Johnny Angel (1945)

I'll tell you why so serious

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

George Raft has his own style of doing things unique unto him which makes for memorable movie watching. Throw in a decent story, some dames and someone trying to kill someone and you have Hollywood doing what it did best in the 30's, 40's and 50's. Imagine you were out for the night and wanted to catch movie, this would be one of thousands that the studios would churn out. Here we have Raft playing a straight shooter and a mystery of mysteries just pops up right in front of him and becomes personal as it unravels. Ships at sea, fog, large amounts of money, women, bad guys, good guys and various sound affects soon weave a tale of entertainment. I recommend a sandwich with a tasty drink plus some delicious personal candy favorite for this little gem. By the way, it was always the custom for the good guy to get the girl in many movies of that time because that is what was going on more often than not. No exception here and the only thing is, which girl? Also, you had to be good with your fists and guns were last resorts or no fair. Enjoy

Fine grabber opening—the ghost ship in the fog, but where's the crew? More importantly for Capt. Angel (Raft)— where's his dad and why is his dad's ship abandoned. The suspense mounts, as a mysterious woman (Hasso) turns up, apparently in the know, but too scared to talk. Now Angel's got a big complicated mystery to unravel and only 80 minutes to do it in.Fine noir visuals from RKO's crack production team. Director Marin too knows his way around a shadowy set. I really like his bar scenes; then too, who is that blonde bar babe who makes a pass at Angel who foolishly prefers business to a little recreation. But then Claire Trevor has the franchise on vamping and is really good at it, all dolled up like a blonde ice sculpture. However, the eccentric eye-catcher is Marvin Miller looking a little like the Pillsbury doughboy with a spine to match. It's almost as if surrogate mother Wycherly has yet to wean him. On the other hand, the best you can say about non-actor Raft is that he's really good at being driven. Wind him up and he walks through the sets like a mechanical man with an emotional make-up to match. To me that same unblinking stare for every occasion does get tiresome. Anyway, an over-age Raft made a number of these post-war noirs. In almost all, he rather oddly has a parent present, probably to make him seem younger than his 50 or so years. Most of the films are routine, except for the truly awful Whistle Stop (1946). Arguably, this is the best of the lot, thanks to a shrewd supporting cast, expert atmosphere, and a screenplay with a neat twist that I, for one, didn't see coming.

For those of you who see this title and expect a film built around Shelley Fabares big teen idol hit from the early Sixties, skip this one by. If you're looking for an above average noir film with a World War II background than don't miss Johnny Angel.It was with this film that George Raft entered his B picture noir period of his career. His films vary in quality from now on. Any A films he would be in from this point on were strictly in support of other players most famously in Some Like It Hot.Raft is a sea captain who is out searching and finds a derelict freighter commanded by his father J. Farrell MacDonald. When he tows it into the port of New Orleans a stowaway played by Signe Hasso gets off. Raft of course trails her, but there are some other people after her as well, people who might be able to tell Raft what happened to his father and the rest of the crew.Hasso was the custodian of five million dollars in gold that the Free French have smuggled out of Vichy from Casablanca. Of course that's what is involved in the disappearance of the crew. Claire Trevor is back as a femme fatale, repeating essentially the part she had in Murder My Sweet. In this she's a two timing dame, married to mother dominated Marvin Miller, the owner of the freight line where Raft and MacDonald work. One look at her and you know she's up to no good.And of course the film is graced by the presence of Hoagy Carmichael who contributes his piano and a song to the proceedings.All in all, not a bad way for Raft to begin this new portion of his career.

Put Humphrey Bogart in the title role and this would be remembered along with the likes of "The Maltese Falcon," and "The Big Sleep" as a true classic. With George Raft as the lead it's not quite a classic but still damn close. Frankly I was expecting a B movie and was simply knocked out by how good it was. I'm not going to dump on Raft the way some others have because, while unquestionably a limited actor, he did have a solid presence about him and is undeniably effective at times despite his obvious limitations.Raft is at his best when he's asked to be tough, relentless and decisive. He gets into trouble during those scenes where he's required to be scheming or thoughtful; saying one thing while thinking another. Let's just say he's not real big on nuance. That hurts the latter half of the film where the audience really needs to FEEL his escalating outrage, impatience and thirst for revenge (such as Dick Powell is able to convey in the classic 1945 film noir "Cornered.") The way Raft plays it, what you see is what you get. Everything is on the surface. You assume he's only romancing Claire Trevor's femme fatale to find out more about his father's murder, but Raft doesn't give you the subtext. It just seems like a lackluster and rather puzzling liaison, considering how angry and anxious he had previously been to uncover the truth.But Raft is much more inspired throughout the first portion of the film and actually does register true pain and regret over his beloved father's death as he's roaming the - supposedly - deserted ship. (A Nosferatu-like premise that sets a truly eerie, haunting tone which never lets up.) And his no nonsense, take no prisoners search to find the killer showcases Raft at his very best. An early scene with fragile Signe Hasso where he brutally interrogates/romances her absolutely crackles, and culminates with a great film noir line. Just before Raft wipes away a tear from Hasso's face he growls, "Looks like rain."But the true star of this film is director Edwin Marin. Talk about painting with light - this is one of the most gorgeously photographed, most visually arresting films I've ever seen. It just OOZES mood and atmosphere - not to mention some serious post-war disillusionment. And Marin's camera work is equally stunning as he tracks and pans and zooms and frames each shot in fresh, exciting ways. It's one of those movies where "The Past" is almost an actual character always lurking in the shadows that NO ONE can escape. But what else would you expect from something with a quintessentially cryptic noir title like "Johnny Angel"? In fact I wouldn't be surprised if Alan Parker wasn't paying homage to this little gem with his not dissimilar, equally unsettling "Angel Heart", also set in New Orleans. Mickey Rourke's character in that 1987 film was also named, I believe, Johnny Angel. Early on a floozie throws herself at Raft and he brushes her off. She complains to no one in particular with a shrug - "Looks like Angel is wearing his halo tonight." You want noir? THAT'S noir.