Linkshoch Wonderful Movie

BootDigest Such a frustrating disappointment

Roman Sampson One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

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.

bnwfilmbuff This gets off to a strong start. We have a blackmailing socialite singer (Dowling) get murdered. A guy (Phillips) stumbles into her apartment touching everything in sight including the murder weapon to ensure he is the number one suspect. He gets nabbed and railroaded into a quick conviction. His wife (Vincent) takes up the cause of trying to find the killer enlisting the help of the murdered woman's drunken piano-playing husband (Duryea), who evidently was not at the trial! Peter Lorre, a nightclub owner/mobster, hires the couple as performers in his club and subsequently is suspected by the couple as the probable real killer. One big problem with all of this is the speed of conviction and trial seems improbable. But the other is that there are just no other suspects. We know Phillips isn't the killer. And it becomes all too obvious who is. And the movie drags as the romance between Duryea and Vincent develops. Duryea was far better in bad guy roles. Broderick Crawford is as subdued as I have ever seen him. Wallace Ford has a nothing role. Lorre does a pretty good job for what he has to work with. Constance Dowling was the best part of the movie but she doesn't last long. Fortunately, neither does the movie. So in spite of the good start and noirish atmosphere I can't recommend this.

kapelusznik18 ***SPOILERS*** Kicked out of her apartment and told never to come and see her again Mavis Marlowe's recovering alcoholic husband and piano player Martin Blair hits the bottle real hard while someone sneaks into Marvis' pad and murders her. With all the evidence, and fingerprints on the murder weapon, showing that Marvis's lover musician Kirk Bennett, who was the one who found her body, murdered her it's an open and shut case for the D.A's office to have him convicted and sent to the state's electric chair. This has Bennett's wife, who he's been cheating on, Cathy join forces with the trying to find his wife's killer Martin Blair to get Bennett off the hook and out of the electric chair in tracking down Marvis' killer feeling that Bennett was innocent in her murder.One of the person's overlooked in Marvis's murder who in fact visited her moments before she was whacked was her boss nightclub owner Marko who left or fled the scene before the police arrived. In trying to get the goods on Marko, in Marvis's murder, both Blair and Cathy get together as a song & dance act get a job or gig at his nightclub in order to find out if in fact Marko did murdered Marvis in order to save Bennett's life. The ending is a lot more interesting with the killer himself giving himself up to the police after he realized her was the one who murdered Marvis Marlowe! But the rub in all this is will he be able to have time to save an innocent mans-Kirk Bennett-life from getting zapped in the electric chair.****MAJOR MAJOR SPOILERS****The usual race against the clock to save an innocent mans life movie with Dan Duryea as the man on the spot pianist and song and dance man Martin Blair getting his head as well as act together in saving Bennett's life for a crime that he in fact committed! It was after his wife Marvis kicked Blair out of her apartment that he got himself juiced at a local bar and then totally unconscious to his surroundings came back for revenge. It was that poor sap Kirk Bennett who ended up with the short or sh*t end of the stick in being in the wrong place at the wrong time and convicted for Blair's crime. It took almost the entire movie with the help of a couple bottle's of booze for Blair to finally come to his senses and admit his guilt. But would he have enough time to get the cop on the case Captian Flood to get in touch, by phone, with the Governor to halt Kirk Bennett's pending execution?

juanandrichard Contrary to what many of the other reviewers have written, this movie was released as an "A", opening at the Criterion Theatre on Broadway in NYC. My only caveat in my positive opinion of this movie is the character of Catherine who, in the novel was the "Black Angel", destroying the men she comes across in her quest to prove her husband innocent. The writers for the movie made her far too passive, and June Vincent (who I like) was far too sympathetic. Otherwise, this movie is terrific, with a special mention to Paul Ivano for his excellent photography, Frank Skinner for a truly wonderful soundtrack. A special nod should be given to gorgeous Constance Dowling who, in her few brief scenes, truly captured the essence of her character. FYI, before this movie was released, several scenes were cut (one involving Constance Dowling, and one involving Duryea and Vincent, as well as one scene in which June Vincent sings.) I know I am probably in the minority on the following opinion - but I wish someone would retire permanently that elitist description for mysteries: "Film Noir"!