Black Angel (1946)

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

Director:

Roy William Neill

Writers:

Roy Chanslor (screenplay), Cornell Woolrich (novel)

Stars:

Dan Duryea, June Vincent, Peter Lorre

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dan Duryea	...	Martin Blair
June Vincent	...	Catherine Bennett
Peter Lorre	...	Marko
Broderick Crawford	...	Capt. Flood
Constance Dowling	...	Mavis Marlowe
Wallace Ford	...	Joe
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	Jake
Freddie Steele	...	Lucky
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

Storyline

Kirk Bennett is falsely sentenced to death for killing blackmailer Mavis Marlowe, ex-wife of nice-guy drunk Martin Blair. Bennett's stand-up wife Catherine tries to prove him innocent, enlisting the aid of Blair, who falls in love with her. Bennett's execution draws near as the two pose as piano player and singer, trying to get the goods on sleazy nightclub owner Marko, a prime suspect. Failing to nail Marko, Catherine goes off to meet with her husband, scheduled to die the next morning, and Blair slips into an alcoholic stupor before the real killer is revealed.

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Plot Keywords:

alcoholic | singer | murder | brooch | suspect | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 August 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Black Angel

Filming Locations:

Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

81 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in The Black Dahlia (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Continental Gentleman"
(uncredited)
Music by Edgar Fairchild
Lyrics by Jack Brooks

User Reviews

Somewhat Overlooked Excellent Film Noir

"The Black Angel" is really a great film-noir experience - plenty of plot twists throughout to really throw you off and some very interesting characters to boot!

Mavis Marlowe (Constance Dowling), a beautiful, heartless blackmailer, is murdered and one of her paramours who is married is accused of the crime. His wife, Catherine Bennett (June Vincent) pairs up with Marty Blair (Dan Duryea) to do some investigating of their own. Marty Blair is the widower of Mavis Marlowe, which keeps things interesting!

Enter some other interesting characters, a nightclub owner played by the always interesting and good actor Peter Lorre, who obviously has something to hide - and a Police Captain played by Broderick Crawford whose small part keeps the action going round and round!

Someone had to kill Mavis - wonder which one of the characters had the strongest motive? Watch and find out! Now on VHS!!! I rate this film a 10 out of 10!