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DER BLAUE ENGEL
PREPRODUCTION:
Marlene Dietrich:
Yet one day my luck changed. I was engaged for Georg Kaiser's
Zwei Krawatten (Bow Ties). Hans Albers was to play the leading
role, and Mischa Spoliansky was responsible for the music
– two names that promised success. I played an American
woman and had only one line: 'May I invite you all to dine
with me this evening?' This was the play in which Josef von
Sternberg saw me when I repeated my line for the umpteenth
time. The 'Leonardo da Vinci of the camera' scrutinised the
programme with his eagle eye, found my name, stood up and
left the theatre.
It's not true that he ran backstage as soon as the performance
was over to meet me and sign me up for The Blue Angel right
then and there. It is true, however, that from that moment
on, von Sternberg had only one idea in his head: to take me
away from the stage and make a movie actress out of me, to
'Pygmalionize' me.
One step followed the other, despite my husband's apprehensions.
He allowed me to go for the screen test only after he had
assured himself that von Sternberg's proposal was serious.
My meeting with von Sternberg has prompted many false assumptions
on the part of my 'biographers'. On the day after the performance
of Bow Ties, von Sternberg arranged a meeting for me with
the UFA studio executives. This reception was ice cold. They
did not like me, had no confidence in me. Von Sternberg flew
into a rage, shouting: 'If that's how things are, I'll go
back to the United States!'
But, as we know, he finally got his way.
I had not been impressed by my first meeting with von Sternberg.
When you're young and stupid (which is often the case), you
have no aptitude for appreciating extraordinary human beings.
I pointed out to him that I was not photogenic (my few movie
roles had convinced me of that) and suggested he look for
somebody else.
Despite all this, he arranged to give me a screen test on
the same day he tested the most likely prospect for the job,
Lucie Mannheim. She was well known and had set her heart on
getting the part, even though it didn't suit her at all. She
had a rather broad behind. In addition to her acting talents,
she had a gift for winning over Emil Jannings, who apparently
had a weakness for broad behinds. Despite my baby fat, I've
never had a prepossessing posterior. I was well-cushioned
all over except for this particular part of my anatomy. Nevertheless,
my rear seemed pretty round to me. But probably not enough
so for Emil Jannings.
Excerpt from Marlene Dietrich:
My Life.© 1987 by Marlene Dietrich. Reprinted by permission
of M. Dietrich, Inc.
PRODUCTION:
Marlene Dietrich:
THE BLUE ANGEL was the first great sound film following the
First World War, and as such, it has all the imperfections
of its time. Its success was due exclusively to von Sternberg's
direction.
There were countless technical difficulties. For example,
it was not possible to cut film carrying sound, which considerably
prolonged the shooting period. And four cameras had to film
each scene sim-ultaneously to provide options for the final
cut.
I found all this terribly exciting. To watch the great master
at work was a boundless pleasure.
I was always ready when he called on me. However, I held myself
a little to one side so as not to disturb anything, or get
in the way of the other actors. But I paid the strictest attention
to the slightest sign from Mr von Sternberg ordering me back
on the set.
In addition to Jannings, the cast included many other famous
actors. They were, incidentally, all very nice to me. Poor
Marlene, they must have thought. If she only knew what was
in store for her after this ...
But I had no idea of these ominous thoughts. l was still the
nice, well-bred little girl who dutifully obeyed the instructions
of her lord and master. He would not forsake me, I was sure.
I was there for him, and he was there for me. Or so I told
myself at any rate.
And I wasn't mistaken, as it turned out. Von Sternberg made
two versions of the film -– the German and the English
– simultaneously.
Dubbing had not yet come on the scene. Von Sternberg introduced
me to his American wife who, he said, would speak my lines,
if I had any trouble with English. All I would have to do
is move my lips.
His proposal, with its underlying assumption that I might
fail at something, shocked me. And l hated failure of any
kind. So it was up to me to prove my worth, that I could do
it.
We began the shooting. Each scene was filmed first in German
and immediately thereafter in English. I was as good as in
my best times at the Max Reinhardt Drama School - perhaps
even better - thanks to the English I had learned at home.
But Josef von Sternberg wanted only American English. Panic
on board. I didn't know American English. Von Sternberg undertook
to make up for this difference. He didn't call on his wife's
help. Nobody, I believe, could fault my pronunciation. Only
my role counted.
In contrast to what the Max Reinhardt Drama School had demanded
of me, von Sternberg did not want me to speak with a lower
voice. He wanted it high and nasal. This was supposed to emphasize
the Berli-nese, which is quite similar to London Cockney.
