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51 reviews in total

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35 out of 42 people found the following review useful:
A film with charm to spare, 31 May 1999
Author: Jeff (spoonjef@aol.com) from L.A. CA

I stumbled upon We're No Angels one night on AMC. I found that I couldn't leave the TV. I enjoyed the three likeable convicts and discovered that Humphrey Bogart has a knack for light comedy. Peter Ustinov is very deadpan and as a result, some of the best lines come from his character. Aldo Ray is the sweet dumb guy with a heart of gold and a rather dangerous pet. Basil Rathbone is great as the guy you love to hate. A great cast, a good script and good direction by Michael Curtiz makes this a classic.

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28 out of 36 people found the following review useful:
A wonderful and unconventional Christmas movie!, 21 June 2001

Author: NativeTexan from Georgia

This is a wonderful, if unconventional, Christmas movie, although it is great fun to watch at any time of the year. As the three convicts, Bogart, Ustinov, and Aldo Ray have wonderful chemistry and camaraderi. Their portrayals are delightful, and are made stronger by the dialogue, which is first rate. Leo G. Carrol and Joan Bennet are touching as married couple, and Basil Rathbone has a delicious turn as the thoroughly unscrupulous and black-hearted cousin Andre. It is on my "Christmas Movies" shelf and we watch it every December without fail.

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25 out of 31 people found the following review useful:
Intelligent, Hilarious, Charming., 7 September 1999
Author: Yah-Yah

Back when I was in college a friend of mine, the only other person I knew who had seen this film, used to recite lines to each other on appropriate occasions. He was a rugby player, a real rough and tumbly sort of guy, and I was a fairly gentle, studious type; we were two, very different types of people. The point behind this is that, while we were both very different, we both found "We're No Angels" to be a superbly executed film.

I recently had a chance to see the film again and it's just as enjoyable as ever. This light-hearted, if somewhat criminal, comedy is warming, family film with an evil streak. It's absolutely fascinating to watch Bogart in a light comedy role, and to see a young(er) Peter Ustinov as a wife-murdering safe-cracker with a heart. And throw in great (if typical) performances by Basil Rathbone and Leo G. Carroll to boot.

But in my mind, the three biggest stars in this film are playwright Albert Hussens, screenwriter Ranald MacDougall, and above all, a surprisingly masterful performance by Aldo Ray. Ray treads the line between being dumb, lovable, trite thug and being a brutal, sociopathic criminal with great resolve. In the end it is his smoothly delivered lines that one remembers above all else.

As for the dialogue, it too treads lines. This is a film for the entire family, yes. But it does have it's randier moments, and all of them are done in such a way that children will not understand the full implications of them (if they do you have no one to blame but yourself). This translates into a "something for everyone" type of film.

Check it out.

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22 out of 26 people found the following review useful:
Fun with the Marx Stooges, 11 June 1999
Author: Matthew Ignoffo (mermatt@webtv.net) from Eatontown, NJ, USA

The film combines the witty nuttiness of Marx Brothers humor with some of the slapstick style of the Three Stooges and comes up as a wonderful comedy.

The whole cast is great, but Bogart is the real star in every respect. He shows that he is really a grand comedian. Rathbone is appropriately evil and nasty as the villain.

Don't confuse this movie with the other one of the same title. This one delivers real comedy.

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16 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
Top notch comedy, 9 April 2002
Author: oftenwrong from Calif., USA

This is one of the best comedies ever and one of my all-time favorites. I must have seen it a dozen or more times. The cast is perfect and Bogart shows he has a great talent for comedy. Rathbone plays the deliciously evil antagonist Cousin Andre, perfect in his role as the villain you love to hate which he pulls off with his usual deadpan style (has he ever played the good guy in any role?) Ustinov and Ray are perfect sidekicks for Bogart, their comedic style completely complements his. Carroll is perfect as the bumbling husband of the shop the convicts descend upon, initially planning on robbing him. I found the movie had all the necessary elements for a great side-splitting comedy along with some tender moments to show a contrast in the characters involved. I rate this one a nine of ten.

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13 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
A Special Christmas For One Family, 5 November 2006

Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

We're No Angels is adapted from a French play La Cuisine de Anges which was written by Albert Husson and ran a nice, respectable 344 performances on Broadway 1953-1954. In the roles of those unlikely angel/convicts on Broadway were Walter Slezak, Jerome Cowan, and Darren McGavin.

Our three in this film are Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, and Aldo Ray who escape from Devil's Island and are now among hundreds of other paroled convicts in the French West Indies at the turn of the last century. This was around the time Alfred Dreyfus was in Devil's Island so we know it was no fun place to be.

But these three seem to have a light hearted take life as it comes attitude. There's no whining from any of them about them being innocent of what got them there. But they want out and make it.

