The Dark Angel (1935)

Director:

Sidney Franklin

Writers:

Guy Bolton (play)
Lillian Hellman (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 September 1935 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Kitty Vane, Alan Trent, and Gerald Shannon have been inseparable friends since childhood. Kitty has always known she would marry one of them...

Plot Keywords:

Train | Marriage Proposal | Grandmother | False Accusation | Reputation

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 2 nominations

Cast

Fredric March	...	Alan Trent
Merle Oberon	...	Kitty Vane
Herbert Marshall	...	Gerald Shannon
Janet Beecher	...	Mrs. Shannon
John Halliday	...	Sir George Barton
Henrietta Crosman	...	Granny Vane
Frieda Inescort	...	Ann West
Claud Allister	...	Lawrence Bidley
Cora Sue Collins	...	Kitty as a Child
Fay Chaldecott	...	Betty Gallop
George P. Breakston	...	Joe Gallop (as George Breakston)

Runtime:

106 min (TCM print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Wide Range Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #1254) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating)

Company:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Trivia:

The play opened on Broadway in New York City, New York, USA on 10 February 1925 and closed in April 1925 after 63 performances. The opening night cast included Claud Allister, who is also in the film. The playbill listed 'Guy Bolton' 's alternate name, "H.B. Trevelyan," as the author.

Movie Connections:

Version of The Dark Angel (1925)

Soundtrack:

It's a Long Way to Tipperary

Dated Romance

The Dark Angel is notable for Merle Oberon's debut in an American made film and Sam Goldwyn spared no expense for her. The film did win an Oscar for Set Decoration and Merle got an Academy Award nomination. In the last year the Academy allowed write-ins, Oberon and the four others competing in the Best Actress category lost to Bette Davis in Dangerous.

Originally The Dark Angel was a flop play on Broadway by Guy Bolton writing under the pseudonym of H.B. Trevelyan and only ran 63 performances in the 1925 season. It fared better on screen where Fredric March's and Merle Oberon's parts are played by the then popular silent screen team of Ronald Colman and Vilma Banky.

Had Colman done the sound version he might have made The Dark Angel stand up better than it does today. March and the rest of the cast try hard enough, but the whole thing comes up a bit silly today.

Fredric March and Herbert Marshall are a couple of friendly rivals for the hand of Merle Oberon in the days before World War I. March is of course a Canadian to explain is American speech pattern. Oberon picks March and Marshall takes it in good grace with proper stiff upper lip.

Later on they want to get married before he goes to the front and in typical army fashion, the red tape gets in the way. They are so in love that they spend the night together.

Though this leaves Merle none the worst for wear, when news of it gets out Marshall is most put out. When they get to the front he takes it out on March.

Today's audiences with changing attitudes are going to find all this really much ado about nothing. At least I thought so. Still the stars do give it their best, but the film really dates badly.