Black Angel (1946)

Black Angel
Directed by Roy William Neill
Written by Roy Chanslor from a novel by Cornell Woolrich
1946/USA
Universal Pictures
First viewing/Netflix rental

[box] All that anyone needs to imitate me is two soft-boiled eggs and a bedroom voice. — Peter Lorre[/box]

This solid little noir was the last film made by Sherlock Holmes series director Neill before his death.  The otherwise sterling cast is let down by a too-earnest performance by the heroine.

Mavis Marlow dresses to meet a mystery man as the movie opens.  Kirk Bennett discovers the body, wearing a heart-shaped ruby brooch.  Before he can call the cops, the brooch disappears.   The song “Heartbreak” is playing on the record player. Since Bennett was the lady’s blackmail victim and ex-paramour, he is the most likely suspect and is arrested and sentenced to death.

Despite Kirk’s adultery, his wife Catherine (June Vincent) makes it her mission to exonerate him.  Her investigations eventually lead her to Mavis’s rummy ex-husband Martin Blair (Dan Duryea), composer of “Heartbreak”. Martin tells June that it was he that sent Catherine the brooch. They decide to combine forces.

Martin falls in love with the good and beautiful Catherine and stops drinking.  A clue leads the pair to a nightclub owned by Marko (Peter Lorre).  Martin remembers seeing him outside Mavis’ apartment on the night of the murder.  Martin and Catherine, an ex-singer, put together a nightclub act to get closer to Marko.  Then Catherine resorts to using her favors to get closer still …  With Broderick Crawford as a homicide detective and Wallace Ford as Martin’s friend.

It’s nice to see Duryea in a sympathetic role for a change and he makes a good drunk. Lorre is more restrained than usual and the better for it.  Whether it was the writing or her acting, June Vincent milks her role for every last bit of pathos.  Her performance weakened the picture for me and the ending didn’t do it any favors either.  That said, this is worth viewing for Duryea, Lorre, and Crawford and kept my interest throughout.

Trailer – not a good representation of the movie