Angel on My Shoulder

It's the film everyone remembers from those Saturday afternoon TV film matinees. The producer, Charles R. Rogers, had a pretty bleak record when it came to producing films on his own (he was once a V.P. at Universal before going solo). But with "Angel" he knocked it out of the park. He inserted age-old movie favorties and combined them into one story. Gangsters, fights, comedy, drama, fantasy... what's not to love?

"Angel on My Shoulder" (1946) offers up classic performances by such legendary stars as Paul Muni, Anne Baxter, and Claude Rains. All cast to type, they give performances that are timeless. When you think of any of these stars, think of them in this film and it will give you a pretty good idea as to what each was known for.

Although this film was put together during the tail end of World War II and was designed as escapist fun, it holds up today. In fact, it begs for a good re-make. One was done for TV back in 1980, but fell flat. So bad was that version, that they should pay you to watch it. Yet if someone was to do it correctly today, they would have a real gem on their hands.

If you haven't seen the original 1946 version, catch it on TV. It belongs in everybody's movie-watching repertoire.

I admit I'm a sucker for both postwar noir and movies about heaven, hell, the Devil et al, from "Dante's Inferno" through "Petey Wheatstraw," so maybe I like this one more than you would. But I do like it a lot. Paul Muni is hilarious, mugging outrageously when he's not leaping through the air to rumble with devils or thugs.

Never been the biggest Claude Rains fan--his prissiness wears on me midway through any film he's in--but he makes a good, nasty Satan. The scenes in Hell, which looks like the boiler room on the Titanic, are priceless. Lots of good character actors playing brawny devils, lunkheaded mooks, tough dames, flustered Man Fridays and such. The plots a little more clever than you'd expect from this kind of film, with a very nice twist at the end. Definitely worth seeing if you're a fan of the oldies.

To begin, it's tough as nails to see a decent print of this public domain film. TCM has a very good 35mm print in their library, so I recommend seeing it there (unless you're fortunate to see it on the screen).

ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER was written by Harry Segall, who also penned HERE COMES MR. JORDAN. The film is a delicious turnabout of its wonderful predecessor and Claude Rains turns in his angels wings for devils hoofs and, frankly, is much more deliciously at home. Anne Baxter is superbly understated as Barbara Foster and Onslow Stevens has a larger-than-usual role as her friend and Judge Parker's doctor/psychiatrist. Judge Parker and Eddie Kagle are both played by the great Paul Muni. Muni is a joy to watch in this picture. He rises to both comedic and extraordinarily sensitive moments in the film. And he does a few "Scarface" pantomime moments, brief elegant gestures, that show what a truly great screen presence he could be.

The crucial scene in ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER is where Eddie, brought back from Hades by the Devil and now inhabiting the body of Judge Parker, is having a picnic lunch with his secretary/fiancé. Here he discovers all the truly important and wonderful things that life has to offer - all of which he lost out on because of his life of crime and immorality. Eddie is torn and tortured and Muni plays the inner torment with amazing sincerity. Helping a great deal is one of Dimitri Tiomkin's best, though least-known, musical scores. It is a far cry from his usual bombast and has many passages of great tenderness.

Rains, of course, is marvelous and there are quite a few genuinely threatening moments in his performance. Fine support is given by James Flavin (who, in addition to his role as politico Bellamy is also heard off-screen as a district attorney, a very curious happenstance), George Cleveland (as the Judge's valet), Erskine Sanford as a minister, Hardie Albright as Smiley Williams and Fritz Leiber, Noble Johnson and Kurt Katch as residents of Hades.

This is not a great film. But it's a very, very good film with some very fine sequences and performances. It deserves far better treatment than it has received since its copyright lapsed.

In HERE COMES MR. JORDAN, Claude Rains played an angel. Here he gets to play the opposite end of the game -- the role every actor loves to play, Satan. He is wry, menacing, and delicious as the master of evil who has met his match in a hood played wonderfully by Paul Muni. The story is interesting and the acting is first rate. See this one if you get the chance.

Paul Muni leads a talented cast in Archie Mayo's dark comedy about a wise-guy (Eddie Kagle/Muni) who, murdered, finds himself entangled in one of Satan's (Claude Rains) schemes to outwit his arch-rival and steal the soul of a righteous judge who happens to look exactly like Kagle. Kagle is willing to do the devil's handiwork as long as he can get revenge upon his murderer. But living vicariously in the life of a good man (Judge Parker), loved by an even better woman (Barbara/Anne Baxter) Kagle begins to question the evils of his life.

While Angel on my Shoulder is not quite a redemption story, it endows its characters with just enough conscience to make them sympathetic. The characterizations are strong - especially for the three leads - Muni, Rains and Baxter. All three are excellent, and help to make the film worth watching. The script is good, and occasionally very clever, but also slips once in a while. The pace is steady though not brisk. The cinematography is, at times, a bit hokey, but this fits the occasional lapses into silliness which the story indulges.

Recommended for young adults and older adults. Aspects of the film may frighten younger viewers and some of the key humor may not be appropriate for kids.