother of Thomas Mann, 224 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:32,799 who was more famous, in fact more successful, 225 00:14:32,800 --> 00:14:36,479 but he had written this book, which was called Professor Unrat, 226 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:39,839 which roughly translated means Professor Filth. 227 00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:44,759 And it follows a kind of... the basic plot, the basic plot 228 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:47,359 is similar to that of the film. Although in the book 229 00:14:47,360 --> 00:14:51,799 he turns Lola against German society in a sense. 230 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:55,159 Yes, it's the sort of same plot, but sort of reversed 231 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:58,719 or tilted upside down in a way. So he took that basic plot 232 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:03,079 and he thought yes, we can do something with this. And he saw the opportunity 233 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:08,799 to just create this story of a professor, very fastidious, 234 00:15:08,800 --> 00:15:12,479 lonely, but you know, possibly a virgin, 235 00:15:12,480 --> 00:15:15,519 who controls his pupils, you know, 236 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:18,519 and he's basically part of the old school. 237 00:15:18,520 --> 00:15:20,799 He is part of the old Germany. 238 00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:25,719 And then he falls in love, he's actually trying 239 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:31,279 to find his pupils, who he discovers are hanging out at the Blue Angel, 240 00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:35,199 which is a very sort of, you know, risque cabaret club 241 00:15:35,200 --> 00:15:39,679 So he goes one night to sort of try and catch them there, 242 00:15:39,680 --> 00:15:43,600 and as he's there of course he spots the star of the show, and falls for her. 243 00:15:46,480 --> 00:15:48,960 Ah, hold your horses. 244 00:15:59,040 --> 00:16:01,719 It all came down to the leading lady. 245 00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:04,079 This was von Sternberg's greatest trick, 246 00:16:04,080 --> 00:16:07,159 to transfix the story with Lola. 247 00:16:07,160 --> 00:16:12,439 He must have seen every actress and mistress in Berlin for the part. 248 00:16:12,440 --> 00:16:16,359 Despairing, he took in a musical comedy at the Berliner Theatre 249 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:20,879 called Two Bow Ties, and watched Dietrich own the stage. 250 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:24,879 When she auditioned for him, she was insolent and elegant. 251 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:28,919 The director became as obsessed as Jannings' doomed teacher. 252 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:06,879 ♪ You're the cream of my coffee, you're the salt in my stew 253 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:11,359 ♪ You will always be my necessity, I'm lost without you 254 00:17:11,360 --> 00:17:16,119 ♪ You're the cream in my coffee, you're the salt in my stew 255 00:17:16,120 --> 00:17:19,160 ♪ You will always be my necessity ♪ 256 00:17:28,560 --> 00:17:33,599 All of this was all going on, and I think von Sternberg fell into a little bit of a despair, 257 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:36,319 because he was looking for his muse. He was looking for the thing 258 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:38,799 that would rescue his career. And on some level, 259 00:17:38,800 --> 00:17:42,799 you know, as you were saying, bring the film to some other level. 260 00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:47,719 He knew it needed a force of nature, and he goes to the theatre 261 00:17:47,720 --> 00:17:50,879 one night, it's the Berliner Theatre, and there's a musical comedy going on, 262 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:53,919 which is quite light in many respects, 263 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:57,039 and on walks this extraordinary woman, 264 00:17:57,040 --> 00:18:00,719 and is droll to the audience, and just owns the moment. 265 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:02,839 In English, critically. In English. She walks in 266 00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:06,359 and speaks to the audience in English, and he's mesmerised. 267 00:18:06,360 --> 00:18:10,799 And whatever instinct is, I think von Sternberg has it in that moment 268 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:12,679 and goes, "that is Lola." 269 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:16,999 And she's... you get to see her audition sequence, 270 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:20,079 you can see how she - Cos she would still have had to audition for the film, 271 00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:23,679 - he didn't give it to her straight away. - A technicality, though, because she is 272 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:28,279 very, very defined in her audition. She clearly is not taking this audition seriously 273 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:32,159 in any way whatsoever. He asks her to sing the song "You're the cream in my coffee, 274 00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:36,559 you're the milk in my tea," and she is taking the mickey out of that song throughout. 275 00:18:36,560 --> 00:18:40,479 She's got her cigarette on the piano, she's kind of scornful. 276 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,879 But what she has is this instinctive knowledge 277 00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:47,759 of how to make the camera work. So she will do three verses of "You're the cream in my coffee," 278 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:52,039 and by the third verse, she's looking directly down the lens 279 00:18:52,040 --> 00:18:53,959 with this darkness to her, 280 00:18:53,960 --> 00:18:57,079 with this compelling gaze. So she starts "You're the cream" 281 00:18:57,080 --> 00:19:01,959 and she ends looking hard at the camera. And it's absolutely riveting. 