Angel and the Badman (1947)

Quirt Evans, an all round bad guy, is nursed back to health and sought after by Penelope Worth, a Quaker girl. He eventually finds himself having to choose between his world and the world Penelope lives in.

Director:

James Edward Grant

Writer:

James Edward Grant

Stars:

John Wayne, Gail Russell, Harry Carey

Cast

Complete credited cast:
John Wayne	...	Quirt Evans
Gail Russell	...	Penelope Worth
Harry Carey	...	Marshal Wistful McClintock
Bruce Cabot	...	Laredo Stevens
Irene Rich	...	Mrs. Worth
Lee Dixon	...	Randy McCall
Stephen Grant	...	Johnny Worth
Tom Powers	...	Dr. Mangram
Paul Hurst	...	Frederick Carson
Olin Howland	...	Bradley (as Olin Howlin)
John Halloran	...	Thomas Worth
Joan Barton	...	Lila Neal
Craig Woods	...	Ward Withers
Marshall Reed	...	Nelson

Storyline

Notorious gunman Quirt Evans is wounded and on the run. He arrives at a Quaker farm owned by Thomas Worth and his family where he collapses from exhaustion. Evans asks Thomas and his daughter Penelope to drive him into town in their wagon in order to send an urgent telegram. The telegram contains a land claim and is sent to the land recorder's office. The Quaker family is ignoring the town doctor's advice to rid themselves of the gunfighter and they compassionately tend to the delirious Evans. Penny Worth becomes intrigued by his ravings of past loves.When Evans regains consciousness, Penny explains to him about the Quaker credo of non-violence and way of life. Three weeks later, two desperadoes, Laredo Stevens and Hondo Jeffries, ride into town looking for Evans.Penny's younger brother, Johnny, rushes home to inform Evans of his visitors and Evans prepares to flee. Penny, now smitten with Evans, offers to run off with him. Upon hearing the sound of approaching horses, Evans grabs his...

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Plot Keywords:

falling off a horse | horse drawn wagon | reference to wyatt earp | laudenum | cynic | 

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Taglines:

He lived only for revenge...She lived only for his love!

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Genres:

Romance | Western

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

The failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain, meaning that virtually anyone could duplicate and sell a VHS/DVD copy of the film. Therefore, many of the versions of this film available on the market are either severely (and usually badly) edited and/or of extremely poor quality, having been duped from second- or third-generation (or more) copies of the film.

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Goofs

When walking down the street for the final showdown, the sun starts off to Quirt's right casting shadows to the left of screen, then a close shot shows shadows which could only come from a near-overhead sun, and then at the saloon the sun is coming from Quirt's left casting shadows to the right.

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Quotes

Territorial Marshal Wistful McClintock: There's a sight I never thought I'd see: Quirt Evans behind a plow.
Quirt Evans: That pony walks as soft as you do.
Territorial Marshal Wistful McClintock: I taught him. Oh, I figured you'd have heard him... 'cept you were thinkin' too hard.
Quirt Evans: Haven't you got some real important business to attend to... some place else?

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Alternate Versions

Also available in a colorized version.

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Connections

Featured in The Perez Family (1995)

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Soundtracks

Darling Nelly Gray
(uncredited)
Written by Benjamin Russell Hanby
Performed by Joan Barton and Lee Dixon

User Reviews

Very highly recommended

Fun movie about a cowboy named Quirt (John Wayne) who is wants to reform his ways after he meets a sweet Quaker girl. When he is shot, the Quaker family takes care of him, and after he wakes up the daughter (Gail Russell) falls in love with him. It's goofy and cliché, sure, but there's a really fine movie to be found in the familiar setup. Writer/director Grant create many good vignettes. There are several wonderful supporting characters who add a lot of worth to the proceedings, including Harry Carey as a marshall, Lee Dixon as one of Quirt's friends and old partners in crime, Tom Powers as the local, scientific, atheist doctor, and Olin Howlin as the town telegrapher. Howlin's character is pure comic relief, very humorously claiming a long friendship with Quirt, though he only saw him once when he was almost unconscious. Then Carey's character is wryly comedic: as the marshall, he's constantly stalking Quirt. He's sure that someday he'll get to hang the guy, and he harps on it constantly. The chemistry between Wayne and Russell adds an unexpected poignancy to the film. The scene where the two pick blackberries is simply beautiful, and their wordless climactic exchange is perfectly performed. Good action sequences, as well. 9/10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 February 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Gun

Filming Locations:

Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$4,070,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

John Wayne Productions, Patnel Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1