Angel Face (1952)
Directed by Otto Preminger

Crime / Drama / Romance

Film Review

Abstract picture representing Angel Face (1952)
If Angel Face had been directed by anyone other than Otto Preminger it would almost certainly have ended up as a routine film noir crime drama, its barely credible plot (taken from a novel by Chester Erskine) doing its damnedest to strain the credulity of anyone who has to watch it.  One of the true maestros of film noir, Preminger was never one to let a far-fetched plot get in the way of a good film, as he had previously demonstrated on Laura (1944) and Fallen Angel (1945), two of his best films.  With its implausible plot twists and hard-to-fathom characters Angel Face is a more challenging proposition, but somehow Preminger takes it and fashions it into a chilling study in evil and manipulation, the result being one of the most devious and unsettling of all films noirs.

Looking like a man who has had his fill of playing doomed noir heroes, Robert Mitchum brings an unmistakable blend of cynicism and detachment to his performance as bad girl Jean Simmons attempts to lure him into her web of murderous intrigue.  It's the familiar noir set up but somehow the subtlety of the performances and Preminger's hypnotic mise-en-scène make it fresh and dangerously exciting.  With her gamine looks Simmons appears too naive and unsophisticated to pose a real threat.  Mitchum appears too worldly wise and sarcastic to be taken in by a rich girl's fanciful hokum.  But these are only surface impressions.  In truth, Mitchum is far more vulnerable than we think and Simmons proves to be much deadlier than we dare imagine.  This is why the film constantly takes us by surprise and leaves us gasping with disbelief and horror in at least two hard-to-forget sequences.

Angel Face is more than just a study in evil, it is one of classic film noir's most skilful attempts to unpick the human psyche and show what evil really is - not an aberration in a diseased mind but something that exists within us all, a destructive impulse that feeds on the baser motives, such as the yearning for things we desire but cannot possess by legitimate means.  Mitchum's character is far less innocent than he pretends and, far from being a passive victim, he becomes an active participant in his downfall, consciously or subconsciously drawn to Simmons by hopes of exploiting her family's wealth.  Simmons is hardly your classic film noir temptress - she seems barely able to comprehend what she is doing and seems to be entirely driven by subconscious impulses.  The hidden forces that motivate both characters, already blurred to frustrating opacity, become indecipherable once the crime has been committed and the protagonists end up being dragged through a mockery of a trial.  As the drama enters its final act, some deft lighting and camerawork serve to create a harrowing sense of confinement and we quickly realise that there is no way out.  The trap has been sprung and there is a horrible, almost mathematical inevitability about what ensues...
© James Travers 2014
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Otto Preminger film:
The Moon Is Blue (1953)

Film Synopsis

The Tremaynes, Charles and Catherine, are a wealthy couple who live with their daughter Diane at their hilltop estate in Beverley Hills.  One evening, Catherine Tremayne narrowly escapes death by gas inhalation and suspects that someone attempted to kill her.  Ambulance driver Frank Jessup, a member of the medical team which came to Mrs Tremayne's aid, notices a visibly unsettled Diane and attempts to comfort her.  They meet up later that evening and have dinner together, although Charles is uncomfortable about having to lie to his girlfriend Mary.  Diane persuades Charles that her stepmother is a cruel woman who mistreats both her and her father, a failed writer who has become financially dependent on her.  Reluctantly Frank decides to give up his present job to work for the Tremaynes as a chauffeur, hopeful that Mrs Tremayne may give him a loan so he can buy a garage.  Shortly after Frank tells Diane that he intends leaving her to resume his old life her parents are killed when their car drives over the edge of a cliff.  Diane wants to confess to the double homicide but her lawyer advises her that to do so would also incriminate Frank...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.


Film Credits

  • Director: Otto Preminger
  • Script: Ben Hecht, Frank S. Nugent, Oscar Millard, Chester Erskine (story)
  • Cinematographer: Harry Stradling Sr.
  • Music: Dimitri Tiomkin
  • Cast: Robert Mitchum (Frank Jessup), Jean Simmons (Diane Tremayne Jessup), Mona Freeman (Mary Wilton), Herbert Marshall (Mr. Charles Tremayne), Leon Ames (Fred Barrett), Barbara O'Neil (Mrs. Catherine Tremayne), Kenneth Tobey (Bill Crompton), Raymond Greenleaf (Arthur Vance), Griff Barnett (The Judge), Robert Gist (Miller), Morgan Farley (Juror), Jim Backus (Dist. Atty. Judson), Gertrude Astor (Matron), Lucille Barkley (Waitress), Larry J. Blake (Det. Brady), Morgan Brown (Harry), Mary Jane Carey (Woman), Jack Chefe (Man), Clark Curtiss (Reporter), Roy Darmour (Assistant District Attorney)
  • Country: USA
  • Language: English / Japanese
  • Support: Black and White
  • Runtime: 91 min

The best French films of 2018
sb-img-27
Our round-up of the best French films released in 2018.
The very best period film dramas
sb-img-20
Is there any period of history that has not been vividly brought back to life by cinema? Historical movies offer the ultimate in escapism.
The very best French thrillers
sb-img-12
It was American film noir and pulp fiction that kick-started the craze for thrillers in 1950s France and made it one of the most popular and enduring genres.
The best French Films of the 1910s
sb-img-2
In the 1910s, French cinema led the way with a new industry which actively encouraged innovation. From the serials of Louis Feuillade to the first auteur pieces of Abel Gance, this decade is rich in cinematic marvels.
The very best American film comedies
sb-img-18
American film comedy had its heyday in the 1920s and '30s, but it remains an important genre and has given American cinema some of its enduring classics.
 

Other things to look at


Copyright © filmsdefrance.com 1998-2024
All rights reserved



All content on this page is protected by copyright