282 00:19:01,960 --> 00:19:06,479 She's playing it so close up, she understands the camera. 283 00:19:06,480 --> 00:19:09,359 It's almost like she's born to be a cinema actor, 284 00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:13,439 she's born to understand the movie camera in a way that no-one has before. 285 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:17,079 I'm going to hold that camera with just my awesome personality, 286 00:19:17,080 --> 00:19:20,679 without moving my face too much, without waving my arms around, just look at me. 287 00:19:20,680 --> 00:19:25,479 And we do. And that is absolutely riveting for her. And she changes it. 288 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:28,599 She changes the profession, she changes acting 289 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:32,479 in the sense that I think she's under-rated in people saying, 290 00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:34,479 people are saying this about Dietrich, 291 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:39,679 all kinds of things about Dietrich, but she completely changed acting, 292 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:45,519 because, as you say, she understood that if it didn't come down the lens, it wasn't happening. 293 00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:47,519 And the relationship was with the camera. 294 00:19:47,520 --> 00:19:50,719 How do you perform for the camera? 295 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:53,199 And she completely got it and then Garbo got it too, 296 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:56,759 it was all there. But she wasn't an unknown, was she? 297 00:19:56,760 --> 00:19:59,599 No, she wasn't entirely unknown. I mean, 298 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:04,599 - she had been working in the theatre, she had made a few films. And some cabaret. - A lot of cabaret. 299 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,839 So she was sort of on her way up. She wasn't like famous or celebrated, but she was, 300 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:13,279 you know, she was on the scene. She was around. But it is fascinating, you know, 301 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:16,679 that the casting of her, that whole process, 302 00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:19,639 was a bit like sort of looking for Scarlet O'Hara, you know, 303 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:22,959 just everybody pulling into it, not only Leni Riefenstahl, 304 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:27,959 but Lottie Lenier, Bridgitte Helm was considered for the role, 305 00:20:27,960 --> 00:20:31,519 had been in Metropolis. And I think there was another actress 306 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:33,679 who was actually virtually cast, 307 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:37,759 and by the time von Sternberg saw Marlene Dietrich, that was it, 308 00:20:37,760 --> 00:20:40,159 all gloves were off. But he had to fight for her. The studio - 309 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:43,759 Yeah, they didn't want her. No. Because this was a big venture, 310 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:48,960 - this was a massive picture. They wanted a name. - Absolutely. 311 00:21:08,000 --> 00:21:12,959 And may I also ask you 312 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:14,760 to be my wife? 313 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:18,920 Wife? Ja. 314 00:21:33,920 --> 00:21:36,679 You are so sweet. 315 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:41,720 I hope you realise the importance of this hour. 316 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:01,479 There is so much to celebrate in the film, 317 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:05,199 Von Sternberg's lavish take on German Expressionism, 318 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:08,399 and no-one ever lit Dietrich as he did. 319 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:11,359 With Friedrich Hollander's jazzy songs, 320 00:22:11,360 --> 00:22:14,279 the musical genre is taking flight. 321 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:19,399 The director also paints a social duality between the film's two theatres, 322 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:22,319 The rules and tradition of Rath's classroom, 323 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:26,719 and the liberating decadence of the Blue Angel cabaret. 324 00:22:26,720 --> 00:22:32,039 This is a morally ambiguous portrait of man's slavery to his passions. 325 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:34,799 There are scenes which are constantly surprising 326 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:37,159 throughout the film, and they usually involve her, 327 00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:39,319 because you think you've got the measure of her, 328 00:22:39,320 --> 00:22:41,599 and then she pulls the rug from under your feet. 329 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:45,919 And I'm thinking of the scene where the Professor proposes marriage to her, 330 00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:50,719 and she just bursts out laughing, you know, and it's a long period of laughter, 331 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:53,159 and you think, God, she just finds him ridiculous. 332 00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:56,519 And then she accepts. And then on their wedding night, 333 00:22:56,520 --> 00:23:00,119 there is this incredible coquettish sequence where she uses the curtain 334 00:23:00,120 --> 00:23:04,919 to emphasise her figure and play with him, to, you know, 335 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:08,079 increase his desire for her, if that was possible, he's already obsessed. 