LeonLouisRicci The Post-War Years had finally Arrived and Film-Noir, and the Seedlings Planted in the previous 10 Years, started to become Fully Formed and the Pure Film-Noir became more Abundant and the Crop bore Fruit for a Full 5 Years before the Genre would be increasingly Watered Down with Police Procedural, a more Friendly Style with the Conservative 1950's."Fallen Angel" was Directed by the Dictatorial Hand of Otto Preminger who Found Breakout Success with the Popular Murder Mystery "Laura" (1944).This Movie Suffered On-Set Strife and the End Result was a Work in Progress, Changed on the fly, and it Shows. Never quite Cohering the Plot Points and the Style Wavered with the Parts Better than the Whole.Details about the Making Of and Behind the Scenes Stuff can be Found in the more Gossipy and Biographical Oriented Elsewhere.The Film has a Good Cast Playing some Good Characters and at times it Sparkles with Flourishes Framing an Intriguing Story with an Edge of Pulpy Seediness. The Dialog is Gabby with a "Paperback" Profundity. Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, and Alice Faye Star.Overall, Dense with Drama as the Movie Unfolds. The "Diner" is a Film-Noir Icon and here it Uses its Low-Brow Environs where the Characters Gather to Drink Coffee, Expose Their Personas among a Background of a Jukebox and the Ring of the Cash Register Adding an Atmosphere where Desperate Characters have Dreams of the Good Life but Temptation and Human Weakness have a Way of Getting in the Way.

Scarecrow-88 After collaborating on one of the greatest films ever made(Laura (1944)), director Otto Preminger and star Dana Andrews this time join forces to make a lesser but nonetheless beautifully photographed film noir titled FALLEN ANGEL. Andrews is on his way to San Francisco, broke, hard-bitten, angry, and tired, from New York where he squandered $8,000 after selling a successful publicity agency(he's good at charming customers into buying whatever he's selling), wandering into a little California town known as Watkins where he's smitten with a no-good beauty named Stella, the kind of chick who hypnotizes all the men who happen to enter her orbit. Andrews is so desperate to have her as his girl, he'll work his spell over a local girl(Alice Faye, receiving top billing), the daughter of a deceased former Mayor, revered by the citizens of Watkins. Faye has money: Darnell wants to have a home and plenty of dough, but when Andrews informs her that he had to marry Faye in order to secure the money she has in a San Francisco bank vault box, their plan to run away together hits the skids. Darnell doesn't want a "married man" and eyes a music box and slot machine salesman (Bruce Cabot), raising the ire of Andrews who has devoted all of his recent activities to pursuing her hand. When later that night Darnell is found murdered, a blow to the temple the method of execution, Andrews is the suspect because he met her at the diner earlier that night, producing the heated incident which ended their relationship for good.Charles Bickford is a retired police investigator who came to Watkins "to relax" from New York, asked by the Police Chief to help him find Darnell's murderer. Bickford's interrogation methods (as we see when he questions Cabot, wearing a white glove to remove potential bruising) are questionable, to say the least, and Andrews gets out of dodge, fearing a frame-up, with Faye insisting on coming to San Francisco with him. Anne Revere is the older sister of Faye, herself emotionally scarred from losing a fortune of her daddy's money to a louse who fleeced her. Revere simply wants what's best for her sister and feels Andrews would commit the same grievous acts perpetrated on her. Shot in stunning, stark B&W by cinematographer Joseph LaShelle, FALLEN ANGEL is blessed with a gorgeous look, and Andrews was trustworthy when it came to performing in the film noir genre. Preminger's film takes its time, allowing the story to unfold, but I'm not quite sold that Faye would adhesively attach to Andrews who never shows her the kind of affection she deserves—that is until the very end when she loyally remains by his side despite angered outbursts on his behalf because of a situation he finds himself in, the chief suspect in a murder. Darnell is perfectly cast as the object of lust all the guys covet and adore. Good part for Percy Kilbride as the old diner owner who practically worships Darnell, so incredibly happy that she continues to work for him(she actually lifts money from his cash register to pocket for herself, but I imagine he wouldn't get rid of her even if he caught her). Darnell's shallow, greedy, a hollow human being whose only attributes are her sultry looks and sexy features and curves. John Carradine has a hilarious cameo as a charlatan called Professor Madley, who claims to commune with the dead—Andrews sees an opportunity with this character to score some quick bread, able to convince Faye to come to a performance, in turn bringing the entire community to see Carradine talk with lost loved ones, preferably their dead mayor.

Claudio Carvalho While traveling to San Francisco, the drifter Eric Stanton (Dana Andrews) is thrown off the bus late night in Walton for not having the necessary money to buy the complete ticket. He wanders to the "Pop's Eats" diner, where he meets the sexy waitress Stella, an easy woman that uses to date clients after-hours. Eric has a crush on her but the cynical Stella tells that he can not afford to have her. Eric decides to seduce the lonely June Mills (Alice Faye), a wealthy woman that lives with her controller sister Clara Mills (Anne Revere), to have money to move with Stella. Eric goes to San Francisco with June and Clara, and gets married with June. They return to Walton and in the wedding night, Eric sneaks out to meet Stella that has a date. On the next morning, Stella is found murdered and the brutal investigator Mark Judd (Charles Bickford) is assigned for the case. When Eric becomes the prime-suspect, he investigates the murder seeking the identity of the real killer."Fallen Angel" is a disappointing film-noir by Otto Preminger. The unreasonable story has only unlikable characters and situations very hard to believe. The conclusion with Eric Stanton resolving the case by distance is awful. My vote is five.Title (Brazil): "Anjo ou Demônio" ("Angel or Demon")

dougdoepke No need to repeat the plot. The screen really pulsates when Darnell appears. That opening shot of her in a big hat and cheap dress, hiking up her skirt tells us all we need to know. Too bad the rest is a disappointment. According to IMDb, a number of production folks were unhappy with the final cut by head honcho Zanuck. Maybe that's why the story lacks focus, meandering from one character to another to no particular purpose. Nor do I see anything like Preminger's usual languid, moody style in the results. Instead, the scenes merely accumulate without building. For example, Carradine's phony spiritualist looks promising, but is quickly dropped. And why is King Kong's Cabot stuck in a brief part that any number of no-names could have handled, unless a number of his scenes were cut.It doesn't help that Andrews plays one of the most dislikable central characters (Eric Stanton) in noir. In my book, there's nothing redeeming about his fast-talking operator at any level, which makes the sugary June's (Faye) abject devotion all the more unbelievable. Noir protagonists are generally a moral mix that makes them more interesting than the usual one-dimensional hero of the period. Just as importantly, they manage a redeeming quality at some level. Stanton, however, is a heel through and through. As a result, the movie fails to provide a crucial center of gravity to identify with. But, whatever the reason and despite some good scenes usually involving Darnell, the movie remains a meandering disappointment.