Angel on My Shoulder
Directed by Archie Mayo
Written by Harry Segall and Roland Kibbee
1946/USA
Charles R. Rogers Productions
First viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Shoveler: There ain’t no bottom in this joint.[/box]
This fantasy is poorly paced but the performances are quite good.
Eddie Kagle (Paul Muni) gets out of jail and into the car of his right hand man Smiley. After a pleasant conversation, Smiley lets Eddie have it with his own gun. It’s straight to Hell with the gangster.
He soon gets an audience with Nick (Claude Rains), the head man. Nick knows that each person has his exact double and Eddie happens to be the look-alike of righteous Judge Frederick Parker, a candidate for Governor. Nick tempts Eddie with the opportunity to get revenge on Smiley if he will occupy Parker’s body and destroy the man’s reputation.
Eddie’s personality does not change in the least after he takes over Parker’s body and Parker’s fiancee Barbara (Anne Baxter) has the feeling the old stick-in-the-mud may be going insane. But Nick is sorely disappointed. A couple of mishaps leave Parker looking better than ever. Then Nick gets religion and finds love.
Claude Rains is the reason to see this movie. He is absolutely delicious as the Devil. It is also a lot of fun to see Muni in a nod to his Tony Montana roots. Unfortunately, the story quickly becomes predictable and then it just sort of plods along.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz3A_bJslLo
Clip
