Johnny Angel

Almost everyone says the same thing about this very-well-done noir mystery. they wish someone other than George Raftrhad performed the part. He played the son of a sea captain., When his father's ship drifts into port with no one aboard, he does not accept that his father had absconded or committed a crime; he goes into action trying to find out what really happened, stay alive, and clear his father's name. Of course the company's owners deny any knowledge of what had happened. So Raft has to end up romancing one of their women and enlisting the reluctant help of a frightened girl who knows more than she is telling before he can ferret out the murderers, who were robbers on a grand scale as well. Frank Gruber and Steve Fisher were responsible for this taut and fast-moving screenplay; the film was directed in B/W by Edward L. Marion, and he deserves most of the credit for the excellence it achieves in many departments. He is helped bu the cinematography of Harry J. Wild, art direction by veterans Albert S. d'Agostino and Jack Okey, the fine set decorations by Darrell Silvera and William Stevens, costume designs by Reni and Leigh Harline's jazz film score counterpointed by Paul Francis Webster's songs and Hoagy Carmichael's prior compositions used in the film. In the very good cast, the viewer should note besides Raft, who as some reviewers have noted, tends not to have nuances but does well as a one-note line reader, Marvin Miller, Margaret Wycherly, Signe Hasso, Hoagy Carmichael as a cabdriver named Celestial O'Brien, Claire Trevor, Lowell Gilmore, J. Farrel MacDonald and Mack Gray. Much of the movie was shot in low light, or simulated night, or fog or cramped quarters. This makes Marin's directing achievement all the more impressive. The pace works like a stopwatch; and the relationships between strong characters is carried out well in dialogue, in actions and in interactions of a peaceable or a violent sort. With a great lead, the film would be a classic; but Trevor and Hasso are very good indeed and Miller has an interesting character to play for once. Catch this one.

I couldn't really get into this one, mainly because of the casting of George Raft as the hero. I'm not a big fan of Raft at the best of times, but he was usually convincing as a gangster or something similar. In this movie he looks uncomfortable as a more conventional leading man, and I just didn't find his character believable. With another actor, say Bogart or Robert Mitchum, I might have enjoyed 'Johnny Angel' a lot more, but as it is I found it very difficult to get interested in the plot, and my attention kept wandering. However the movie isn't entirely worthless, Hoagy Carmichael gives an entertaining turn as the wonderfully named eccentric cabbie Celestial O'Brien. And yes he sings. watch this movie for Hoagy if nothing else.

Johnny Angel was a movie that gripped me early and tightly, but when all is said and done left me wanting a bit more.

The characters are first rate: George Raft is plays your trademark noir good guy with rough edges leading role and does so very nicely. Claire Trevor plays a calculating woman with a heart of ice that only Johnny can melt. Both give very strong performances; I felt that they could have used some more development, but I almost always do with these types of movies. Hoagy Carmichael is a first rate supporting character in Celestial O'Brien, a quirky, musical taxi driver. He is right up there with my all-time favorite secondary characters. The rest of the cast is decent, not nearly as strong as the above three, but not weak enough either to really detract from the movie.

The overall feel of the movie is superb. The cinematography is generally dark and gritty (as is typical in the genre) and really draws you into the scenes and gets you emotionally involved. The scene where Johnny is searching the ship by himself was especially excellent, it had me on edge the whole time. The director, Marin, really did a first-rate job on the film, and it's worth watching just for the acting and the direction.

The story had good points and bad points. The basic plot line is quite good and fairly fresh, considering the usual formulaic plots noir often gives you (not that I mind terribly). Other comments will give you the basic plot outline, so I'll skip it, but let me say that it is, at first anyways, even more interesting than you might think. The problem is, the movie doesn't quite flesh out all of the aspects of it and leaves several loose ends and plot holes. It's really exasperating, and almost made me rate the movie even lower, but I won't spoil the plot here by mentioning the specific holes. It's hard for me to fathom why the movie starts out so strongly and then ends so sloppily! I believe it was based on a play, so perhaps the play script got a bit mangled as they tried to fit it into the feature film/noir mold, or there were budget problems. It is a rather short movie, they certainly had time for more plot and character development.

But, all that aside, it is a very solid film that is well acted and directed. Even if though the thought of what it could have been is frustrating at times, the plot still never fails to keep you interested for the length of the film. It probably won't go in my collection, but I would still recommend it to anyone who likes classic movies or noirs to give it a watch.

For those of you who see this title and expect a film built around Shelley Fabares big teen idol hit from the early Sixties, skip this one by. If you're looking for an above average noir film with a World War II background than don't miss Johnny Angel.

It was with this film that George Raft entered his B picture noir period of his career. His films vary in quality from now on. Any A films he would be in from this point on were strictly in support of other players most famously in Some Like It Hot.

Raft is a sea captain who is out searching and finds a derelict freighter commanded by his father J. Farrell MacDonald. When he tows it into the port of New Orleans a stowaway played by Signe Hasso gets off. Raft of course trails her, but there are some other people after her as well, people who might be able to tell Raft what happened to his father and the rest of the crew.

Hasso was the custodian of five million dollars in gold that the Free French have smuggled out of Vichy from Casablanca. Of course that's what is involved in the disappearance of the crew.

Claire Trevor is back as a femme fatale, repeating essentially the part she had in Murder My Sweet. In this she's a two timing dame, married to mother dominated Marvin Miller, the owner of the freight line where Raft and MacDonald work. One look at her and you know she's up to no good.

And of course the film is graced by the presence of Hoagy Carmichael who contributes his piano and a song to the proceedings.

All in all, not a bad way for Raft to begin this new portion of his career.

Johnny Angel (George Raft) finds his father's ship abandoned and adrift. He assumes that his father, as the Captain, would not abandon ship and is probably dead. He sets out to investigate. He tracks down surviving passenger Paulette Girard who tells him about a secret gold shipment being stolen by a gang of killers.

This is a standard noir. Raft is very ordinary as a leading man. The most memorable part is Paulette's flashback. There is a lack of spark in the performances and story. I have to attribute it to Raft as a performer. He's trying to be Bogie but it's not in him.