Scarlet Angel

Rock Hudson and Yvonne DeCarlo star in Scarlet Angel where Rock plays a hell raising former blockade runner for the Confederacy trying to put his life back together in the sea trade. Yvonne is a saloon girl who was an orphan and has made her living in various dives.

Both Rock and Yvonne come across sickly Bodil Miller and her baby. She is a Civil War widow who Yvonne runs off with Miller and the infant and with $1100.00 of Rock's profits from a sea voyage. Then Miller dies and DeCarlo assumes her identity and goes to San Francisco and moves in with her 'in-laws' Henry O'Neill and Maude Wallace. Seems like the family was high toned San Francisco society and she might have hit the jackpot.

Rock however hasn't forgotten who robbed him and there area brother and sister Richard Denning and Amanda Blake who don't want to part with a cent of possible inheritance money.

Blake steals the film in all the scenes she's in. Seeing her and DeCarlo eye each other the way Crystal and Alexis used to do on Dynasty.

In the meantime there is an innocent kid who is a real actual heir to the fortune. That fact determines what course DeCarlo takes.

Scarlet Angel shows both stars to good advantage. It's a potboiler of a picture but a good one.

Roxy McClanahan (Yvonne de Carlo) works as a saloon girl making men drink to steal them afterwards. One day she meets Frank Truscott, alias captain Panama (Rock Hudson) and after stealing him, she runs away with his money and the baby of a Linda Caldwell, a war widow she befriends and who tells her about his husband's family. She pretends to be Linda Caldwell and enter this family to began the wealthy life she has always desired. But unexpectedly capt. Panama appears and things do not happen as she figured out. This is an excellent adventure movie full of action, colorful, with beautiful costumes and set designs and a well written script. All the actors give wonderful performances, De Carlo and Hudson match perfectly and the story itself is interesting and flows by. Cast includes Richard Denning as Malcom Bradley and Amanda Blake as his sister Susan. A must for classical adventure fans and an entertaining movie to watch. It's a pity they don't do it like this anymore.

This is a total deception for me, who expected something different, a real adventure film, with action scenes, even - made for Columbia Pictures - with Sam Katzman as a producer. But here it s an Universal Pictures film, so no Katzman. OK, it is charming, colorful, starring Rock Hudson and the gorgeous Yvonne De Carlo, but it is a pure romance yarn, romance and nothing else; certainly not an adventure movie, even less a western. So, yes, it is boring, and I was used seeing Universal Studios films which were different, especially with Yvonne De Carlo or Rock Hudson. F you don't believe me, check their filmography....

I've seen a few of Yvonne De Carlo's films, and with the exception of 'Criss Cross' with Burt Lancaster, she is the same in all her films. There is no range or depth in her voice. She sounds the same whether she's happy or sad. She's not particularly good looking even with make-up. She was at her best in 'The Ten Commandments', but she did have a good script and direction by Cecil B. DeMille to guide her. The point is that the films she's appeared in are not well written nor do they have good directors. 'Criss Cross' had a good script which lifted her performance.

The film is beautifully shot by Russell Metty who would go on to shoot 'Spartacus'.

Ship captain Rock Hudson (Panama) makes his living by delivering his cargos to various ports. On the first night in each port, he likes to take out his crew to a lively bar for some rowdy entertainment. He is streetwise and likes a brawl. This film has 3 bar-room brawls. Too many if you ask me. He comes across escort Yvonne De Carlo (Roxy) at the "Scarlet Angel" bar who tries to fleece him and they end up bumping into widow Bodil Miller (Linda) and her baby. Circumstances transpire so that De Carlo goes on the run and ends up posing as the baby's mother in order to trick her way into a wealthy family. Big Rock is having none of this behaviour.

I was unsure where the film was going at first as there are several paths it could have taken. Once the baby is introduced, I was dreading a sappy film about bringing up a baby. Thank goodness the film pivots its focus to follow De Carlo's deception which brings tension to the proceedings in this easy-to-watch film.

Hudson and De Carlo work well together and the rest of the cast also do well, especially the suspicious cousin Amanda Blake (Susan) who suspects that De Carlo isn't who she claims to be. The technicolour has faded so that the vibrant colours are more of a pale shade but it is always a treat and the costumes are good. We get some humour thrown in and the film is more of a feelgood comedy drama than an action/adventure film.

Time for some wine. Real wine!