336 00:23:08,080 --> 00:23:12,839 But she knows how to manipulate him into falling further 337 00:23:12,840 --> 00:23:14,679 and harder than he previously had done, 338 00:23:14,680 --> 00:23:16,959 because he's trying desperately on that wedding night 339 00:23:16,960 --> 00:23:20,319 to sort of hold on to his sense of propriety. And she goes, I'm going to destroy you, 340 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:23,319 and sets out to do so. But we never know, 341 00:23:23,320 --> 00:23:27,679 which is the greatness of this performance, we never know what made her. 342 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:31,999 We never know who made her. We never, never really know. 343 00:23:32,000 --> 00:23:35,559 And we think of all the other divas, the Pola Negris, 344 00:23:35,560 --> 00:23:36,839 all of these people, 345 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:40,439 we have some sort of kind of backstory, 346 00:23:40,440 --> 00:23:42,719 some kind of thing that we can hold onto. 347 00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:46,519 This is a force of nature. She doesn't have to explain, 348 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:49,959 and for me the genius of the film is 349 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:53,479 she's real, but is she? 350 00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:56,759 You know, in a sense, there is the Professor 351 00:23:56,760 --> 00:23:59,199 and he just completely disintegrates. 352 00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:02,079 And when you play the picture back in your mind, 353 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:05,159 and watching this man start to unravel 354 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:09,559 where the battle between the ethereal and the real 355 00:24:09,560 --> 00:24:11,839 comes in. Critically, the first thing he does for her, 356 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:15,679 before any of this unfolds, is he protects her from a sailor, 357 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:20,359 a drunken sailor who comes in, who the boss of the venue has agreed 358 00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:24,279 to... sort of has pimped her away. And the Professor comes in 359 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:27,679 and saves her from this. So really, I think, the only thing 360 00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:31,519 she can definitely see from him is that he has potentially the power to protect her. 361 00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:34,719 She would never have encountered a guy like this. 362 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:37,639 This is something... she's an adventuress, 363 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:40,839 that old-fashioned word, she's going to go and check this, let me try it. 364 00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:43,999 Let's see what he is. The more he moves into her world 365 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:46,959 and tries to become part of her world and dress, 366 00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:50,959 you know, she backs off. That's not what she wants. Yeah. She backs off. 367 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:55,079 She's looking for something else. He's from outside her world. Yeah, she backs off. And he becomes 368 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:59,039 more and more disorientated, because in a sense, 369 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:03,439 he, a man like that would expect her to be stabilised at some point, 370 00:25:03,440 --> 00:25:08,599 - I mean, that's why she got married, isn't it? - He kept her safe. - Exactly, and it doesn't happen. 371 00:25:08,600 --> 00:25:11,599 And he falls deeper and deeper off the cliff. 372 00:25:11,600 --> 00:25:14,799 I mean, the idea that we don't see her backstory 373 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:18,919 I think is really important, because it's actually almost a line in one of the songs. 374 00:25:18,920 --> 00:25:22,039 "I was made that way," you know what I mean? 375 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:23,639 And you think - It's a nature thing. 376 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:25,720 It is my nature. It's just her nature. 377 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:33,400 ♪ Love's always been my game, play it how I may 378 00:25:34,400 --> 00:25:39,160 ♪ I was made that way, can't help it ♪ 379 00:25:40,960 --> 00:25:42,799 Are we watching a musical? 380 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:47,039 - That's a very good question, and I would say absolutely not. - OK. 381 00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:49,839 What we are watching - But there are songs. There are songs in it, 382 00:25:49,840 --> 00:25:52,439 and you know, and it's set in a cabaret, 383 00:25:52,440 --> 00:25:56,039 and there are songs - Friedrich Hollander wrote them, they're very jazzy, very famous. 384 00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,559 They are very famous, and in fact they launched her 385 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:03,239 as a singer, you know, Falling in Love Again was her sort of signature tune, 386 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:05,679 both in English and German of course. 