Angel on My Shoulder (1946)

the audience applauded

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Situated well within the tradition of Forties supernatural comedies such as HERE COMES MR. JORDAN (1941) and BLITHE SPIRIT (1945), ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER - penned by Harry Segall, who also wrote MR. JORDAN - centers on Eddie (Paul Muni) a gangster shot to death by his presumed best friend and sent to Hell as a result. There he encounters the Devil (Claude Rains), also known as Nick; and the Devil offers a bargain whereby Eddie can return to Earth, so long as he inhabits the body of Judge Frederick Parker, one of Nick's deadliest enemies, and thereby contribute to Parker's demise. Eddie readily agrees, as it provides a chance for him to get revenge on his killer (Hardie Allbright) at the same time. The story proceeds in a series of comic misadventures, all carefully planned by Nick, but which go catastrophically wrong in their execution. As Judge Parker, Eddie gets involved in a fist-fight that enhances rather than destroys the judge's reputation; later on, he is about to take a bribe for a case when he discovers that the defendant is one of his ex-girlfriends (Marion Martin), prompting Eddie/ Judge Parker to send her to jail where she belongs.The script is full of sharp witticisms, especially for Rains; not normally associated with comedies, he is given the opportunity to indulge in a range of facial expressions as he discovers that the Devil no longer possesses the power he once thought he had. Muni gets the chance to parody his famous tough-guy role in I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG (1932), with his rangy walk, head bent forward and his arms perpetually down by side, he looks like the typical heavy devoid of intelligence but with plenty of strength. He makes some delicious mispronunciations of the words "Mephistopheles" and "Beelzebub."In truth the film's message is a profoundly conservative one; follow the ways of God and you will be protected from corruption. Eddie learns this precept as the action unfolds, which inspires him to turn against Nick and make decisions for himself. Yet there remains something peculiarly attractive about Hell, even if it is only the wonderfully Gothic sets with smoke arising from them (by Bernard Herzbrun), through which Eddie wanders before encountering Nick.

Paul Muni was an actor who was way ahead of his time. Who else could have played Louis Pasteur, Emile Zola, and a gangster, all with perfect accents, inflections, and facial expressions? His kind of acting was so way ahead of his time - most actors in the 1930s and 1940s were typecast into roles that didn't allow them to play a variety of characters. But not Paul Muni. Most actors in the 1930s and 1940s did NOT do accents, even though by today's standards, we consider this a requirement - but not Paul Muni.Having just watched "The Life of Emile Zola", Here his portrayal of Eddie Kagel blew me away. The movie itself is slight, and has some humorous moments. But Paul Muni's performance raises it above the rest.

The comparisons for Angel On My Shoulder and Here Comes Mr. Jordan are too obvious to belabor the point. Naturally since the same guy, Harry Segall wrote both screenplays. But in this one Claude Rains goes to the dark side. As Mephistopheles he's ruler of the underworld where the damned toil at their labors for eternity. But even Rains gets quite a handful when Paul Muni makes a sudden trip their courtesy of Hardie Albright.This part of the story is taken right out the plot of Angels With Dirty Faces. You remember that James Cagney took a hiatus from the rackets via a stretch in Sing Sing. When he came back he expected to resume where he left off, but Humphrey Bogart didn't see it that way. But Hardie Albright must have seen Angels With Dirty Faces because he plugs Paul Muni with four shots after picking him up at the prison gate. When Muni arrives in Hell he's only got one thing on his mind, crashing out and getting his former pal. Seeing a resemblance to a respected judge who he's trying to ensnare in sin or disgrace, Rains decides to let Muni out on parole so to speak. Of course he goes with him.When Muni enters the judge's body courtesy of Rains, Rains expects him to just behave in his usual hoodlum manner and disgrace the judge. But somehow the best laid plans of the devil keep getting gummed up. And Muni finds himself falling for the judge's fiancée, Anne Baxter and slowly changing his ways.Angel On My Shoulder was a charming fantasy that marked only the second time Muni returned to a gangster role other than his famous Scarface portrayal. While he was at Warner Brothers Muni rejected gangster parts over and over again. According to his co-star Anne Baxter, Muni was hoping to revive his career with this one. It was not to be. Muni returned to the stage after this film except for two films in the Fifties.Best in this film without a doubt is Claude Rains. Then again he's never bad in anything. If you liked him in Here Comes Mr. Jordan you will equally like him on the dark side. Angel On My Shoulder is an entertaining fantasy, but far from the work Paul Muni did in the Thirties.

Paul Muni plays a gangster who is murdered towards the very beginning of the story and is sent to Hell. This gangster seems an awful lot like his character from the movie SCARFACE (1932) and although Muni's acting is far from subtle, it is very entertaining. The Devil is also entertained by how awful the man is--especially since this evil deceased gangster looks just like a nice judge who he wants to discredit. Lucifer lets Muni out of Hell and gives him the judges body--and Muni being such a dumb mug never realizes that it's the Devil helping him or that he was even in Hell!! This seems like a big stretch, but considering the movie IS a fantasy, it can be forgiven. This plan all backfires, though, when Muni unintentionally does good as the judge and the Devil is less than amused.The acting by Muni, as I said before, is pretty broad. However, Claude Rains is wonderful as a much more subtle Devil--one of the better ones Hollywood created--probably second to Laird Crager's version in HEAVEN CAN WAIT. All in all, this movie is just a lot of fun and has quite a few laughs as well. While not great theology, it's immensely entertaining.