dougdoepke It's Hollywood's version of The Three Wise Men in this droll, slightly morbid comedy. Of course, the three escapees from Devil's Island prison don't start out as do-gooders. But once they encounter the struggling Ducotel family, their heartstrings are tugged. The chuckles come from how the three use their criminal skills to help the family's failing business, which is also about to be foreclosed by a hard-hearted cousin Andre (Rathbone) and his grasping son Paul (Baer).Now when thinking laughs, Bogart, Ray, and Ustinov don't come to mind. Wisely, each underplays his comedic role letting the unlikely situation they're in dominate; that way, none risk a broader type comedy that might burlesque their established personas. So Bogart's Joseph uses his shady leadership skills to benefit the family. Thus Bogart is still Bogart despite the droll format. At the same time, Ustinov's Jules cracks open about every lock in town, while Ray angles toward the fetching family daughter Isabelle (Talbot). All in all, It's a clever format for the three.Anyway, Talbott's charming, getting to wear about every colorful outfit in Paramount's wardrobe department. Carroll, on the other hand, looks unwell and too old to believably husband the lovely, much younger Bennett. On the other hand, I especially like the scenes where a fast-talking Bogart uses salesmanship on a reluctant over-weight woman (Penman), and an ill-fitting jacket on a paunchy man. As I recall, the movie got a lot of ballyhoo at the time, probably because of Bogart and this slight change of pace.Anyway, the 106-minutes may be a little overstretched for the material. But the results amount to an entertaining X-mas parable that was unfortunately Bogie's last film. But all in all, it's a pretty good one to go out on. One other thing, if someone offers you a little metal box with holes in it, don't take it. I repeat, don't take it.

Andy Howlett Despite being fans of 1950's films, we hadn't seen this until we bought it recently on DVD. What a lovely film it turned out to be, with Bogey leading an excellent cast in a charming story with great heart. As we have grown older, we have started to appreciate Humphrey Bogart more and more, and as has been noted, he has a very good touch with light, understated comedy. Leo G Carroll takes it easy as the store manager, and he and Joan Bennett as his wife have several very nice scenes together, especially the one around the piano which reminded me of a similar one in 'Meet me in St Louis'. All in all, a beautifully-crafted film with just the right amount of corn and sentimentality, ideal for those quiet Sunday afternoons. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying 'they don't make them like this anymore' - and isn't that a shame?

MartinHafer UNCONSCIOUS WOMAN ALERT: I feel I have an obligation to those who hate movie clichés to let you know that one of the actresses in this film, Gloria Talbot, faints again and again. In reality people RARELY do this unless there is some sort of serious medical disorder and I hate to see "dumb women" fainting on cue in films--a definitely negative stereotype.BAD IDEA ALERT: In this film, a family is aided by three nice escaped convicts. If you happen upon a group of escaped murderers and thieves, do NOT invite them into your home. This, despite the film, is a rather bad idea and is not advisable! The film WE'RE NO ANGELS is odd in that it plays an awful lot like a play and perhaps it was, though IMDb gives no indication of this. The way people walk in and walk off make this seem play-like as does its rather confined manner--it's almost entirely set within one house.The movie begins with three prisoners (Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov and Aldo Ray) escaping from one of the prisons on in French Guiana. This complex of prisons is known as 'Devil's Island' and once prisoners complete their sentences, they are required to live in French Guiana for the rest of their lives. So, seeing three prisoners walking about free in the colony isn't so unusual--people recognize them as prisoners but mistakenly think they've completed their time.While their goal is to eventually get on a ship heading back to France (why France--why not anywhere but France--where they might be recognized?!?), they need to get some cash. So, they descend upon a poor shopkeeper (Leo G. Carroll) and his family. No, they don't want to kill or rob them necessarily (at least after they get to know them), but see if there is some way they can scrounge up some money. Bogart makes himself at home--and begins selling off merchandise that's just been sitting there for years. Because of this, the family let the men stay--after all, they are helping the shop to finally make money. In some ways, all this is rather reminiscent of the great Edward G. Robinson film LARCENY INC., though this story seems more like a reworking of the older film, not necessarily a remake.While staying with the family, these three very larcenous men seem to become almost like guardian angels for the family--doing little things to help them, such as giving them advice and "finding" a turkey for their dinner. Folks, this is really NOT a good idea. If you come upon some escaped convicts it's actually very unlikely they'll help you straighten out your lives. Murder, rape and/or robbery is actually a lot more likely than their acting like three Mary Poppins wannabes!! It turns out that the family's biggest problem is Carroll's cousin (Basil Rathbone). Rathbone owns the company which owns the store and he is continually threatens to fire him, as the shop makes very little money. When Rathbone arrives, it's up to the three nice murderers/thieves to save the day. And, in the film, this all somehow works out...thanks to a tiny little snake--go figure. Unfortunately, the final lines in the film are rather unexpected and quite dumb! A decent enough film but a terrible finale. Overall, this is an agreeable but not especially inspired film. While a clever idea, the acting is very broad and characters seem a bit too much like caricatures. Not bad...just not particularly subtle or as good as it could be.

blanche-2 1955's "We're No Angels," directed by Michael Curtiz, proves once again that Humphrey Bogart was as adept at comedy as he was at drama. Here he's joined by Peter Ustinov and Aldo Ray. The three of them are escaped convicts from Devil's Island who become involved with a store owner (Leo J. Carroll) - at first planning to rob him - but find they care too much about him, his wife (Joan Bennett), their daughter (Gloria Talbot), and the impending visit of the horrible uncle who controls the purse strings (Basil Rathbone). They wind up giving the family a Christmas they'll never forget, in more ways than one.This is a wonderful holiday film from the French play "My Three Angels" that retains some of the French sentence structure - which sounds hilarious coming from the lips of the likes of Bogart and Aldo Ray. It makes the film all the more delightful.The acting is terrific from the three stars and also the rest of the cast.Highly recommended.