387 00:26:05,680 --> 00:26:09,479 But still we're not watching a musical in the sense that we now know it. 388 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:13,479 ♪ Like moths around the flame 389 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:16,479 ♪ And if their wings burn 390 00:26:16,480 --> 00:26:18,919 ♪ I know I'm not to blame ♪ 391 00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:22,119 On the night of the premiere, Marlene literally left 392 00:26:22,120 --> 00:26:26,119 and flew to Hollywood, she had a deal set up at Paramount, 393 00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:29,279 and von Sternberg, as he saw it, was then her Svengali, her guide, 394 00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:31,879 her manager - And also made a film, Morocco, 395 00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:34,759 in order to prepare America for The Blue Angel, 396 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:40,039 because he knew that they don't want to see the opening scene and wait, 397 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:42,559 - they're not going to wait all the way through. - But the point 398 00:26:42,560 --> 00:26:47,719 is that she's new, and what she puts on the movie screen that Americans had never seen before 399 00:26:47,720 --> 00:26:50,839 was desire. She said when you go to a cinema, 400 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:52,639 you are attracted, 401 00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:57,079 you dream of sexual things as much as anything, 402 00:26:57,080 --> 00:27:00,719 from a movie star. And that, you know, up till this point, 403 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:04,559 cinema had been rather twee, I suppose, certainly in sexual matters. 404 00:27:04,560 --> 00:27:08,279 But it was dangerous territory. It was dangerous territory, 405 00:27:08,280 --> 00:27:12,679 because the movie code was coming in, and the movies were getting wild, 406 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:15,759 it was becoming a Wild West, literally Wild West, 407 00:27:15,760 --> 00:27:17,079 inside the cinema in the dark. 408 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:21,039 ♪ Try in vain, you can't explain 409 00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:23,760 ♪ The charming, the loving blonde women ♪ 410 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:35,599 It's very interesting that the arrival of Dietrich in Hollywood 411 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:40,839 and the opening of Morocco first and then The Blue Angel in 1931, 412 00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:45,879 around about then, coincides with that very small gap 413 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:49,919 in Hollywood movies known as the pre-code era, 414 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:55,159 which is post-Silent, and before the Hays Code censorship board comes down. 415 00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:59,399 And all the films, or many of the films made in that time, 416 00:27:59,400 --> 00:28:05,040 are as erotic and as edgy and as carnal as The Blue Angel. 417 00:28:06,320 --> 00:28:09,399 To be or not to be. 418 00:28:09,400 --> 00:28:12,759 To be or not to be, 419 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,400 that is zuh - Right. Wrong. 420 00:28:23,360 --> 00:28:27,039 You are evidently dissatisfied 421 00:28:27,040 --> 00:28:32,079 with the accepted pro-nun-ci-a-tion 422 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:34,080 of the word 'the.' 423 00:28:36,560 --> 00:28:38,439 The. 424 00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:39,759 Zuh. 425 00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:41,560 The! 426 00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:44,160 Zuh! 427 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:48,519 The. 428 00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:50,839 Zuh. The. 429 00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:52,839 Zuh. 430 00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:54,320 Say now. 431 00:28:55,880 --> 00:28:57,679 The. Zuh. 432 00:28:57,680 --> 00:29:00,120 The! Zuh. 433 00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:03,920 Sit down! 434 00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:08,719 There are two critical moments in this film. 435 00:29:08,720 --> 00:29:12,079 The first one is when Marlene speaks in her dressing room. 436 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:15,199 Up until then, the Professor has been blowharding around, 437 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:19,919 histrionically shouting at his kids, you know, it's a huge voice, everyone is speaking loudly 438 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:23,279 and overacting enormously. She is natural. 439 00:29:23,280 --> 00:29:25,559 She is very understated, she is very funny, 440 00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:29,159 she is very charming. That's when acting changes. 441 00:29:29,160 --> 00:29:33,119 And then the next thing that happens is she sings Falling in Love Again. 442 00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:35,959 And the song begins with her just standing on stage 443 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:41,839 in this slightly strange blousy skirt, until she pushes one of her chorus line girls 444 00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:44,799 off a barrel, and crosses her legs, 445 00:29:44,800 --> 00:29:48,159 and we see her stockinged thigh in full profile. 446 00:29:48,160 --> 00:29:50,239 And that becomes the defining marketing image 447 00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:54,879 for the film, it becomes a defining image in concepts of cabaret, I mean, 448 00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:58,759 it becomes this image of sexuality that then pervades, in a way, 449 00:29:58,760 --> 00:30:02,839 through film culture, I mean, to some degree, in certain respects, till today, 450 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:04,999 this, you know - Oh God, yes, yes, yes. 451 00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:07,439 It's the making of an icon in that one image. 