Fate puts them in the hands of a family they first would like to rob for some getaway loot. But hearing and seeing the sad plight they're in they can't bring themselves to do it. Then of course comes the Christmas visit of a tyrannical cousin played with relish by Basil Rathbone whom they work for and the convicts work becomes a pleasure.

They are aided of course by a pet coral snake named Adolph that Ray keeps in a straw basket. In many ways Adolph is almost divinely driven to do his duty.

Humphrey Bogart who was an unsuccessful embezzler in the film has a nice light touch for deadpan comedy. Too bad he didn't use it more often in films. This was a nice blend of comedy together with Bogey's gangster persona which we see more of in his films. On stage before he came to Hollywood, Bogart actually did a lot of light comedy.

This was also Bogart's final film with Director Michael Curtiz with whom he worked often and well back at Warner Brothers. Most particularly in Casablanca which was Curtiz's Oscar winning film for himself and for the film. A lot consider that film the one that firmly cemented Humphrey Bogart as a top box office draw.

Leo G. Carroll, Joan Bennett, and Gloria Talbott are the family who get some help on Christmas. The film itself is a great indication how the Deity or the fates do indeed move in mysterious ways.

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15 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
Family fun; comedy for all ages., 1 June 1999
Author: cornjob-2 from Prosper, Texas

"We're No Angels" is certainly a relief from the mindless comedies of modern times. This 1955 masterpiece is well-written, hilarious, and totally clean. Certainly a welcome change of pace from today's reliance on sex and bodily functions for jokes. "We're No Angels" has few weak points, but they are easily overlooked by the witty dialogue, the strong screen presences of the actors, and by the situations themselves.

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8 out of 10 people found the following review useful:
We're No Angles, Sure Is Classically Divine, 31 December 2005

Author: the-firm from United Kingdom

3 convicts escape from a jail on Devils island during Christmas, they make plan to rob a local store, but befriend the shop keeper and his family.

Three great lead characters in Humphrey Bogart, Aldo Ray and Peter Ustinov play the convicts. Bogart plays his character without flaw and surprising to see him in this humorous role, while young Ustinov and Ray also play great characters that assist the shop keep and his family during a difficult Christmas.

This movie wasn't what I was expecting especially after seeing 1989 movie with the same name staring De Niro and Penn, but I guess it was far better because i had a smile on my face throughout the whole movie. This certainly is a feel good sense to this movie.

With great lines in this movie, you'll be sniggering to yourself and cheering on the 3 misfits. One to watch when you need a smile.

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10 out of 14 people found the following review useful:
"I'll say one thing for crooks, they give you an honest day's work.", 3 October 2004

Author: classicsoncall from United States

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Consider the casting for the three leads in "We're No Angels" - Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov and Aldo Ray. It doesn't seem to work on paper, but in this film, the trio have such a comedic rapport that the film winds up a delight. The setting is Christmas Day 1895, and all three are escaped convicts from Devil's Island with the notion of returning to Paris aboard a ship anchored in Cayenne harbor.

What starts out as a casual afternoon to steal some money and kill some time, turns into a mission for the amiable villains. They spot a likely target, the shop of proprietors Felix and Amelie Ducotel (Leo G. Carroll and Joan Bennett). Offering their help to fix the shop's roof, they eavesdrop their way into the lives and hearts of their hosts, which also includes daughter Isabelle (Gloria Talbott).

Leo G. Carroll plays his role along the same lines as his Topper character, amiable but somewhat bumbling. It's no wonder the shop makes no money; Bogart's observation - "I got ten years for a better set of books than this".

To create just the right amount of tension, Felix Ducotel's cousin Andre Trochard (Basil Rathbone) arrives to take stock of the business, and can find no better fun than to spend Christmas Day going over the books. In tow is his nephew Paul (John Baer), for whom Isabelle has nursed a year long crush. In a mock trial, the criminal trio find Andre guilty and leave it to their pet snake Adolph to carry out the sentence.

"We're no Angels" is one of those rare films in which you find yourself rooting for the bad guys. The one liners are brilliant, and shared equally among the three rogues. With deadpan delivery, Ustinov's Character Jules lovingly refers to the Ducotel's - "People like that, how can you cut their throats?".

At film's end, the strain of playing it straight with the Ducotel's causes the convicts to reevaluate their plans; it would be much easier to return to prison where they can feel more at home. The dapper trio sport halos as they make their way back, with one more for good measure for Adolph. This is not your typical Christmas movie fare, but I can understand how it could wind up on your list of holiday favorites.

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10 out of 15 people found the following review useful:
One of my all time favorite movies, 22 January 2001
Author: murrs2kool from San Diego, CA, USA

The humor is understated and quite droll with some brilliant moments. Peter Ustinov's expressions and nuances are priceless and Humphrey Bogart is very funny because he plays it straight. The last half hour is hysterical.

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