Der Weg im Dunkel

In classic Enchantment, Four Feathers, and Casablanca glory, The Dark Angel is a wartime romance that pins Fredric March and Herbert Marshall against each other for the hand of Merle Oberon. As children, the three grew up as close friends, with young Merle desperately in love with Freddie. Once they grow up, of course, hormones kick in and both men fall in love with their younger playmate. Then, with WWI breaking out, Merle makes the choice to follow her heart, but with unforeseen consequences. . .

My mom always roots for Herbert Marshall's character when she watches this movie, but I think it's just because she's partial to him in other movies. There's nothing wrong with Fredric March's character, and it really does feel like he loves Merle just as much as Bart. But, just in case you prefer Bart, you'll be in good company.

Personally, I like Enchantment and the 1978 version of Four Feathers better, but there are some cute moments. It gets a little far fetched towards the end, but isn't that what old movies are for? A little tears, a little romance, and a little melodrama over a wartime setting. If you agree, check out this classic.

This 1935 film was well produced and directed and had a great cast of dramatic Classic Actors, who were all super stars during the 20's, 30's and into the 40's. Merle Oberon, (Kitty Vane),"Interval",'73, plays a young woman who is really in love with two men in her life, which creates a sort of triangle situation and causes her great mental suffering. Fredric March,(Alan Trent),"The Iceman Cometh",'72 plays a boyhood friend to Kitty Vane and comes home with a great disability which he does not want Kitty to know about. Herbert Marshall,(Gerald Shannon),"Midnight Lace",'60 is also in love with Kitty and the possibility of their getting married is becoming quite certain. This film will keep you interested if you like old time actors and films made in 1935. Enjoy

Frederic March, Merle Oberon, and Herbert Marshall comprise a love triangle in "The Dark Angel," set in the grimness of World War I. Kitty (Oberon) has grown up with both Alan (March) and Gerald (Marshall) and knows the day will come when she must choose between them. She chooses Alan, but before they can be married, he's called back into service. With just a few hours left, she accompanies him to the meeting point for his troop and stays with him at the hotel. When Gerald, in the same troop, finds out that Alan was at the hotel with a woman, he turns against him, believing that he cheated on Kitty. He refuses him leave and sends him into treacherous battle.

Merle Oberon gives a touching performance as Kitty. She's very beautiful and has a lovely presence. Both March and Marshall are very good, March having the more histrionic role.

"The Dark Angel" comes off as dated and there's very much a "stiff upper lip, old chap" feeling about it. It's frustrating to see the Alan character behave as he does, but this of course keeps the viewer interested, and Oberon and the supporting characters infuse the atmosphere with warmth.

Worth it to see these classic stars. "The Dark Angel" is an old chestnut but a worthy one.

English actress Merle Oberon was excited about her relocation to the United States after receiving several job offers before her first lead in a Hollywood movie, September 1935 "The Dark Angel." "I had looked forward to Hollywood and thought I was going to have a grand time," she recalled years later. "British people are much more reserved and harder to become acquainted with, but Americans are widely known for their generous attitude toward strangers. Well, I went to two parties on my first visit to Hollywood, and no more." However, after "The Dark Angel" premiered, she suddenly became a movie star in Tinseltown, and things turned socially around for her on a dime.

"I took a house at the beach and, determining to live my own life quietly, I have found, strangely enough, the same people who insulted me on my first trip are now very pleasant," Oberon said. "The one person who was really nice to me and from whom I least expected it-I don't know why, now that I know her-was Jean Harlow. She came clear across the room to meet me and said something very gracious about admiring my work and wanting to know more of me."

Her performance in "The Dark Angel" instantly turned her into a sensation with the American movie public. Oberon was nominated by the Academy Awards for Best Actress, her only time she received such an honor. It helped to have two smooth actors whose characters on the screen were courting her, Frederic March as Alan Trent, and Herbert Marshall as Gerald Shannon. In the movie they were boyhood friends of hers who both grew up loving Kitty Vane (Oberon). Alan turns out to be winner for her hand, but World War One cruelly enters these three British lives. Sharing a similar storyline as the much-heralded 1932 "Smilin' Along," including the same director, Sidney Franklin and actor March, "The Dark Angel" sees a wounded Alan losing his eyesight. He can't see himself burdening Kitty throughout the rest of her life.

Maclean Magazine film reviewer Ann Ross wrote at the time of "The Dark Angel's" release, "If this picture doesn't have you sobbing before it is over it isn't the fault of the producers and director. The whole thing is managed with the greatest tact and modesty, as though everyone concerned, while determined to wring as many tears as possible, was a little ashamed to be caught doing it." Lillian Hellman, one of the screenwriters collaborating on the adaptation of a 1925 Guy Bolton play of the same name, was just fresh off her enormously successful Broadway play "The Children's Hour." Hellman had been hired by producer Samuel Goldwyn at $2,500 a week, and "Dark Angel" was her first crack at movie scriptwriting.

Cameraman Greg Toland was becoming known for his genius in creating stunning photographic moving images. One particular scene is known for showcasing his talents when Alan and Kitty drive off after frustrated at not marrying before he shoves off to the war front. The pair are in back of a taxi when the scene transitions to soldiers under fire. Film critic Jose Arroyo calls the effect "visually stunning, expressive and affecting."

Despite Oberon losing out to Bette Davis for the Academy's Best Actress award, "The Dark Angel" won for Best Art Direction, highlighting the many English gardens and the posh interior sets of the manor homes shown. The movie was also nominated for Best Sound Recording.

'The Dark Angel' had some traps that were easy to fall into at this particular time in film history, fallen into a number of times. Being based on a hit stage play, it could have been very stagy, overly wordy and the story could have been very melodramatic and creaky in pace. Even potentially being of the time and feeling out of date in later years. Still saw it anyway, having liked Merle Oberon, Frederic March and Herbert Marshall in other things and loving a lot of Alfred Newman's film scores.

While not a great film and sadly the traps that films adapted from stage plays are not avoided, 'The Dark Angel' is an interesting one and definitely worth a look. And for more than just curiosity value or for completest sake, with people perhaps being keen to see whether Oberon was deserving of her Oscar nomination, her only nomination in a career spanning four decades (excluding for a second her uncredited early appearances in very small roles).

Although 'The Dark Angel' has a lot of merits, it also has quite a few drawbacks. It is betrayed by its stage origins and has a filmed play feel. Evident in the confined atmosphere, as well as some draggy pacing in the first half, being heavy on a good deal of talk that could have been leaner and some static moments.

Some of the story is a little on the mawkish side, Alan's behaviour frustrates and confuses, and the supporting cast don't have particularly meaty roles and don't stand out massively, the younger cast are actually on the amateurish side. John Halliday gives the best supporting performance as the only supporting character to be interesting properly.

However, 'The Dark Angel' is very much a showcase for the three leads and not only are their characters well defined all three are extremely good in their roles. Marshall does jealousy and conflicted with intensity, while March despite his role not being quite as subtle brings noble dignity and does it with nuance. Despite not having her usual glamorous image, Oberon is quite a revelation, one can see what Gerald and Alan see in Kitty and she is very affecting without being histrionic. The direction is accomodating yet gives enough momentum when the story becomes more complicated.

It looks great on the whole. The sets are simple but have an elegance about them, but it's the handsome photography that catches the eye the most. Newman's score is understated, which is in keeping with the film's intimacy, and beautifully orchestrated. The script is talky but is also very sincere, while the story has some genuinely touching moments (the final scene is a tear-jerker) without generally falling into bathos too much.

Overall, interesting and moving but the stage origins show. 7/10