452 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:10,959 The top hat. The top hat. The stockings, suspenders, 453 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:14,279 and all that. I mean, it is - And is it true she had 454 00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:18,559 a lot of influence over her own costumes? She did. In fact... She made them. 455 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:22,239 ...she used to walk up and down, you know, wherever it was, and there were quite a lot of, 456 00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:26,199 you know, transgender or transvestite performers who were sort of on the street, 457 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:28,879 maybe not performers, you know, a little more than that, 458 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:31,919 and she basically took the idea of the costume from them 459 00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:36,519 and made it herself. So the top hat, it's, yeah, I can do that. 460 00:30:36,520 --> 00:30:41,719 So yeah, she created that look. But she, she always from then, 461 00:30:41,720 --> 00:30:46,479 exploited what we would call the masculine aspect of herself, 462 00:30:46,480 --> 00:30:49,559 and she understood that first of all, 463 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:51,959 for an American audience, she wasn't an American, 464 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:55,039 so that was OK. That's right. She could cross those boundaries. 465 00:30:55,040 --> 00:30:59,599 That was cool. But she also understood her audience. 466 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:02,199 She understood the people who were watching her, 467 00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:06,359 and they were looking at this woman crossing borders. 468 00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:10,839 All of her movies and some of them literally were about going across borders, really, 469 00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:16,159 changing the status quo, changing the attitude and the look 470 00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:19,799 of what a woman was. There had to be the next step 471 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:22,599 after the Flapper, after all of that. 472 00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:26,759 It had to be the next step. And of course, for the Nazis, 473 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:31,519 this was one of the reasons that she and von Sternberg 474 00:31:31,520 --> 00:31:33,400 and the whole thing had to go. 475 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:45,319 Obviously we do talk about this film in terms of Marlene Dietrich 476 00:31:45,320 --> 00:31:48,319 and what she has given cinema. 477 00:31:48,320 --> 00:31:51,599 It was directed by von Sternberg and he wasn't only her Svengali, 478 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:54,759 the figure who managed her career, he was a brilliant director, 479 00:31:54,760 --> 00:31:58,239 and he brought... well, he absorbed something from Berlin. 480 00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:01,679 He absorbed something from the great German expressionist films 481 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:03,919 while he was there, he knew and understood it. 482 00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:06,199 And if you look at The Blue Angel, 483 00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:08,559 it is very much a German Expressionist film still. 484 00:32:08,560 --> 00:32:12,559 It has all these modern elements, this kind of modern idea of sexuality and gender, 485 00:32:12,560 --> 00:32:16,039 yet it has a fairytale aura. The scenes of the Professor 486 00:32:16,040 --> 00:32:18,479 walking through the town, 487 00:32:18,480 --> 00:32:22,319 and that could be Caligari, that could be something very bad. Yes, but also 488 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:26,599 he's limited as a dir... what is amazing about what von Sternberg does 489 00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:28,959 is that he is incredibly limited as a director 490 00:32:28,960 --> 00:32:33,399 because the German sound cameras could not be moved. 491 00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:38,399 It was a very early form of sound, so he would be setting most of his scenes, 492 00:32:38,400 --> 00:32:42,279 there were some scenes that he could move and that would then presumably be in post-production, 493 00:32:42,280 --> 00:32:45,999 but the vast majority of his scenes, the camera does not move, it's fixed, set, people come in 494 00:32:46,000 --> 00:32:48,839 and out of the scene, rather like actors on a stage. 495 00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:53,279 He then fills that scene with so many bits and pieces, 496 00:32:53,280 --> 00:32:56,719 which is why it often looks incredibly busy. There's people lifting curtains, 497 00:32:56,720 --> 00:33:00,359 there's people doing stuff. So the story is being told 498 00:33:00,360 --> 00:33:03,879 by what's being held in this single frame, and you don't notice 499 00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:06,439 that he's limited in that way. It feels like you're moving 500 00:33:06,440 --> 00:33:10,279 because there's so much constant movement -And that starts from the very opening scene, 501 00:33:10,280 --> 00:33:14,359 which is the street scene and the market, someone picking up geese 502 00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:18,719 and putting them in a thing, it's absolutely busy with people doing stuff. 503 00:33:18,720 --> 00:33:21,799 And it looks like he's moving all the time. Of course not, it's a fixed camera. 504 00:33:21,800 --> 00:33:25,559 That's why the interiors are so interesting. 505 00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:27,199 I mean, the only two travelling shots 506 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,319 that I can think of are in the school room, 507 00:33:29,320 --> 00:33:33,399 with the empty desks when it moves. It looks as if the camera is travelling back, 508 00:33:33,400 --> 00:33:34,439 dollying back, 509 00:33:34,440 --> 00:33:37,679 But that's why the actual club, the Blue Angel set, 510 00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:40,560 is so fascinating, because it's just festooned with stuff. 511 00:33:41,560 --> 00:33:46,159 And one of the fascinating things about this is that he's drawing on Berlin cabaret, 512 00:33:46,160 --> 00:33:50,679 but it's not really Berlin cabaret, because they wouldn't have dancing bears in Berlin cabaret. 