Angel Face (1952)

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

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

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 | Female Psychopath | Obsessive Love | Murder Trial

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)
Gertrude Astor	...	Matron (uncredited)
Lucille Barkley	...	Waitress (uncredited)
Larry J. Blake	...	Det. Brady (uncredited)
Morgan Brown	...	Harry - Proprietor of Diner (uncredited)
Mary Jane Carey	...	Woman (uncredited)
Jack Chefe	...	Man (uncredited)
Clark Curtiss	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Roy Darmour	...	Assistant District Attorney (uncredited)
Jack Ellis	...	Jury Foreman (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Shirley - Barrett's Secretary (uncredited)
Alex Gerry	...	Frank's Attorney (uncredited)
Robert Haines	...	Stenotype Operator (uncredited)
Charmienne Harker	...	Miss Preston - Secretary (uncredited)
Theresa Harris	...	Nurse Theresa (uncredited)
Jim Hope	...	Detective (uncredited)
Marvin Jones	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Pete Kellett	...	Detective (uncredited)
Frank Kumagai	...	Ito - Tremayne Butler (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Herbert Lytton	...	Doctor (uncredited)
Lewis Martin	...	Police Sergeant (uncredited)
Mary Lee Martin	...	Patient (uncredited)
Frank O'Connor	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
Bob Peoples	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Charlotte Portney	...	Patient (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Court Clerk (uncredited)
Sammy Shack	...	Man (uncredited)
Cora Shannon	...	Patient (uncredited)
George Sherwood	...	Man (uncredited)
Carl Sklover	...	Man (uncredited)
Brick Sullivan	...	Deputy Sheriff Kelly (uncredited)
Max Takasugi	...	Chiyo - Tremayne Maid (uncredited)
Doreen Tryden	...	Patient (uncredited)
Buck Young	...	Assistant District Attorney (uncredited)

Directed by
Otto Preminger

Writing credits
Frank S. Nugent		(screenplay) (as Frank Nugent) and
Oscar Millard		(screenplay)
Chester Erskine		(story)
Ben Hecht		uncredited

Produced by
Otto Preminger	....	producer

Original Music by
Dimitri Tiomkin

Cinematography by
Harry Stradling Sr.		(as Harry Stradling)

Film Editing by
Frederic Knudtson

Art Direction by
Carroll Clark
Albert S. D'Agostino

Set Decoration by
Jack Mills
Darrell Silvera

Costume Design by
Michael Woulfe

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist
Larry Germain	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Edward Killy	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fred Fleck	....	assistant director (as Fred A. Fleck)

Sound Department
Clem Portman	....	sound
Earl A. Wolcott	....	sound (as Earl Wolcott)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Joan Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	music coordinator
Dimitri Tiomkin	....	conductor
Leith Stevens	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Other crew
Howard Hughes	....	presenter

Production Companies

• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1952) (USA) (theatrical)
• C&C Television Corporation (1955) (USA) (TV)
• Odeon Entertainment (2012) (UK) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2007) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

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

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 Watching the Detectives (2007)

Soundtrack:

Ann

excellent Preminger

Jean Simmons meets the man of her dreams just as he walks into a nightmare in "Angel Face," an Otto Preminger film released in 1952. Simmons is excellent as a beautiful young woman who hates her wealthy stepmother, adores her father, and is obsessed with an ambulance driver, played by Robert Mitchum, who comes to the family home when it appears Diane's stepmother tried to kill herself. Although the victim claims that someone tried to kill her...

Mitchum brings a perfect touch of ne'er do well and untrustworthiness to the role. He has ambition, he has a job, but he's a jerk to his girlfriend (Mona Freeman) and seems more than happy to take up with Diane when she pursues him.

Simmons, though not as striking as Vivien Leigh, has a similar look - she's petite, with a beautiful figure and facial structure, and gorgeous eyes. Her performance as Diane is right on - even the cynical Mitchum character can't quite figure her out, even when he thinks he has. She keeps her stepmother off-balance, too. There are some wonderful touches - when she walks into her father's house toward the end of the film, without any dialogue, one knows she can no longer live there.

The ending is breathtaking. This Preminger film has the pace lacking in "Fallen Angel," which is another character study of a sort.