Von Sternberg, the magician, worked this miracle and sent
his wife home. I don't think this entailed any great difficulties
because, in fact, they had just been divorced. Von Sternberg
never disclosed anything about his private life. Only much
later when I came to Hollywood did I learn that his ex-wife
never forgave him for the separation and that he understood
her bitterness.
Von Sternberg had a most definite idea of what Lola in THE
BLUE ANGEL should be like. He knew everything about her voice,
her move-ments, her behaviour. He influenced the choice of
my clothes and encouraged me to make even further costume
sketches, which I relished doing. I checked out my costumes
with top hats and worker's caps, replaced my trinkets with
ribbons, tassels, and braids - everything that in my opinion
was within the means of a B-girl in a sleazy waterfront saloon.
One day von Sternberg said to me: 'Seen from the front you
should bring to mind Felicien Rops; from the rear, Toulouse-Lautrec.'
That was a concept that I could easily work with. I always
liked clear instructions. Nothing is more pleasant than to
know what's expected of you in life, in work, and in love.
'I didn't discover Dietrich,' von Sternberg would often remark.
'I am a teacher,' he elaborated, 'and this beautiful woman
came to that teacher's attention. He shaped her appearance,
high-lighted her charm, minimized her defects, and moulded
her into an aphrodisiac phenomenon.'
There is nothing worse than the blurred, confused direction
of performers when a director relies too heavily on his actors.
At the time of the filming of THE BLUE ANGEL, it was not customary
for a young actress to design her own costumes. Directors
didn't have enough confidence in them. But under von Sternberg's
sharp scrutiny I could do my own thing, and very well. The
costumes that I wore in THE BLUE ANGEL have become a symbol
for both my personality and the decade that placed its stamp
on the film. At the time it appeared, the setting had already
become somewhat dated. Though the film was shot in 1929 and
1930, its action referred to the beginning of the twenties
and even earlier. The fact that we could make our own costumes
helped us to recreate the atmosphere, like conjurors. This
is all the easier, the farther you revert into the past.
The word 'fashion' had only a negative meaning for von Sternberg.
He himself had designed the set for the tavern called The
Blue Angel. Together with several German writers, he had based
the script on Heinrich Mann's novel, and he had the final
say in everything - cast, lighting, props. His all-embracing
culture fascinated me. He had an answer for every problem
and no contradictory argument could upset him.
The experience of making this film awakened in me an ever
greater interest in everything that went on both before and
behind the camera. The world behind the camera became a virtual
source of Inspiration for me. Von Sternberg allowed me a great
deal of latitude and gen-erously passed on to me and everyone
eise he worked with not only his knowledge but also the secrets
of his art.
[...]
I thought THE BLUE ANGEL would be a flop. I found it very
ordinary and vulgar - two utterly different concepts in my
view, but which here complemented each other perfectly.
On the set, at least, that's how l imagined it, four cameras,
turning simultaneously, stared at every step I took (l say
this only with the greatest disgust). And yet that's just
how it was! Whenever it was my turn, I had to lift a leg,
the left or the right, and the cameras were constantly riveted
on me.
In the evening we all went home, took care of our children,
led our own routine lives, and the next day we went back to
work. We were in the studio and shooting The Blue Angel but
were all utterly indifferent to it. In the final analysis
our attitude proved to be eminently correct. If you take your
work too seriously, you become critical, something which most
directors (von Sternberg among them) didn't appreciate very
much. Von Sternberg was content to use me as a springboard,
as a living dictionary, and as an expert (so he believed)
on Berlinese, which he, an Austrian by birth, didn't know
very well.
How could a girl of good family be familiar with so indecent
an idiom as Berlinese? I was very interested in this colourful,
graphic Jargon spoken by the denizens of Berlin's working-class
quarters. I also like their special humour. Humour, after
all, is not a typical German trait. By nature we are more
prone to solemnity. But Berliners are an exception, their
humour is unique. Although it's not exactly black humour,
it bears a slight resemblance to it. It's a kind of 'gallows
humour', plain and simple, as Ernest Hemingway described it,
making it his own.
My social background by definition forbade my using this notorious
gallows humour, but somehow I acquired it anyway, learning
to regard myself with a certain ironic detachment, and accepting
with an air of resignation the tribulations that each day
visits upon us.
Von Sternberg, who had spent almost his entire life in America,
was totally obsessed with 'this typically Berliner sense of
humour'. Between takes, he would spend long periods of time
studying the way I used various expressions and turns of phrase
that he wanted to incorporate into the film.