513 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:53,239 Berlin cabaret would be much smaller and more intimate, 514 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:56,919 it would be more transgender, it would be more transgressive - Wilder. 515 00:33:56,920 --> 00:34:00,559 And so what he's done is... he grew up next to a carnival, 516 00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:04,679 and in a sense, he's thrown the carnival into the cabaret. 517 00:34:04,680 --> 00:34:08,919 And that's, in a way, the way that we understand Berliner cabaret 518 00:34:08,920 --> 00:34:11,639 is quite often shaped by this film. But in fact, 519 00:34:11,640 --> 00:34:13,479 it was a slightly different proposition. 520 00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:16,799 It was a much darker proposition than this shows it to be. 521 00:34:16,800 --> 00:34:20,159 More transgressive in its way, yeah. And von Sternberg, again 522 00:34:20,160 --> 00:34:24,999 - we have to remember he's trying to get an American audience. Exactly. - That's all that matters. 523 00:34:25,000 --> 00:34:29,319 - But the world can't handle it. Absolutely not. - In Americathey're bringing in the Code, 524 00:34:29,320 --> 00:34:34,719 - in Germany the Nazis come in and the film is effectively banned. Degenerate. - Yeah. Exactly. 525 00:34:34,720 --> 00:34:37,679 Except for Hitler, who had his own private copy. 526 00:34:37,680 --> 00:34:40,279 And used to show it again and again. Yeah, all the films, yeah. 527 00:34:40,280 --> 00:34:42,439 But you know, the world, she's ahead of the world. 528 00:34:42,440 --> 00:34:45,079 And this whole film is really difficult 529 00:34:45,080 --> 00:34:49,919 for most countries to deal with, because it's going into a place that they hadn't quite expected. 530 00:34:58,400 --> 00:35:04,319 ♪ Falling in love again, never wanted to 531 00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:09,520 ♪ What am I to do? Can't help it ♪ 532 00:35:18,920 --> 00:35:22,399 The Blue Angel marks an end and a beginning. 533 00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:26,279 Despite becoming a big hit, the film would be banned by the Nazis 534 00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:31,159 as degenerate. Von Sternberg whisked Dietrich off to Hollywood 535 00:35:31,160 --> 00:35:35,239 in greatness. Jannings stayed, joined the Nazi Party, 536 00:35:35,240 --> 00:35:40,159 and declined as Rath does in the film, reduced to a clown. 537 00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:45,679 The great feast of Weimar cinema was ending, but The Blue Angel lives on, 538 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:51,679 a complex, erotic depiction of what it means to be human. 539 00:35:51,680 --> 00:35:56,319 What is so remarkable about the story of the Blue Angel 540 00:35:56,320 --> 00:35:59,279 and the story of Marlene is that she wanted to escape it. 541 00:35:59,280 --> 00:36:02,319 She wanted, as you were saying, she wanted to throw off this role 542 00:36:02,320 --> 00:36:04,999 and try different things and be someone different. 543 00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:07,439 She wanted to throw off von Sternberg's influence, 544 00:36:07,440 --> 00:36:10,159 she wanted to move into the future. She was an adventurous actress. 545 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:12,559 Yet so many things happened to her. 546 00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:16,999 The American audience didn't want her to be different, for one thing, That's Hollywood through and through, 547 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:19,679 we've typecast you and that's where we want to keep you. 548 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:23,279 So she was trapped in that Hollywood machine. And then obviously what came along 549 00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:24,479 was World War II, 550 00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:29,079 and a whole echo of her past, and her efforts during the war 551 00:36:29,080 --> 00:36:31,879 - were extraordinary. - Yes. - I mean, she brought in other actors, 552 00:36:31,880 --> 00:36:34,319 she helped rescue them and give them a home in Hollywood, 553 00:36:34,320 --> 00:36:39,879 and she went out to Europe, knowing her place in terms of German history, 554 00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:43,399 knowing that she carried this echo of old Berlin with her, 555 00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:46,559 and that was a very powerful tool, and she sung to the American troops. 556 00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:48,319 I mean, her war effort was extraordinary, 557 00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:51,839 probably at the expense of her career. Well, I mean, critically, 558 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:54,639 and I think The Blue Angel is a good example of this, 559 00:36:54,640 --> 00:36:56,439 she also sang to the German troops. 560 00:36:56,440 --> 00:37:00,759 So Lily Marlene was a song on the lips of the German army. 561 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:03,119 The Wehrmacht was singing that as they went into battle. 562 00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:05,039 So every now and then she would grab the mic 563 00:37:05,040 --> 00:37:09,559 and in German, speak to Germans who may be listening to her 564 00:37:09,560 --> 00:37:12,079 and encourage them to not take orders, to overthrow Hitler. 565 00:37:12,080 --> 00:37:16,319 She was desperately trying to sort of encourage Germany to walk away from the war. 566 00:37:16,320 --> 00:37:19,439 So she wasn't just raising money and singing to the American troops, 567 00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:22,119 she was also trying to save Germany from itself in a way. 568 00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:26,639 And it's exhausting for one woman to do all those things. It was extremely brave. 