Another early Hammer Studios film watched for the proper context on the "House of Hammer" podcast. "Death of an Angel" is another slow-moving melodrama, but the performances a reasonably good.
Dr. Chris Boswell (Raymond Young) accepts the position of partner in the small village practice of Robert Welling (Patrick Barr). When Doctor Welling's wife Mary (Jane Baxter) dies under suspicious circumstances and Welling himself disappears he becomes the prime suspect in the murder enquiry. Together with Nurse Ann Marlow (Jean Lodge) Doctor Boswell tries to convince the investigation Officer, Supt. Walshaw (Russell Napier) that Welling is not the murderer.
For a film that's little more than an hour long, it does take almost a third of its length to really get started. There are, admittedly several characters that need to be introduced in order for the story to work. The last two thirds are reasonably good though, with several reveals along the way, some of which you will probably anticipate and some that you might not. The story, honed on the stage only occasionally betrays that origin, with the film being largely set indoors and on a small number of rooms. Quite how the conclusion worked on stage is another matter.
Quite a lot of casual sexism, directed from Boswell at Nurse Marlow usually, which is actually unusual given how progressive Hammer were in some other areas. The fight, near the films, climax is a bit laughable by today's standards, but there's an interesting power of denial about the killer's confession. The ending, in comparison, to the opening is brief to the point of being abrupt.
I can't imagine that I'm going to revisit this one any time soon, but once the initial 20 minutes or so were done, it certainly held my interest through to its conclusion.
