Angel Face (1952)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Frank S. Nugent (screenplay) and
Oscar Millard (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 December 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Film-Noir | Crime

Tagline:

She loved one man ... enough to KILL to get him!

Plot:

Ambulance driver Frank Jessup is ensnared in the schemes of the sensuous but dangerous Diane Tremayne.

Plot Keywords:

Ambulance | Chauffeur | Melodrama | Jealousy | Piano

Cast

Robert Mitchum	...	Frank Jessup
Jean Simmons	...	Diane Tremayne Jessup
Mona Freeman	...	Mary Wilton
Herbert Marshall	...	Mr. Charles Tremayne
Leon Ames	...	Fred Barrett
Barbara O'Neil	...	Mrs. Catherine Tremayne
Kenneth Tobey	...	Bill Crompton
Raymond Greenleaf	...	Arthur Vance
Griff Barnett	...	The Judge
Robert Gist	...	Miller
Morgan Farley	...	Juror
Jim Backus	...	Dist. Atty. Judson
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Grandon Rhodes	...	Prison chaplain (scenes deleted)
Charles Tannen	...	TV broadcaster (scenes deleted)
Ralph Volkie	...	Good Humor man (scenes deleted)
Peggy Walker	...	TV girl (scenes deleted)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Norway:16 | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #15993) | Sweden:15 | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills Fire Department, Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

RKO Radio Pictures

Trivia:

In two different scenes a cab comes to the mansion, and both times it has the same license plate.

Goofs:

Continuity: After Diane insists on paying for dinner, Frank declines her offer, noting that he can afford it even on his salary. He takes out his wallet and places money on the table. Diane then later says, "At least let me pay for my half." He obliges. She takes out her purse and gives him some cash. Frank then picks up the money he had put down (which would have covered the full bill), puts her money (covering half the bill) down in its place, and gives her all of his money, which she puts in her purse. Nobody ends up paying for Frank's half and Diane ends up with more money than she started with.

Quotes:

Frank Jessup: [to Mary] You know something? You're a pretty nice guy - for a girl.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Sweesters: Virtual Room: Cara d'àngel (#1.17)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night

fast your seat belts

Otto Preminger takes the noir/ femme fatale genre a step beyond in his usual pessimism. This world of shady mansions, sad piano-playing and lonely boulevards perpetually driven, suits well Jean Simmons's calm insanity and Mitchum's stoic acceptance of his tragic destiny. Mitchum uses the same discontent tone to order a beer and to refuse to be part of a murder. He smokes, empty-minded, staring out of the window, too tired to get his way out of the schemes of his employers. He may take the most important decision of his life, but after the cigarette's over he'll be doing the total opposite. On the other hand one has the feeling that the film wouldn't worked as well with one more conventional noir leading lady, like Lana Turner. Simmons' charming and weak aspect makes her character irresistible. To top it all there's a masterful score by Dimitri Tiomkin and the most surprising of endings.