569 00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:29,079 I mean, her last two big pictures, 570 00:37:29,080 --> 00:37:33,679 she plays in Hitchcock's Witness for the Prosecution... Witness for the Prosecution, yeah. 571 00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:38,799 ...in which she is a cabaret singer once again, and the soldiers come up and say, 572 00:37:38,800 --> 00:37:42,759 we want to see your legs, and they would tear her skirt off. 573 00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:45,319 And this is a woman who is a mature woman, 574 00:37:45,320 --> 00:37:48,039 she's still got beautiful legs, but that's who she is. 575 00:37:48,040 --> 00:37:51,999 And at the same time she's defending her husband, 576 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:55,199 defending that part of herself that is trying to protect him, 577 00:37:55,200 --> 00:37:57,839 and then of course in Judgement at Nuremberg, 578 00:37:57,840 --> 00:38:01,519 she really stands up and says, this is what Germany is, 579 00:38:01,520 --> 00:38:05,519 this is who I am, this is what we try to do. 580 00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:10,159 So it was always a part of her definition of herself, 581 00:38:10,160 --> 00:38:12,999 her native country, and her determination 582 00:38:13,000 --> 00:38:18,639 to shape herself in relation to that, no matter what people were doing to her. 583 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:24,319 She was a very complex woman, but she was incredibly intelligent about her space in the world. 584 00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:26,479 And what I love about the Hitchcock story 585 00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:30,279 is that Hitchcock of course famously bossed his blondes around 586 00:38:30,280 --> 00:38:34,039 - as much as he possibly could, and she took absolutely nothing from him. - Nothing. 587 00:38:34,040 --> 00:38:36,239 She said no, you're not lighting me like that, 588 00:38:36,240 --> 00:38:39,959 I'm not standing there, I'm doing this, I'm doing that, and in effect, she directed herself 589 00:38:39,960 --> 00:38:43,999 through the Hitchcock picture, and he eventually succumbed and said, OK, fair enough, 590 00:38:44,000 --> 00:38:47,879 you're Marlene Dietrich, do what you want, and it was fantastic. But I think by that stage, 591 00:38:47,880 --> 00:38:51,079 she knew herself so well she was comfortable in her own skin. 592 00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:54,639 I won't say she was comfortable in her own iconography, 593 00:38:54,640 --> 00:38:57,279 but she knew how to use it. 594 00:38:57,280 --> 00:39:00,439 And I think that all that period in the war when she was, you know, 595 00:39:00,440 --> 00:39:04,119 out there raising money, selling war bonds 596 00:39:04,120 --> 00:39:07,799 and entertaining the troops, and again, you know, 597 00:39:07,800 --> 00:39:10,839 the fact is that those songs, Lily Marlene in particular, but also later 598 00:39:10,840 --> 00:39:15,959 Where Have All the Flowers Gone?, was a real plea for, you know, human decency, 599 00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:18,439 irrespective of which side you were on. 600 00:39:18,440 --> 00:39:21,879 And I think that is the mark of a, you know, 601 00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:25,599 not just a "good German," but a good human being. Which makes The Blue Angel 602 00:39:25,600 --> 00:39:30,839 all the more momentous, doesn't it? Because that's the stone in the pond, 603 00:39:30,840 --> 00:39:33,919 that's the moment it begins, and you can see it. 604 00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:36,639 And if you retrospectively look at the film, 605 00:39:36,640 --> 00:39:40,079 bring all this knowledge to it, suddenly it seems to be 606 00:39:40,080 --> 00:39:43,079 a different film entirely. You're like of course, her power, 607 00:39:43,080 --> 00:39:45,439 her kind of the way the film centres on her, 608 00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:48,719 and the kind of strength that emanates from Lola, 609 00:39:48,720 --> 00:39:50,919 beyond all the kind of the frisson of the sexuality 610 00:39:50,920 --> 00:39:53,799 and all those things, you go, I can see the history 611 00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:56,319 that comes from this film. Yes, and she is making a film 612 00:39:56,320 --> 00:40:01,119 for German and American audiences, that's critical. You know, she speaks to both 613 00:40:01,120 --> 00:40:05,439 from the very beginning of her international stardom. She's made German films before then, 614 00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:07,599 but that's the moment that she breaks onto the world, 615 00:40:07,600 --> 00:40:09,479 she's speaking to both those countries, 616 00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:13,599 and it goes on like that, really, for the... it is sad 617 00:40:13,600 --> 00:40:17,759 in one way that she's trapped, but actually she's so glorious in the way that she lives her life. 618 00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:21,599 At the end of her life, she says that fighting fascism was the proudest part of her life, 619 00:40:21,600 --> 00:40:26,119 but it begins with this movie, because this movie really is heralding the rise. 620 00:40:26,120 --> 00:40:28,399 Hitler is in power three years later, 621 00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:32,679 and that idea of the Berlin that this cabaret is set in is destroyed. 622 00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:35,879 So she, if you like, she is capturing that moment, 623 00:40:35,880 --> 00:40:38,359 she's holding onto it and then she's fighting back 624 00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:41,439 - against the fascism that destroys it. I mean, an incredible story. - And then 625 00:40:41,440 --> 00:40:43,199 she is one of the first women in cinema 626 00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:48,319 if not the first, who didn't care what anybody thought about her. 627 00:40:48,320 --> 00:40:53,160 - She did what she did. Which is pure Lola. - Totally, totally. 