Angel Face (1952)

[JohnChard]

Never be the innocent bystander, that’s the guy that always gets hurt.

Angel Face is directed by Otto Preminger and adapted to screenplay by Ben Hecht, Oscar Millard and Frank S. Nugent from a story written by Chester Erskine. It stars Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Mona Freeman and Herbert Marshall. Music is scored by Dimitri Tiomkin and cinematography is by Harry Stradling

The Tremayne residence, home to beguiling beauty Diane Tremayne (Simmons). When ambulance driver Frank Jessup (Mitchum) meets her for the first time, little did he know that he would soon be engulfed in a world of sexual desires and possible murder.

Well if it aint the dead body jockey.

In film noir circles it’s certainly well known enough, and it can count a number of big names in the movie world as its supporters, yet Angel Face still appears to be something of a forgotten treasure. It’s a wickedly dark Freudian picture that pulses with impending doom, luring the viewer into its web that’s been threaded together by deceit, seduction, greed and madness. The viewer is never quite sure what will out as the Diane/Frank relationship starts to form, we have a good idea that Frank is in it up to his neck, and you sense he knows it as well, but the twists and turns in the narrative keep things suspenseful; right up to the bold and black hearted finale.

The themes at work in the story are beautifully aided by two compelling central performances from Mitchum (Out of the Past) and Simmons (Elmer Gantry), the former is very restrained, muscular and on iconic cigarette smoking form, the latter is suspiciously sexy, angelic yet dangerous and exuding a poker face charm. In support Mona Freeman (The Heiress) makes good out of a too small a role as the polar opposite “other” girl. Herself gorgeous, Freeman has “safe and homely” down pat, but is that enough for our rugged Frankie Jessup? Preminger (Laura/Whirlpool) directs with professional assuredness whilst getting in tight to the actors with his camera.

Stradling’s (Suspicion/A Streetcar Named Desire) black and white photography is effective in capturing the Beverly Hills locale, however, it’s rarely in sync with the murky themes unfolding in the plot. Too often it’s too bright, too expansive, the minimal amount of shadow play is sorely felt, particularly when the action switches to the foreboding setting of the Tremayne cliff top house. It’s an itch that is inflamed still further by Tiomkin’s in tune score, full of melodramatic swirls and supernatural down beats, it’s a score very at one with the characters. Still, that’s me being greedy and wanting chiaroscuro in full effect, Stradling was a fine photographer and surely acted on Preminger’s requests for this particular movie.

Angel Face, a moody gem of a story that’s punctured by moments of violence, and featuring a cast and director on song. 8/10

[Christina Delassalle]

Great review I like this movie a lot, it is an upscale noir, not the seedy underbelly, with cheap hotel rooms. A drawing room noir. Something I'd almost expect Gene Tierney to be in, like Laura, Leave Her To Heaven and Whirpool. High Society noir.

[HJ]

This is a great little flick that, IMO, doesn't get nearly the recognition and love that it's due. Great write-up!

[MartinTeller]

[review from July 30, 2009]

To be honest, I wasn't too thrilled with this at first. It was a solid but lackluster noir, and in a lot of ways not very noir at all. Mitchum's performance was definitely the highlight, everything else about it was just slightly above average. But holy shit, the ending. You think it's going to lead up to a rather dull, possibly even disappointing, conclusion and then WHAM. The last minute of this movie is pure genius, and just enough to elevate it above the mediocre 7 score I would have given it otherwise. Rating: 8


[review from March 20, 2010]

I've watched 35 noir films in the past month and my enthusiasm for the genre hasn't waned one iota. In fact, I'm more hungry for it than I ever was. What's interesting about this one, besides the spectacular ending (one of the best of all time), is that Jean Simmons is very repentant as the femme fatale. Usually they end up being victims of their own schemes, but in this case she really has a guilty conscience about it. A little slow-moving, but generally satisfying. Rating: 8

[JohnChard]

Great review I like this movie a lot, it is an upscale noir, not the seedy underbelly, with cheap hotel rooms. A drawing room noir. Something I'd almost expect Gene Tierney to be in, like Laura, Leave Her To Heaven and Whirpool. High Society noir.

Hi Chris

Yeah you definitely have it bracketed right there, which on reflection makes me appreciate the light photography a bit more.

[JohnChard]

This is a great little flick that, IMO, doesn't get nearly the recognition and love that it's due. Great write-up!

Many thanks HJ, and it's good to see some support for this movie.

