Prismark10 Otto Preminger directs this noirish tale of deceit and murder but inserts different ingredients to the mix. The femme fatale here is not platinum blonde but dark haired and English. Jean Simmons plays Diane a young lady over from England with her novelist father and stepmother who she dislikes and has nefarious plans for. Why she wants to murder her is not made clear.During her first failed attempt to gas her stepmother, in arrives paramedic (Frank) Robert Mitchum and the two meet when he tries to stop her hysterics. Diane follows him and strikes up a conversation with Frank a wannabee garage mechanic and former racing driver and who has a girlfriend Mary a hospital receptionist who is also saving money to help him reach his ambitions.Mitchum with his big burly frame is tailor made for such a crime thriller but apart from striking up an opportunistic relationship with Diane and cheating on Mary is not actually guilty of any crime whereas in other similar films the man is lead on to commit a murder, not so here apart from being in the frame as a suspect. The potential fall guy.However the stepmother is eventually killed in a spectacular car crash which also kills Diane's father and Frank and Diane stand trial but are assisted by a cagey defence lawyer (Leon Ames) as the film becomes a courtroom thriller.Mitchum plays a guy who realises he might not want to be a bystander in a situation that would engulf him in flames. Simmons is certainly an angel face but behind that lies a devious, calculating, alluring dangerous woman who has it all figured out. It certainly is different from similar genre films from that period but its too low key although the actors defy expectations as Mitchum is no brute here.

mark.waltz The Howard Hughes era of R.K.O. had some trashy elements about it, and one of the worst offenders of it was this, a melodramatic thriller so far-fetched, it made the same era's Bowery Boys seem mature in comparison. The waif-like Jean Simmons is the spoiled daughter of a millionaire who hates her step-mother so much, she plots murder with the intention of involving young doctor Robert Mitchum in her schemes. But nothing turns out the way she wants it which leads to more destruction.It seems that every time evil occurs, Simmons is seen dramatically playing the piano as if nothing was going on. There have been many seemingly mousy femme fatals over the years, but not one of them comes close to her absurdly written character. Attorney Leon Ames is one of the most amoral of all defenders, in full knowledge of the truth, but fully willing to allow the truth to be swept under the rug. At least Herbert Marshall and Barbar O'Neill get merciful early exits, Marshall's exit line comically tragic. Get a load of the extras in the mental ward, one of who looks like Grandmama Addams. Overwrought with unintentional humor and an influx of characters whose relationships are not believably explained, this film noir seems more like something from director Otto Preminger's later credits, where the audience was automatically forewarned of what to expect.

Claudio Carvalho In California, the ambulance driver Frank Jessup (Robert Mitchum) and his partner head to a mansion in Beverly Hills to assist the millionaire Mrs. Catherine Tremayne (Barbara O'Neil) that was poisoned with gas, but her doctor had already medicated her. When Frank is leaving the house, he meets Catherine's twenty year-old stepdaughter Diane Tremayne (Jean Simmons) that follows him in her Jaguar. After-hours, they go to a restaurant and Frank finds an excuse to his girlfriend Mary Wilton (Mona Freeman) to not visit her and he dates Diane and they go to a night-club. Diane has a crush on Frank and on the next morning, she meets Mary and tells to her what Frank and she did. Frank and Mary are saving money to open a garage since he is an efficient mechanic. Diane convinces Frank to be better paid working as a chauffeur for her family. Soon Frank learns that Diane hates her stepmother and he decides to quit his job. But Diane seduces him and he stay with the Tremayne family. When Mr. and Mrs. Tremayne have a fatal car accident, Diane and Frank become the prime suspect of the police and they go to court charged of murder. Now their only chance is the strategy of the efficient defense attorney Fred Barrett (Leon Ames)."Angel Face" is among the best film-noir I have seen, with a perfect female fatale, amoral story and dark conclusion. Jean Simmons is impressive, with Oedipus complex and her angel face that manipulates Frank and even her stepmother. The melancholic music score completes this great movie. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Alma em Pânico" ("Soul in Panic")

itamarscomix Angel Face didn't go down in history as an essential piece of the film-noir movement, nor is it Otto Preminger's most important contribution to the genre, but it still stands out from the rest, mainly by avoiding every cliché the genre has to offer. Preminger's direction is surprisingly subdued and subtle, never giving in to melodrama but always keeping a sense of tension even when very little is happening on screen. While it clearly belongs to the film noir genre, it's more a character study than a mystery or a thriller - and for once, both the male and the female leads are equally intriguing and morally ambiguous.Credit should go to the actors too, of course - Robert Mitchum is at his best and for me he was much more convincing as a questionable mechanic/driver than he ever was as a private eye; he brings a lot of heart into this otherwise sleazy role. Jean Simmons may not have had the charisma of Lauren Bacall or Ingrid Bergman but she did have her own unique presence (not to mention a remarkably beautiful face) and she makes Diane mysterious and fascinating, playing with the femme fatale and damsel in distress stereotypes without fitting into either one. Preminger, though, gets all the credit for not going the easy way by presenting their relationship as a passionate romance; Frank and Diane are both strong and independent characters who are clearly attracted to each other, but they're both in it for their own interests and never lose themselves in a dramatic and uncontrollable love affair. It makes for a story that's more cynical and more realistic than almost anything else in the genre. A must watch for any real film-noir fan, and for Robert Mitchum fans too.