Black Angel

It wasn't that Dan Duryea never played nice people. He could be typecast as an evil villain most of the time, but occasionally he got cast as a nice guy. The best examples of this is the movie executive in KATHIE O (1958), who helps a young child actress save her normal life from her mother's clutches, and this film, where he tries to help a condemned man's wife prove the man is innocent. The chief suspect is a crooked nightclub owner (Peter Lorre), and Duryea and the young lady attempt to get the proof to convince a police detective (Broderick Crawford) that Lorre did the the crime. Duryea (a musician) is the boyfriend of the murdered woman, and has an interest in finding the perpetrator. And he does at the end, but at considerable cost.

A superior film noir, and well worth the watching.

This interesting, creative film-noir is much less widely known than are most of the classics of the genre, but it is well worth seeing both for the story and the cast. In a relatively brief running time, it packs in a satisfying and unpredictable story with numerous turns, with a very good cast that work together quite well. The settings are well-conceived, and together with the photography and the rest of the production, they establish a convincing noir atmosphere.

Dan Duryea is always so good at straightforward villainous "noir" roles that he sometimes seems not to have received many opportunities to do anything else, and so it's very nice to see him get such an interesting role here. He delivers very well, believably portraying the different sides of a more complex character. He also works surprisingly well with June Vincent, as together they try to solve the mystery.

Peter Lorre does not have a very large role, but as you would expect, he makes the most of it. Toss in Broderick Crawford as the police captain, and you have a cast very well suited for film-noir.

The story is not all that complex, but it is well-written, features some well-conceived turns, and fits together nicely. Roy William Neill has a good touch with the material, not trying to make it fancier or bigger than it is, but simply crafting a solid, enjoyable movie that has just about all that you could reasonably ask for in a film-noir.

For noir fans, Duryea is the quintessential "bad guy" and hardly ever the leading man, therefore I was surprised to see him billed as such in this movie.

Turns out, this is a perfect little gem of a noir. The evil femme fatale is Mavis Marlowe (Dowling), as a singer with a penchant for blackmail and who one night meets her fate.

Several men are among her victims and they could all be suspects, including ex-husband, drunkard piano player Martin (Duryea), who is still in love with Mavis.

The police pins the murder on Kirk, who is married with Catherine. She is a devoted wife and willing to forgive her husband's indiscretion, but most of all Cathy will never believe Kirk is a murderer. We know he isn't from the start, but what can Cathy do to prove it, thus saving Kirk from the gallows?

She joins forces with Martin, a character who shows Duryea actually had a range. Martin starts falling for Cathy, but will pursue the search for the real murderer at all costs.

Enjoy the musical numbers and the small role played to perfection by the suavely sinister Peter Lorre.

Don't miss this great Universal film noir mystery! Excellent cast brings to life a gritty story of neer-do-well songwriter, the murder of a dispicable sexy blackmailer, and the death sentence of seemingly the wrong man. Throw in wise guy police inspector Broderick Crawford, sinister nightclub owner Peter Lorre (in a fascinating role reversal from "Casablanca"--this time HE is the club owner)Peter Lorre is ALWAYS a treat!!

What a shame Dan Duryea didn't do more pictures! He's very effective in his role. The beautiful love interest June Vincent is another who should have made more pictures--she's very sweet and believeable.

This is another example of the Film Noir genre which was so popular in the 40s and early 50s--gorgeous photography, mood and plot twists!

BLACK ANGEL is a vastly underrated noir film, even by those who should know better. Ostensibly it is about a young woman's efforts to find the murderer of a nightclub singer and prove her accused, philandering husband's innocence. But the movie is really about alcoholism, a man's temporary escape from it, and his ultimate relapse into addiction. At its center is a character (Dan Duryea) so enveloped by melancholy it seems inevitable that his life would be subverted by alcohol. After the morbid reasons for his condition are revealed, it becomes difficult to watch and accept the contrived outcome of the movie. The real pain is in the hideous recognition of guilt and shame that lies at the heart of drunkenness.

Cornell Woolrich (author of the original novel) was an alcoholic burdened by insurmountable obsessions and sexual frustration. Through his restrictive lifestyle, he attempted to conceal his real nature not only from himself, but from his possessive mother with whom he lived in one hotel room until her death. In his work, Woolrich may have been equating murder with homosexuality. The harboring of his own sexual secrets might not differ from a delusional killer's efforts to conceal his murderous impulses. The fact that Woolrich frequently associated sex with murder in his stories might lead one to speculate that the author found sexual gratification in the graphic depiction of killing. This is an authentic noir syndrome. By creating a hallucinatory world of despair, BLACK ANGEL becomes an essential film noir. Its style mirrors the turmoil within its characters. Along with Duryea, the fine cast includes June Vincent, Peter Lorre, Broderick Crawford and Constance Dowling. Directed with stylish flair by Roy William Neill.