628 00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:57,679 So while obviously we know a lot about Marlene, 629 00:40:57,680 --> 00:40:59,759 what became of von Sternberg, you know? 630 00:40:59,760 --> 00:41:02,879 He had this great career, but in a sense, he faded as well, 631 00:41:02,880 --> 00:41:04,439 rather like the Professor. Yeah, yes. 632 00:41:04,440 --> 00:41:07,239 I wouldn't say he was quite like the Professor, 633 00:41:07,240 --> 00:41:12,079 I hope not anyway, but no, the fact is that he's, you know, 634 00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:14,919 that collaboration with Marlene 635 00:41:14,920 --> 00:41:18,319 was the greatest sort of collaboration 636 00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:23,199 of I think any director-star ever, I mean, seven films in a row. 637 00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:27,399 Now of course, there have been longer collaborations, but I think what von Sternberg did, 638 00:41:27,400 --> 00:41:31,439 what he put into it and what he invested into her, 639 00:41:31,440 --> 00:41:35,319 was the sort of chief moment of his, you know, his career. 640 00:41:35,320 --> 00:41:37,559 He did, you know, he went on to make a lot of films, 641 00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:40,879 but they just... they lacked that sort of lustre, you know, 642 00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:45,959 I think he probably, you know, once he had lost his muse, 643 00:41:45,960 --> 00:41:50,439 and she was his muse, then I won't say he lost his ability, 644 00:41:50,440 --> 00:41:52,679 obviously not, he was still a very skilful director, 645 00:41:52,680 --> 00:41:55,119 but he just lost that sort of extra little sparkle 646 00:41:55,120 --> 00:41:57,519 - that would have pushed it over the top. - Now in the end, 647 00:41:57,520 --> 00:41:59,479 we are just talking about a film. 648 00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:02,759 It is a moment in history and it's a moment in world history, 649 00:42:02,760 --> 00:42:04,879 but we're talking about one single film. 650 00:42:04,880 --> 00:42:08,679 And so I'll ask a simple question, how good is The Blue Angel? 651 00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:10,999 I think it's an incredible film. 652 00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:16,239 It's a film... because any film that allows you to unpack so much from it, 653 00:42:16,240 --> 00:42:20,279 and in some cases perhaps unintentional elements 654 00:42:20,280 --> 00:42:24,159 that the people making the film at the time could never have known, 655 00:42:24,160 --> 00:42:26,599 that all these years in the future 656 00:42:26,600 --> 00:42:29,599 we would be still finding new things about this film 657 00:42:29,600 --> 00:42:35,479 that we can pull apart and analyse and understand and revisit and rethink. In a way, 658 00:42:35,480 --> 00:42:39,959 film is quite an ephemeral medium. You put it out and then it goes away, 659 00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:43,959 there's no sense of this being eternal. But it's become eternal because of its quality. 660 00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:45,839 People aren't going to watch this film 661 00:42:45,840 --> 00:42:50,839 because of the irony of the careers of the people involved, or because of what they will do, 662 00:42:50,840 --> 00:42:53,159 the reason that people still watch, talk about this film 663 00:42:53,160 --> 00:42:55,639 and the reason that it still influences modern cinema, 664 00:42:55,640 --> 00:42:58,039 is because it is a very, very good film, 665 00:42:58,040 --> 00:43:00,519 beginning, middle, end. Everything about this film, 666 00:43:00,520 --> 00:43:03,839 the setting, the acting, the music, the direction, 667 00:43:03,840 --> 00:43:07,039 everything. The psychology of it. The psychology, the understanding, 668 00:43:07,040 --> 00:43:09,559 the humanity is spot on. 669 00:43:09,560 --> 00:43:12,239 Every now and then something comes together 670 00:43:12,240 --> 00:43:15,799 in a work of art, but particularly in cinema, you know, 671 00:43:15,800 --> 00:43:19,999 with the right mix of actor, writer, and director, studio, 672 00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:22,999 the whole thing comes together and magic is created. 673 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:25,199 And this really is the magic of film. 674 00:43:25,200 --> 00:43:28,319 The other thing that strikes me about The Blue Angel, 675 00:43:28,320 --> 00:43:30,679 and it's the simplest thing in a sense, is its essence. 676 00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:34,599 It is about human nature, about the human struggle. 677 00:43:34,600 --> 00:43:38,559 And I don't know whether von Sternberg had this in his head, 678 00:43:38,560 --> 00:43:40,359 I don't know whether it was on the page 679 00:43:40,360 --> 00:43:42,439 and they were thinking about this as they made it, 680 00:43:42,440 --> 00:43:44,919 but what comes out of it, and this all comes out of great art, 681 00:43:44,920 --> 00:43:48,879 is a greater sense of what it means to be a human being, 682 00:43:48,880 --> 00:43:52,359 and I think I get that from The Blue Angel, and that's what makes it great art. 683 00:43:52,360 --> 00:43:54,959 Made in Berlin in 1930, 684 00:43:54,960 --> 00:43:58,759 the film embodied the ethos of the fastest city in the world, 685 00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:01,999 decadence and power, obsession and cruelty, 686 00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:05,839 the freedom of art vying with the constraints of society. 687 00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:10,239 Both on-screen and off, reputations were made, and destroyed. 688 00:44:10,240 --> 00:44:14,039 Away from the sound stages, the Nazis were taking control. 689 00:44:14,040 --> 00:44:17,719 This was one of the last great flourishes of German Expressionism. 690 00:44:17,720 --> 00:44:23,720 ♪ Falling in love again, never wanted to 691 00:44:24,720 --> 00:44:30,120 ♪ What am I to do? Can't help it ♪ 692 00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:12,960 Subtitles by Sky Access Services www.skyaccessibility.sky