Black Angel (1946)

Director:

Roy William Neill

Writers:

Cornell Woolrich (novel)
Roy Chanslor (screenplay)

Release Date:

2 August 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Film-Noir | Mystery

Tagline:

Duryea! ...that fascinating tough-guy of "Scarlet Street"!

Plot:

When Kirk Bennett is convicted of a singer's murder, his wife tries to prove him innocent...aided by the victim's ex-husband.

Plot Keywords:

Alcoholic | Brooch | Murder | Police | Color In Title

Cast

Dan Duryea	...	Martin Blair
June Vincent	...	Catherine Bennett
Peter Lorre	...	Marko
Broderick Crawford	...	Captain Flood
Constance Dowling	...	Mavis Marlowe
Wallace Ford	...	Joe
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	Jake, janitor
Freddie Steele	...	Lucky, manager of Rio's
John Phillips	...	Kirk Bennett
Ben Bard	...	Bartender
Junius Matthews	...	Dr. Courtney
Marion Martin	...	Millie
Archie Twitchell	...	George Mitchell (as Michael Branden)
Maurice St. Clair	...	Dancer (as St. Clair)
Vilova	...	Dancer

Also Known As:

The Black Angel (USA) (copyright title)

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #11776) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Black Dahlia (2006)

Soundtrack:

CONTINENTAL GENTLEMAN

An Interesting & Creative Film-Noir

This interesting, creative film-noir is much less widely known than are most of the classics of the genre, but it is well worth seeing both for the story and the cast. In a relatively brief running time, it packs in a satisfying and unpredictable story with numerous turns, with a very good cast that work together quite well. The settings are well-conceived, and together with the photography and the rest of the production, they establish a convincing noir atmosphere.

Dan Duryea is always so good at straightforward villainous "noir" roles that he sometimes seems not to have received many opportunities to do anything else, and so it's very nice to see him get such an interesting role here. He delivers very well, believably portraying the different sides of a more complex character. He also works surprisingly well with June Vincent, as together they try to solve the mystery.

Peter Lorre does not have a very large role, but as you would expect, he makes the most of it. Toss in Broderick Crawford as the police captain, and you have a cast very well suited for film-noir.

The story is not all that complex, but it is well-written, features some well-conceived turns, and fits together nicely. Roy William Neill has a good touch with the material, not trying to make it fancier or bigger than it is, but simply crafting a solid, enjoyable movie that has just about all that you could reasonably ask for in a film-noir.