Jean Simmons' fascinating interpretation of an uncharacteristic role is the main drawing card of Otto Preminger's Angel Face. The daughter of Charles Treymayne (Herbert Marshall), who remarried a wealthy woman (Barbara O'Neil), Diane Treymayne's (Simmons) angelic countenance masks an unbridled psychotic who'll let nothing stand in the way of her happiness. Diane arranges for Catherine's death, making it look like an auto accident. Coveting family chauffeur Frank Jessup (Robert Mitchum), Diane
steals Frank away from his sweetheart Mary (Mona Freeman) and forces him to become her spiritual accomplice in her stepmother's murder. And when Diane finally realizes that she'll never, ever, be able to hold Frank, she... well, enough said. If Angel Face doesn't look like a typical early-1950s RKO Radio film, it may be because its director was borrowed from 20th Century-Fox, and its cinematographer (Harry Stradling) was a loan-out from Sam Goldwyn. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
A capable cast, headed by Jean Simmons and Robert Mitchum, and a nice, taut story idea have been set adrift in a pretentious Freudian mist that wafts through the handsomely mounted proceedings with disastrous results.
The sets, characters, and actions are extremely stylized, yet Preminger's moving camera gives them a frightening unity and fluidity, tracing a straight, clean line to a cliff top for one of the most audacious endings in film history.
Preminger transforms a second rate James M. Cain murder plot, re-orchestrating this textbook tale of passion and murder into a haunting and haunted refrain
For all of its unbelievability, Angel Face is consistently suspenseful under Preminger's sure direction. In short, you're never sure what that crazy woman will do next.
One of the best yet still underestimated film noir, boasting gloriously detailed mise-en-scene from Otto Preminger and a revelatory performance by the cast-against- type Jean Simmons as a murderess femme fatale.
This skilfully constructed noir, while not quite as convincing as some, still serves as a reminder that sometimes beautiful people can be the most dangerous.
For the average viewer, this early fifties RKO noir might seem a tad slow, even a bit dreary. But if you look closer, what you'll find is an unnerving study of inertia and the empty blandness of your average murderer.
Oh, I dug this. Preminger delivers solid Beverly Hills noir with a dollop of Freudian melodrama. Mitchum is great as a super cynical "I'm wise to you" pragmatist who still winds up taking the fall for the nutty dame. Nutty dames...
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