Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Breakinger A Brilliant Conflict

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

weezeralfalfa Young middle-age Eric Stanton is down on his luck: broke after squandering his substantial savings on gambling. He's found a young knockout waitress(Linda Darnell, as Stella) at a bus stopover, on the way to San Francisco, who he would like to marry. But, he has competition. She wants a home and other things right away. Since he is jobless, he will have to use his imagination to come up with the dough. His competition seems to be mostly several middle-aged men who are regulars at Pop's drugstore, where she works. They take her out on dates with their car. But Eric has no car and no money to take her out. Then, he finds out about a pair of spinster sisters: June(Alice Faye)and Clare( Anne Revere) Mills, who inherited their house and considerable money. He schemes to marry one, take most of her money, then divorce her, and marry Stella. Easier said than done, as he discovers. After establishing a relationship with 'Professor' Matley(John Carradine): a spiritualist, Eric contacts the pair and offers them tickets to a séance, which will feature their deceased father. They reluctantly agree, but are not impressed with the 'show'. However, Eric continues to engage their attention. Soon, it's plain that June, the better looking sister, is interested in him. Soon, they shock everyone, especially sister Clara, by announcing they got married that day. That evening, Eric goes to Stella, and tells her the story and that he will soon have the money for a house, and then will divorce June. But Stella doesn't buy it , and goes on her planned date with Dave Atkins(Bruce Cabot). The next morning, everyone is dumbfounded by the news that Stella was murdered last night. Her estimated time of death is an important detail in ruling out various suspects, including Eric. Nonetheless, the investigator Mark Judd(Charles Bickford) keeps Eric in mind as a prime suspect. Thus, the remainder of the film is mostly devoted to trying to prove who murdered Stella, and to strengthening the Eric/June relationship.......We can understand why Stella would want to date a variety of men, with her ultimate goal of marrying one who can immediately provide her with a home. In contrast, June seems not particularly interested in men. She already has a home and plenty of money she inherited. Thus, she's not dependent on a man to provide these things. Why then would she fall for Eric, who had the smell of a con man? My guess is she saw in Eric a handsome man, about her age, whom she thought had potential to be a good provider, if he was given some help to get back on his feet, and hopefully reign in his weaknesses(especially gambling). She didn't know he was a compulsive gambler until after they were married. Now, she has to fear he could gamble away her inheritance. Both Eric and Stella seem narcissistic, in contrast to June, who seems nurturing. I suspect she hopes she can convert Eric into being nurturing too, after he gets on his feet, financially. See the movie, available at YouTube, to find out who murdered Stella.

jadedalex Someone commented that this film is better than 'Laura'. I'd have to say that I agree, but that is no ringing endorsement for 'Fallen Angel', because there are at least two too many unbelievable characters.We get quite early on that Dana Andrews is your quintessential ne'er do well con artist. His cheeky move of marrying a virtuous girl with money (Alice Faye) to eventually use his new-found wealth to romance the very sexy Linda Darnell, is a tad outrageous.The only believable character is the teasing Darnell. She looks very fresh and lovely here.Alice Faye looks out of place in this film noir, as she had that oh so sweet blonde innocent look. I was literally scratching my head trying to figure out why such a nice girl would be so taken with the obvious bum Andrews.So, no, I didn't 'buy' the movie, as i didn't 'buy' 'Laura'. But the ending I must admit was very clever and a wonderful bit of off-type casting.The ending is almost as good as Preminger's ambiguous finish to his masterpiece 'Anatomy of a Murder'.I recently rewatched this film and I found myself enjoying it even more. Darnell is gorgeous in her role...someone's review talked about Linda as 'out of place' playing a 'bad girl' but I think she fits it perfectly.I fell in love with Ms. Darnell as 'Stella', much like every male in the cast did! 'Stella' is the classic film noir femme fatale. I came to appreciate Charles Bickford's role as the sadistic cop, but I still could not make heads or tails of Alice Faye's blind faith in the greasy Dana Andrews' character.This is a flawed film, but I must say, I enjoy it much more than 'Laura'. Preminger seems to have a real affection for the genre. The con man/spookchaser role played by John Carradine allows the actor to ham it up magnificently as only Carradine can.Poor Alice Faye still seems out of place. She at first appears as your Cardboard Virtuous Blonde. It's interesting that Faye tried to reinvent herself in this film noir film, it may have worked with a better screenplay. Closer examination of Ms. Faye reveals a very lovely woman. Her appeal is still quite obvious in this mid forties' flick.

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.

seymourblack-1 Although "Fallen Angel" is probably the least known and least appreciated of Otto Preminger's film noirs, it is nevertheless, a very compelling and well paced murder mystery which is frequently cynical and melodramatic but also strong on style and atmosphere. Joseph LaShelle's cinematography creates a moody and oppressive backdrop for the action which is particularly appropriate as it reflects the sense of confinement that exists in its small town setting and also the feelings of despair which frequently feature throughout the story. Predictably, the night-time scenes are the most aesthetically pleasing and there are also some memorable images which stay in the mind for some time after the movie has finished. Their particular strength lies in their ability to capture, in one moment, such a strong impression of the characters and the time in which they existed. One example is the shot of Dana Andrews standing outside Pop's diner and another is Linda Darnell massaging her foot after returning from an unexplained absence from her job.Eric Stanton (Dana Andrews) arrives in the small town of Walton with little money and no immediate prospects and goes to Pop's diner where he sees a stunning looking waitress called Stella (Linda Darnell) and also learns that a touring spiritualist, Professor Madley (John Carradine) is due to appear in a show in the town in the very near future. Eric is an ex-press agent who is very persuasive and unscrupulous and displays these qualities in style as he cons Madley's assistant into thinking that he knows the Professor and then gets involved in publicising the show. Ticket sales are slow because of opposition from Clara Mills (Anne Revere) who is the daughter of the well respected and now deceased previous mayor of the town. When Eric attempts to persuade Clara to give the show her approval she initially refuses but then changes her mind due to the influence of her sister June (Alice Faye) who is quite taken with Eric's type of charm.After the Mills sisters' opposition is removed the tickets sell in large numbers and the show is a financial success. The grateful Professor offers Eric a permanent job but he declines because, by this point, he's become obsessed by Stella and so decides to stay in Walton.Stella has an army of admirers and is also very materialistic so when Eric tries to develop a relationship with her, she soon makes it clear that she'll only be interested if he can guarantee marriage and enough money to satisfy her high aspirations. In response, he devises a scheme to marry June Mills for a short time so that when the marriage is annulled he could achieve a substantial financial settlement which he could then use to win over Stella. However, shortly after having married June, Stella is found murdered and Eric becomes a suspect. In order to prove his innocence, he then makes his own investigations before discovering the identity of the real killer.The characters in this bizarre story are made believable by some fine performances, especially from the supporting cast. John Carradine is excellent as a humorous and very pragmatic charlatan and Charles Bickford is convincing as a retired New York police detective who'd moved to California for the benefit of his health. Anne Revere is good as the sour and sceptical Clara and Alice Faye is subtle in the way that she gradually conveys the fact that there is more to June than first meets the eye.Dana Andrews capably portrays Eric's fast talking ability to manipulate people and also the toughness which enables him to grit his teeth and cope when things don't go as planned. Linda Darnell's capacity to look sullen and disdainful and to act tough and determined was, no doubt, what made her such a great choice to play the devious and dishonest Stella.This movie is frequently overlooked but is still worth investigating as it has much to commend it and will certainly be appreciated by most film noir fans.