Johnny Angel

Shades of the "Mary Celeste" as a seemingly deserted ship looms out of the mist off the coast of New Orleans. It's boarded by George Raft whose father was it's captain. Raft (more animated than usual} uncovers a complex plot. The colorful New Orleans backgrounds and good performances make this an above average noir film. Claire Trevor is excellent as a double crossing blonde and Hoagy Carmichael plays to type as a ubiquitous taxi driver and sings "Memphis In June". All very nicely put together.

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.

Despite its lackluster title, based on a book with an equally unexciting name, "Mr. Angel Comes Aboard," "Johnny Angel" stands out for its dazzling camera-work by Harry J. Wild--too bad it wasn't shot on location in New Orleans, but "The Naked City" was still three years away to popularize filming in the streets of big towns--and for the well-written noir script. The acting is sufficient for the story being told with Claire Trevor as Lilah (as in Delilah) Gustafson making an alluring femme fatale. And who can best Margaret Wycherly as a domineering mother (in this case a domineering nanny)?-with shades of Ma Jarrett already visible. The music by the multi-talented Hoagy Carmichael is added spice, but why "Memphis in June" when the film is about New Orleans?

The story is a good one with the elements of mystery and suspense handled just right by director Edwin L. Marin so that too much is not revealed too soon. Seaman Johnny Angel discovers his father's ship deserted with signs of fowl play aplenty. In his mind he knows his father is dead, but why? A mysterious French lady in a green raincoat (Signe Hasso)was seen leaving the ship once it was towed in to harbor at New Orleans. Angel must find this vanishing woman to unlock the door to the enigma and to uncover the ones responsible for the dastardly deed. He works for George 'Gusty' Gustafson, portrayed as a nefarious milksop by Marvin Miller, later of TV's "The Millionaire" fame.

Gusty who owns and operates the Gustafson Shipping Company is preoccupied with satisfying his demanding wife, Lilah, no easy task, who also has the hots for Angel. Lilah was a former entertainer at the popular hang-out, "The Jewel Box." When one of the girls at the club states, "I wish I could sing like she could." The bartender replies, "Who said she could sing?"

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.

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.