hrkepler 'Black Angel' is probably closest the magnificent character actor Dan Duryea got to be to a leading man. And that is probably the only reason to actually watch that film. Not because it is totally bad. No, on the contrary, it is too mediocre. Well directed and well paced, with good acting (besides Duryea there is Peter Lorre - another great sleazeball of old Hollywood), but the film misses the real punch. The story goes pretty predictable in half the movie, but still it is entertaining to watch these two greats - Duryea and Lorre - to match their wits.

bnwfilmbuff This gets off to a strong start. We have a blackmailing socialite singer (Dowling) get murdered. A guy (Phillips) stumbles into her apartment touching everything in sight including the murder weapon to ensure he is the number one suspect. He gets nabbed and railroaded into a quick conviction. His wife (Vincent) takes up the cause of trying to find the killer enlisting the help of the murdered woman's drunken piano-playing husband (Duryea), who evidently was not at the trial! Peter Lorre, a nightclub owner/mobster, hires the couple as performers in his club and subsequently is suspected by the couple as the probable real killer. One big problem with all of this is the speed of conviction and trial seems improbable. But the other is that there are just no other suspects. We know Phillips isn't the killer. And it becomes all too obvious who is. And the movie drags as the romance between Duryea and Vincent develops. Duryea was far better in bad guy roles. Broderick Crawford is as subdued as I have ever seen him. Wallace Ford has a nothing role. Lorre does a pretty good job for what he has to work with. Constance Dowling was the best part of the movie but she doesn't last long. Fortunately, neither does the movie. So in spite of the good start and noirish atmosphere I can't recommend this.

secondtake Black Angel (1946)What a vigorous, fast, surprising movie. This is a straight up crime film in a noir style, and Dan Duryea holds it up in his indecisive, regular guy kind of way. Duryea always has trouble as the leading man because he often plays a tough guy with a soft heart, and is a little whiny or annoying by design. It's an uncomfortable role to play, not quite sympathetic as the protagonist, not quite evil as the antagonist. A better B-movie, the budget just had enough room for someone like Duryea, and a small part for both Peter Lorre, who is fantastic (as usual) playing a suspicious night club owner, and Broderick Crawford, who is an oddly subdued detective. The leading woman, June Vincent, is fine in her part as an everyday woman caught up in an effort to save her husband from the death chamber, though she was chosen more for her singing than her acting. She and Duryea sing and play the piano together, and torch song music is central to the feel of the movie. Duryea might not actually be playing the piano but he does such a good job of faking it, he might have pulled it off.But what makes the film special? First of all, it's fast. The first twenty minutes have enough turns and dramatic climaxes for many entire movies. And then there's the filming, the visuals, which are vigorous and kinetic. The wild zoom in from the street up a tall building and into the room near the beginning is crazy--like low budget Gregg Toland from "Citizen Kane." But this is either cinematographer Paul Ivano, who is an uncredited photographer for part of "Frankenstein," believe it or not, or more likely the special effects guy, David Horsley, who helped with a whole slew of classics, including "Bride of Frankenstein," oddly enough. The scene near the end where Duryea is hallucinating is terrific, with its distortions.Whatever the faults of the movie (possibly the weakness of the female lead, who becomes the central character) it has so much surprise and velocity it is terrific anyway.

dougdoepke Duryea makes a great drunk. The way he looks in a couple of scenes makes me think twice about that social drink or two. Actually, the movie resembles a cheaper version of its Paramount contemporary The Blue Dahlia (1946) right down to the other Dowling sister (of the wicked eyes), this time Constance instead of Doris. The plots are pretty similar—tracking down the killer of a faithless woman, with an addled character playing a central role (William Bendix in Dahlia). In fact, the blonds Duryea & Vincent resemble a more musical version of Dahlia's Alan Ladd & Veronica Lake. I'm just sorry that the exotic Constance (Mavis) gets her neck wrung so early in this movie. That hank of hair is big enough to hide an army in.So, who did kill Mavis. There're not that many suspects; still, I was surprised at the outcome. There're also the expected staples of 40's noir— a surreal sequence (Duryea), a torch singer (Vincent), a guy on the run (Duryea), and some good nightclub scenes (but where's the cigarette smoke?). The atmosphere is appropriately noirish, but not as intense as it should be, which may be a reason the film tends to get overlooked. Nonetheless, the ending, with its undercurrent of the tragic, is unusually complex for a studio product. Unfortunately, director Neill died soon after the film's release, and after stepping up from Universal's atmospheric Sherlock Holmes series. Happily, his work, both there and here, shows a talent for interesting touches. But, it's June Vincent (Catherine) that surprised me. Her career specialized in blonde ice queens. Here, however, she brings genuine depth to what could have been a merely stereotypical role. Catch her many subtle expressions as the relationship with Martin (Duryea) evolves. In fact, she expresses an emotional conflict with Martin that makes me think she finally acts out of duty rather than heart.Anyway, the 80-minutes may not quite make it into the front rank of noir, but still remains a solid entry with a number of interesting angles. Besides, no film with two greats like Duryea and Lorre can afford to be passed up.