Josef von Sternberg’s cautionary tale is best-remembered for Marlene Dietrich’s risque performance as a small-town showgirl, but in truth the film is really about Emil Jannings’ bewitched school professor. When he traces his adolescent students to the titular strip club, the professor is himself caught under the spell of the bewitching Lola Lola, which sends his career and sanity spiraling out of control. A far grimmer and depressing tale than I had expected, but not without its moments of humour and titilation. Dietrich’s musical numbers are of course the film’s highpoints.