[JohnChard]

[review from July 30, 2009]

To be honest, I wasn't too thrilled with this at first. It was a solid but lackluster noir, and in a lot of ways not very noir at all. Mitchum's performance was definitely the highlight, everything else about it was just slightly above average. But holy shit, the ending. You think it's going to lead up to a rather dull, possibly even disappointing, conclusion and then WHAM. The last minute of this movie is pure genius, and just enough to elevate it above the mediocre 7 score I would have given it otherwise. Rating: 8


[review from March 20, 2010]

I've watched 35 noir films in the past month and my enthusiasm for the genre hasn't waned one iota. In fact, I'm more hungry for it than I ever was. What's interesting about this one, besides the spectacular ending (one of the best of all time), is that Jean Simmons is very repentant as the femme fatale. Usually they end up being victims of their own schemes, but in this case she really has a guilty conscience about it. A little slow-moving, but generally satisfying. Rating: 8

It was a smart move casting Simmons against type, helped, as you say, to get a diferent sort of femme fatale.

Cheers Mart

[HighGallows]

I seem to be one of the few noir fans that is not a fan of Angel Face. I think a lot of people praise its many noir elements but the film strikes me as a house of cards because, yeah, the noir checklist is present but none of it is handled well.

I give it a generous 5/10: http://coffeebeancinema.blogspot.com...face-1952.html

[Steve-O]

Angel Face (1952)

Posted by Paul M on 7/3/2006, 5:38 am

Angel Face is one of those noirs that started life as an under-appreciated melodrama but which has garnered new respect in today's viewers' eyes. And for good reason. Directed by Otto Preminger for RKO a year after he made the noir melodrama The Thirteenth Letter, Angel Face features a stunning performance by Jean Simmons and an understated but very enjoyable turn by Robert Mitchum.

As suggested by the title, Angel Face centers around Simmons' portrayal of Diane Treymayne, a spoiled, sheltered rich girl with a murderous and pointed need to get whatever she wants. A classic femme fatale. Preminger's 1952 film is finally a much darker work than earlier 40s noirs, however, as Simmons turns out to be a complete psychopath, an "angel of death". Unlike, say, Phyllis Diedrichson in Double Indemnity, or Vicki Buckley in Human Desire, Diane has no remorse at all for her actions, no wavering moment of uncertainly or humanity. She sees no possible future that is not of her own making and acts accordingly and vengefully. Jean Simmons typically had sweet girl roles in the Audrey Hepburn vein, so seeing her go batty here is a real treat.

Mitchum plays Frank Jessup, a somewhat doe-eyed average joe who seems like an essentially nice guy, but with a fear of commitment to his blonde sometime-girlfriend Mary (Mona Freeman) that leads him slowly into the arms of our femme fatale. I actually like these type of roles for Mitchum better than when he plays the brawny adventurer, because his low-key style of acting often translates on screen as obliviousness, or innocence, and you feel he knows just a little bit less than the audience. At times you want to shake him: "Frank! Get outta there!". But Frank, a former race car driver, finds Diane's promises of financial help to make his post-war dreams come true too tempting.

In the film, Frank is an ambulance driver called to the Treymayne house after Diane's step-mother, Catherine (Barbara O'Neal) suffers what appears to be an accidental posoning from a gas leak. Diane decides she has to have him, pursues him back to the hosiptal, and in short order he becomes the Tremayne house chauffeur. It eventually becomes evident to Frank that Diane was behind the supposed gas leak accident, but not before Frank has left Mary for Diane and Diane's parents are dead from a rigged auto accident. Too late, Frank tries to get out, but Diane has other plans. And the film ends in a shocker finale which I won't belabor here in case anyone still has not seen this film.

One of the joys of seeing this film again for me was to better appreciate the performances of Herbert Marshall and Barbara O'Neal as Diane's father Charles and step-mother Catherine. Critics tend to focus on the Jean Simmons role, but Marshall and especially O'Neal are excellent too. Preminger shows us a lot of them, and it is interesting (though ultimately futile) to look in them for Diane's psychological motivation. As the film proceeds, more and more of the action takes place in the hill-top Tremayne house and the rest of the real world seems to fade away for Frank. Preminger's presentation of the parents, their treatment of each other, and of Diane, in turns indulgent and tight-fisted with money, adds to the increasingly fatalistic feel of the picture. Our sense that Frank will be trapped, just as Diane and Charles are in their relationship with Catherine, increases accordingly.

One other comment: Angel Face is interesting to watch, not only as a melodrama played out between two lovers, but as a class indictment wherein it is clear that the noir malaise extends to all classes of American society.