L'angelo delle tenebre

This remake of DARK ANGEL is worth watching for three things, and those things are the stars: March, Marshall and Oberon. The plot is more than ridiculous, so concentrate on the acting. Marshall, who actually sustained a serious leg injury during WWI, is perfectly cast as a military veteran haunted by a decision that may have taken the life of his childhood friend, played by March. March, who was blinded but not killed as a result of that decision, plays "dead" and assumes a new identity. Oberon is their childhood sweetheart; she planned to marry March but presuming him to be dead, settles for Marshall. The three meet in March's cottage at the climax. Marshall has bearing, Oberon is drop dead gorgeous, and March is wonderfully restrained as the blind putz. The music is gorgeous, the cinematography is crisp. Be prepared to pull out some tissues or a big hankie for the climax. March shot this soon after making DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY, which is one of his greatest flicks.

...and apparently was one of the least popular "A" stars during the golden era - I've never seen her listed in any of the box office polls, even those that go up to nearly 100 names (she's not on 1941-42 list when she top-lined three big pictures while 52 other women are - including Judy Canova, Ruth Hussey, Priscilla Lane, and Brenda Joyce, as well as allegedly plummeting stars like Norma Shearer and Kay Francis). But I digress.

This was her Hollywood film and apparently Goldwyn pull out the works to make her a star, and she somehow managed to get a Best Actress nomination for this soaper where she basically does nothing but pose for the camera (she never really seems to interact with her costars Fredric March and Herbert Marshall, just waiting for her chance to recite her lines and pose in flattering angles for the camera (this movie has an absurd number of closeups of her "reacting" with smiling, tears, worry - but never with sincerity, only the desire to look good.) She's not that terrible I suppose but there's certainly nothing in her performance that suggests it's award worthy

Oberon plays a girl who grows up near cousins March and Marshall and loves them both, though always just friendship for Marshall and a total crush on March. World War I breaks out and she and March become engaged but plans to marry during the war are thwarted and eventually he is presumed dead but is actually blind in an enemy hospital. Transferred to a hospital for the British troops, he refuses to give his real name and be reunited with his family, not wanting to be a burden to Oberon.

Meanwhile, three years pass, Oberon and Marshall become engaged and March becomes a children's book author. The movie is a typically gorgeous Goldwyn production but pretty dull and with plenty of "mush" as the kid's from the era used to say. March is quite good (and the picture gets better when Oberon is out of it as March learns to adjust to his condition with the help of some children and a young widow who runs the inn he's living at) but it's pretty absurd at times and misses the boat in it's attempts to be moving.

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.

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.

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!