Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

MartinHafer The plot to "Half Angel" is insane and impossible to believe. But should that stop you from watching it? Maybe not. After all, some of the best old rom-coms of the classic era of Hollywood had completely ridiculous plots...such as in "Bringing Up Baby" and "My Favorite Wife" as well as "The Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer".Nora (Loretta Young) is an extremely conventional and a bit straight-laced lady. She's going to be married soon, so you'd think she was very happy...and she is on the surface. However, subconsciously she is NOT happy and longs to be wild, carefree and in love. But she is not aware of this and this side of her only starts appearing when she goes to sleep at night. She begins sleepwalking as this other personality and soon completely captivates John (Joseph Cotten). However, John knows little about this mystery woman....she was in his life and then just disappeared! So he frantically looks all over town for her. Eventually, he finds Nora...and she has zero recollection of him. In fact, she even presses charges when she thinks he's taking liberties with her, a stranger! What's next? See this odd film.This movie works because of the actors...period. The plot is ridiculous but Joseph Cotten and Loretta Young were such wonderful professionals that they were able to bring it across and make it fun as well. Overall, fun and enjoyable...and silly.

weezeralfalfa Bachelor lawyer John Raymond(Joseph Cotton)suddenly is a very confused and frustrated man, thanks to a strange gorgeous woman(Loretta Young)who appears at his home one dark evening, claiming she is Princess Felicity: the girl with the magic lips, kissing his forehead to eradicate some imaginary warts(she calls him Frog!). She tends to the scrapes and bruises he suffered when tripping(twice!) over the low handle of a mower in the dark of his yard. She plays his piano and sings. Then, she says she has to go home before the witch she lives with awakens.The next day, John sees the Princess (or Jug Head as he sometimes calls her) on the street and greets her, but she doesn't seem to recognize him, and tells him to buzz off. This drives him nuts. That evening, he is getting on a train for Washington. She appears in the train boarding area, again, dressed in an evening dress and acting flirtaceous. He gets off the train and she encourages him to kiss her. They go to an evening amusement park and have fun on the roller coaster, even giving the operator a ride. The next day, John goes to the hospital(where she is a nurse), but she acts very hostile, and slaps him for being fresh. She talks to a doctor , who suggests perhaps her subconscious mind is telling her she actually loves John, although she thinks she hates him. She takes him to court, presumably, for stalking. Nobody can believe his tale, and he loses the case.That evening, she is preparing for her wedding to Tim the next morning. She falls asleep, but soon gets dressed seductively, and goes outside, where John is waiting. They kiss and John suggests they get married that night. They find a minister and a couple of witnesses, and go through the marriage ceremony. They go to a motel(why not his house?), with separate beds(as required by the then production code!) for the night. Princess awakens first, and is shocked that John is in a bed next to hers. She gets dressed and climbs out the window(why?), taking John's pants with her, which she throws over a fence(and which probably contain their marriage license, judging by a later comment by John!). She goes home and gets ready for her next wedding. I leave the conclusion for you to discover. At present, it's available at You Tube.Yes, Princess Felicity is one dizzy dame. It appears that a case of split personality has been fused with a propensity for sleepwalking. On the surface, there might be just enough plausibility for such a combination to tease our imaginations. But, basically, this is a fairy tale. That's OK as long as we recognize it as such. The plot is then seen as very simple, with a few holes, reasonably interesting, and well executed.

GregP89 Actor Joseph Cotton, a his 2nd surreal genre film following "Portrait of Jeanie" with another brunette beauty of an Actress. The surreal nature of this film comes from memory recollection scenes, sleep walking premise, extreme sensuality by Actress Loretta Young, and even several odd overdubbed songs that are similar to the 1951 famous hit 'How High the Moon' by Mary Ford and Les Paul. Great supporting acting from Jim Backus, "Mr. Howell". The viewer can only wonder if months after filming 'Key to the City' with her true love Clark Gable, Ms. Young insisted on continuing the feeling with another thoroughly romantic film. Indeed, Actor Joseph Cotton is hardly miscast but does very well, albeit he is among few actors who have filmed with the loveliest leading ladies of his era, like Jennifer Jones, Ms. Young, Ingrid Bergman, Ava Gardner, Jane Russell, and Rita Hayworth. Only Actor Michael Douglas has achieved such a similar feat in today's Hollywood. Lastly, the Long Beach Cyclone Roller coaster scenes are great historical footage and a pleasant surprise.

dougdoepke It's hard for me to imagine that even Production Code audiences of 1951(note the newly- weds' unlikely twin beds) found this silly exercise anything more than occasionally titillating. I guess the movie was intended as a romantic comedy. The premise of a woman (Young) with two distinct personalities depending on whether she's sleepwalking may have sounded promising, but the result plods along in uninspired fashion minus either bounce or charm. Apparently, supporting players like Backus and Max are supposed to provide the chuckles, but it's really only Irene Ryan as nurse Kay who comes through in lively fashion. From his credits, it looks like director Sale was a much better writer than director or comedy coach.It also looks like Young is having a good time vamping it up in the wanton half of Nora's split personality. The overt sexuality probably comes as welcome change from her typical good girl roles. However, despite the good-humored approach, the result is more ludicrous than funny. Nonetheless, she does get to model 1951's latest fashions, a big thing for Young as her TV show attests. Unfortunately, that fine actor Joseph Cotten is reduced here to little more than a male manikin in a clearly secondary role.To me, the most intriguing aspect is what blacklisted film-noir and scheduled director Jules Dassin (Brute Force, 1948; Thieves Highway, 1949) would have done with the goofy premise and a very proper Young. If ever there was a mismatched movie pair, this is it. So it's no surprise that one of the two (Dassin) ended up having to leave the project (according to IMDb). Anyway, it's still a curious question what the highly serious Dassin would have done with such frothy material. Whatever the result, it's bound to be more interesting than this unfortunately forgettable 80 minutes.