NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Supelice Dreadfully Boring

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

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.

MartinHafer Despite starring the likes of June Vincent and Dan Duryea, this is a surprisingly good film--thanks to good writing and acting. I was particularly happy to see Duryea in the film, as he usually only got supporting roles as greasy heavies--here he's given a chance to do a lot more.The film begins with a woman named Mavis Marlow being killed. A guy is convicted of the crime, but his wife (Vincent) is convinced he was innocent. So, with the help of Marlow's ex-husband (Duryea) they investigate. For much of the film, they go undercover at a nightclub run by Peter Lorre but fortunately there is a lot more to this story. While the ending might perhaps be a bit hard to believe, it is pretty original and exciting. I won't say more about this, as I don't want to ruin this excellent film noir movie. I particularly can commend the film for doing so much with so little. It proves you don't need big-name actors to make a very good movie--just a lot of talent, writing and style.

blanche-2 An interesting cast and great atmosphere help to make "Black Angel" a very good noir. Directed by Roy William Neill, the plot concerns a woman, Catherine Bennett (June Vincent) trying to prove that her philandering husband Kirk (John Phillips) is innocent of the murder of a gorgeous woman named Mavis Marlowe (Constance Dowling). Mavis' husband, composer- pianist Martin Blair (Dan Duryea) teams with Catherine and the two start performing at a nightclub owned by a possible suspect, Marko (Peter Lorre), in order to get evidence to free Kirk. Can they get it before Kirk is executed?The '40s atmosphere is wonderful, and the story really holds interest. Duryea plays a much softer character than he usually did, and he's very good. Broderick Crawford plays the officer in charge of the investigation into Mavis' murder. Vincent is sympathetic as Kirk's wife, who loves her husband even though he cheated. Lorre's role is small, but it's Peter Lorre after all, and he's very effective. Former Goldwyn girl Dowling is a knockout and looks like someone would want to kill her. Vincent and Duryea (both dubbed) perform some pleasant songs, including "I Wanna Be Talked About" and "Time Will Tell."As good as this film is, I think in the hands of another director, it could have been even better. As it is, it's well worth seeing.

The_Void The main things that personify the film noir genre are dark atmospheres and even darker characters. This film features shady examples of both; but neither is dark enough, which makes Black Angel very disappointing. The film is short at only eighty minutes and obviously didn't have a lot of budget; so as a result the plot is rather thin. We focus on the death of a woman and a man she was blackmailing; who gets blamed for her murder. His wife doesn't believe he did it and so sets out to prove his innocence; enlisting the help of drunken barfly and husband of the murdered woman along the way. June Vincent takes the starring role; but never really convinces as a femme fatale, and this brings the film down. She stars opposite Dan Duryea, who isn't particularly gritty as the leading man; and Peter Lorre, who is rather wasted. This film is directed by Roy William Neill; who is best known for his Sherlock Holmes films. This was actually Neill's last feature film before his death later in 1946; and it's disappointing that such a great director couldn't have gone out with something better. The main problem is certainly the plot; which never gets out of first gear and constantly fails to get the audience involved. Overall, this is a disappointing noir effort and I'd only recommend it to completists.