One of the earliest German talkies and an acknowledged classic of world cinema, The Blue Angel made Marlene Dietrich into an international star — although at the time its biggest draw was Emil Jannings, who had just returned to Germany after winning the very first Academy Award® for Best Actor. Dignified educator Immanuel Rath (Jannings) is scandalized when he discovers that some of his students have been frequenting a sordid cabaret called The Blue Angel, whose star attraction is alluring songstress Lola Lola (Dietrich). Heading to the club to have it out with Lola, Rath instead falls in love with her himself, and their ensuing affair and marriage results in the professor's progressive debasement, finally ending up as a pathetic clown clucking like a chicken to the derision of the club's customers. Marvelously photographed by Günther Rittau and featuring Sternberg's suffocatingly luxurious mise en scène, The Blue Angel was a profound influence on visiting Indian filmmakers Himansu Rai and V. Shantaram; the latter would remake the film as Pinjra in 1972.