Thanks to his logical bent, von Sternberg filmed THE BLUE
ANGEL according to the laws of logic, transforming me into
an American vamp. He made the other actors speak English to
me. None of them knew English, so he taught them their lines.
But at the same time, he insisted that they retain their German
accent, just as he insisted that I retain my 'American' accent.
Although the English Version, which continues to be shown
around the world, is not as good as the German one, it proves
convincing because it is authentic and not falsified. Actors
today, even stars, use languages in films they don't really
know. The public gets used to this, but in my view, by doing
so, performers give themselves away.
[...]
While the filming of THE BLUE ANGEL was in full swing, von
Sternberg brought an American to the studio - B. P. Schulberg,
the general manager of Paramount Studios. He offered me a
seven-year contract in Hollywood. 'I wouldn't like to go away,'
I answered very politely. 'I would like to stay here with
my family.' He was just as polite and then disappeared again.
Von Sternberg had made him come over from America to show
him some scenes from the film.
But since I had no intention of changing my mind and the shooting
period for THE BLUE ANGEL was over, we all said goodbye to
one another. Von Sternberg returned to America long before
I myself travelled there and long before the film's premiere.
Each member of the cast went his or her own way, continued,
as best as possible, his or her career, and mourned the absence
of von Sternberg's direction, of his authority, of his dynamics,
and his friendliness, and of his magic whose divine and demonic
powers he had let us glimpse without ever causing us any offence.
As I was writing these pages, I had the opportunity to see
THE BLUE ANGEL in the original German version on television.
I had not expected to see a first-rate actress in a difficult,
brazen, at times tender role, a natural, relaxed actress who
awakens a complex person to life, a personality that was not
mine. I don't know how von Sternberg worked this miracle.
Genius, I assume! In its ordinariness the character of Lola
superbly reflected the mentality of ordinary people.
I must confess I was very impressed by the actress Marlene
Dietrich who successfully plays a sailor girl of the twenties.
Even the accent (Low German) is just right.
I, the well brought-up, reserved, still entirely unspoiled
girl from a good family, unwittingly had accomplished a unique
feat that I was never to repeat successfully. All the women's
roles I played later were more 'delicate' than Lola in THE
BLUE ANGEL and, accordingly, easier to act.
The contract I had signed with Ufa contained a clause which
my husband had questioned. It stated that for a certain number
of days after the making of this film, Ufa would have an option
on my future career. I no longer remember how much time Ufa
had to exercise this option, but that, too, was irrelevant.
It was one-sided. The studios had all the rights, the actor
none at all.
I wasn't even notified when the film had finally been edited
and the last of the work compleled. nor did Ufa studio exercise
its option by the date fixed in the contract.
[...]
In this film von Sternberg used the main spotlight to give
greater prominence to the roundnesses of my face. No hollow
cheeks in THE BLUE ANGEL.
For that purpose the main spotlight was placed very low and
far away from me. The secret face with the hollow cheeks was
achieved as a result of placing the main spotlight close to
my face and high above it. That sounds quite simple, right?
And when pupils (or professional colleagues) stormed the set
to measure the distance and the height of the main spotlight,
von Sternberg would shift the mounting and say. Put your measuring
tapes away, boys. I can light Mrs Dietrich just as well with
any other tried and trusty technique. He couldn't for the
life of him restrain himself from making biting remarks. Nobody
could measure his artistic gift either in inches or centimetres.
Excerpt from Marlene Dietrich: My Life.© 1987 by
Marlene Dietrich. Reprinted by permission of M. Dietrich,
Inc.
USA:
Marlene Dietrich:
Although the Paramount executives had purchased the film,
they deliberately kept it under lock and key, since they wanted
to show it in the movie theatres only after my first American
film. They were afraid 'the Blue Angel Image,' the image of
the dissolute young girl, would stick to me; in any case they
wanted to avoid my being per-manently pinned to a type.
In my opinion I have always played 'dissolute young girls',
and they were, as von Sternberg once said, certainly more
interesting than the 'nice' roles.
Excerpt from Marlene
Dietrich: My Life.© 1987 by Marlene Dietrich. Reprinted
by permission of M. Dietrich, Inc.
RETROSPECT:
Marlene Dietrich:
I happened to see THE BLUE ANGEL, my first von Sternberg picture,
only last evening. It is not in the least bit old-fashioned.
Interview 1935. Reprinted by permission
of M. Dietrich, Inc.
Filmography
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