The Dark Angel

Handsomely photographed and nicely scored romantic drama from Samuel Goldwyn about a childhood friendship between three people that develops into an intense romantic triangle.

MERLE OBERON, FREDRIC MARCH and HERBERT MARSHALL have the pivotal roles as star-crossed lovers during the World War I period. Unfortunately, the three leads are lifelong friends destined to have their lives shattered by the war. Love, guilt and fate play a part in their lives when March is blinded but keeps away from Oberon, unable to tell her the truth and letting her think he's died. As for the rest of the plot, with a screenplay by Lillian Hellman, you have to watch the film.

Nobody stumbles in any of the roles and, in fact, MERLE OBERON won her only Best Actress nomination as Kitty, warm and appealing as the romantic interest of both men. The tearful final reunion scene will remind you of the final touching scene from RANDOM HARVEST where Smitty and his lost love find each other again.

Modern viewers beware. You'll probably find some of the tear-jerking moments a bit too mawkish but remember, this was the 1930s.

Trivia note: Oberon was photographed much more flatteringly in another film she appeared in that year, THE SCARLET PIMPERNELL. What a difference a more flattering hairdo and period costumes make!!

An early soaper from 1935 dealing w/a love triangle circa after the first Word War. Starring Fredric March, Merle Oberon & Herbert Marshall, we find March & Oberon, childhood sweethearts & now adults declaring their love for each other & getting wed right while the Great War is ravaging Europe. March & Marshall go off to war & inevitably as things go in films like this, March is blinded but is believed dead by Marshall who returns home to Oberon where they console each other but March feeling he doesn't want to be a burden to his friends & loved ones, decides to return to his home town (miles from where he used to live) & becomes a sensation as a children's book writer content in his solitude & assured of his justified sacrifice but when paths are crossed (didn't see that coming!), March must face his old life & see if old wounds can be mended. A good story (a remake is not out of the question if someone is up to the task) which is constantly hampered by the stilted approach to the story (the tools of the trade had not been properly honed yet) but to see the genesis of this kind of love story is still an education.

Actress Merle Oberon had seen the original of this film when she was a little girl growing up in the Orient. It was always her favorite film and it was the catalyst in her decision to become a movie star. A bit of trivia - when she came to Hollywood looking for a movie career, her dreams came true when it was announced that she would be in the 1935 remake of "The Dark Angel" along with Fredric March and Herbert Marshall. So, her dream came true and she loved this film!!! The acting is marvelous and Merle was nominated for a best actress Oscar but didn't win! The musical score was really beautiful and went along very well with the story and the events of WWI. "The Dark Angel" did win one Oscar though and that was for best art design and I mean the sets are beautiful! Available on VHS, this is a must see!

'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

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.