Germany in the autumn of 1957: Lola, a seductive cabaret singer-prostitute (Barbara Sukowa) exults in her power as a temptress of men, but she wants out—she wants money, property, and love. Pitting a corrupt building contractor (Mario Adorf) against the new straight-arrow building commissioner (Armin Mueller-Stahl), Lola launches an outrageous plan to elevate herself in a world where everything, and everyone, is for sale. Shot in childlike candy colors, Fassbinder’s homage to Josef von Sternberg’s classic The Blue Angel stands as a satiric tribute to capitalism.
Cast
| Lola | Barbara Sukowa |
| Von Bohm | Armin Mueller-Stahl |
| Schuckert | Mario Adorf |
| Esslin | Matthias Fuchs |
| Mrs. Hettich | Helga Feddersen |
| Lola's mother | Karin Baal |
| Wittich | Ivan Desny |
| Gigi | Elisabeth Volkmann |
| Völker | Hark Bohm |
| Timmerding | Karl-Heinz von Hassel |
| Mrs. Schuckert | Rosel Zech |
| Susi | Christine Kaufmann |
| Rosa | Y Sa Lo |
| G.I. | Günther Kaufmann |
| Mrs. Völker | Isolde Barth |
| Editor | Karsten Peters |
| First demonstrator | Harry Baer |
| Second demonstrator | Rainer Will |
| Mrs. Fink | Sonja Neudorfer |
| TV delivery man | Nino Korda |
| Doorman | Herbert Steinmetz |
Credits
| Producer | Horst Wendlandt |
| Screenplay | Peter Märthesheimer and Pea Fröhlich |
| Music | Peer Raben |
| Cinematography | Xaver Schwarzenberger |
| Production Design | Rolf Zehetbauer |
| Art director | Helmut Gassner |
| Film editors | Juliane Lorenz and Franz Walsch |
| Costume designer | Barbara Baum |
| Makeup artists | Anni Nöbauer and Edwin Erfmann |
| Assistant director | Karel Viesel |
| Gaffer | Ekkehard Heinrich |
| Sound | Vladimir Vizner |
| Director | Rainer Werner Fassbinder |
by Kent Jones
Sep 29, 2003
People say that drugs killed Rainer Werner Fassbinder, but after taking another look at his films and his writings, I have a different idea. He once said, famously, that he was trying to construct a house with his films, which is hard work. Many filmmakers have left their own houses half-finished...
by Michael Töteberg
Sep 29, 2003
“Gray literature” is the term German film historians use to describe the material written purely for publicity purposes and made available to the press, but not meant for official publication. Often this gray literature, which is only accessible to film journalists, is indirectly responsible for...
