Mjeteconer Just perfect...

Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Uriah43 This film begins with a man named "Martin Blair" (Dan Duryea) attempting to visit his wife "Mavis Marlowe" (Constance Dowling) in her high-rise apartment but being intercepted by the doorman and refused entry. Not long afterward another man by the name of "Marko" (Peter Lorre) is inexplicably allowed access which causes Dan to visit a nearby bar and become quite inebriated. The next morning Dan wakes up in his bed from his drinking binge and is told that his wife has been murdered. Not long afterward another man by the name of "Kirk Bennett" (John Phillips) is arrested and charged with the crime. He is subsequently tried and upon being found guilty he is incarcerated in prison to await execution in the gas chamber. Yet, in spite of all of the evidence against him, his wife "Catherine Bennett" (June Vincent) believes in his innocence and with nobody else to turn to decides to search for clues which might exonerate him. It's at this time that she happens to meet Dan and together they decide to conduct their own investigation which leads them directly to none other than—Marko. But there is a big difference between having a possible suspect and obtaining actual evidence which might free Kirk--and time is not on their side. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that I found this movie to rather enjoyable for the most part with several twists and turns along the way. Unfortunately, I didn't care for the ending at all and because of that I have somewhat lowered my rating accordingly. Average.

Robert J. Maxwell Seeing this referred to so often as a "noir" raises the question, "What does 'noir' mean?" Usually it suggests a despairing mood, stark lighting and odd camera angles, and a femme fatale. I think that's what the Frogs originally had in mind. But using those criteria rules out films like "Black Angel." True, it was released in 1946, is in black and white, stars Dan Duryea, and involves a deadly serious search for a murderer, but that's about it. If our definitions get too generous, then Charlie Chan movies wind up in the "noir" category too.Roy William Neal, the proficient director who gave us a couple of Universal's Sherlock Holmes, has given us a straightforward murder mystery that lacks a lot of tension because of its weak structure -- Peter Lorre is in this, why? -- and an ending that is a variation on the "it-was-all-a-dream" climax, only in this case a nightmare. I have no idea who or what the title, "Black Angel", refers to. All the women here are perfectly normal. But I suppose there had been a successful "Blue Dahlia," "Black Dahlia", "Blue Gardenia," and "Fallen Angel" -- so, why not? Whatever happened to gardenias, by the way? You never hear about them anymore.I'd never heard of June Vincent, the girl in the case, but whatever her acting talents, she has an admirable bosom. I kind of like Dan Duryea too. If his acting range and this role were part of a Venn diagram there would be considerable overlap. He's not his usual woman-slapping cad, but his whiny voice projects a weakness that fits the character. I also rather like him because he was a graduate of the same college I attended. (Well, what the hell.) There's no particular reason to get into the plot. Duryea and Vincent team up to find out the real murderer of Duryea's wife -- before Vincent's husband is executed after having been mistakenly convicted of the crime. There's nothing shameful about the film. Everything in it is pretty routine.

blanche-2 An interesting cast and great atmosphere help to make "Black Angel" a very good noir. Directed by Roy William Neill, the plot concerns a woman, Catherine Bennett (June Vincent) trying to prove that her philandering husband Kirk (John Phillips) is innocent of the murder of a gorgeous woman named Mavis Marlowe (Constance Dowling). Mavis' husband, composer- pianist Martin Blair (Dan Duryea) teams with Catherine and the two start performing at a nightclub owned by a possible suspect, Marko (Peter Lorre), in order to get evidence to free Kirk. Can they get it before Kirk is executed?The '40s atmosphere is wonderful, and the story really holds interest. Duryea plays a much softer character than he usually did, and he's very good. Broderick Crawford plays the officer in charge of the investigation into Mavis' murder. Vincent is sympathetic as Kirk's wife, who loves her husband even though he cheated. Lorre's role is small, but it's Peter Lorre after all, and he's very effective. Former Goldwyn girl Dowling is a knockout and looks like someone would want to kill her. Vincent and Duryea (both dubbed) perform some pleasant songs, including "I Wanna Be Talked About" and "Time Will Tell."As good as this film is, I think in the hands of another director, it could have been even better. As it is, it's well worth seeing.

dbdumonteil What's lacking here is a great director,someone like Robert Siodmak ("Phantom Lady" ) or Mitchell Leisen ("No man of her own").Who says Truffaut?("the bride wore black").Even flawed ,"Black Angel" is far better than the two Truffaut movies (the second being "La Sirene Du Mississipi" ) cause only an American can feel the desperate atmosphere of Cornell Woolrich's (aka William Irish)best novels and short stories.Generally the character who experiments tragedy is a woman ;such is not the case here.Martin is the loser,the unfortunate expiatory victim who is looking for a second chance.Some people won't accept the fact that half of the action is based on a wrong track:it's necessary to make us feel Martin's growing hope.His moonlight sonata is not only a warning,it's also a love message (look at his face when he is playing ) When Cathy tells him there can only be one man in her life ,he's got no reason to live anymore.Hence this ending a la "lost weekend" (which was released the precedent year) and these words of Martin when he says he is happy now.William Irish's novel was arguably not his best :the story is too close to that of "phantom lady" and Cathy becoming a singer overnight is not very plausible. But it's Dan Duryea's hope against hope and his face longing for happiness and peace of mind that will haunt you after watching this good film noir.