Eichberg's DIE TOLLE LOLA, starring Lilian Harvey in the lead role, deserves to be seen as an important precursor to DER BLAUE ENGEL, which we will be showing in May. Based on the Berlin operetta of the same name by Hugo Hirsch, which in turn was preceded by a Viennese farce, DIE TOLLE LOLA repeatedly features motifs that come into their own in Sternberg's film. In its day, Eichberg's film enjoyed great success in Paris, London, and Berlin, not least because Harvey performed every evening on stage at the Ufa-Palast am Zoo. Harvey shines in her dual role as the loyal daughter Tilly and the seductive Lola, who causes extreme confusion for her father and fiancé. They are the two directors of a large variety theater, where the stepdaughter of one of them performs disguised as a Spanish dancer, without the gentlemen knowing who she is.

Live music by and with Uwe Oberg (piano)

Germany 1927, 81 minutes, FSK: unrated