{"id":5974,"date":"2008-10-27T10:01:09","date_gmt":"2008-10-27T17:01:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5974"},"modified":"2022-02-21T15:12:39","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T22:12:39","slug":"fallen-angel-1945","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5974","title":{"rendered":"Fallen Angel (1945)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Love alone can make the fallen angel rise &#8212; for only two together can enter Paradise.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Poster-203x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"203\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-64745\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Poster-203x300.png 203w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Poster-692x1024.png 692w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Poster-86x128.png 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Poster-182x270.png 182w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Poster.png 745w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 203px) 100vw, 203px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nWhen a drifter (Dana Andrews) falls for an ambitious waitress (Linda Darnell) at a roadside caf\u00e9, he tricks a local heiress (Alice Faye) into marrying him, intending to take her money and run away with Darnell &#8212; but his plans are soon complicated by an unexpected turn of events.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Charles Bickford Films<\/li>\n<li>Con Artists<\/li>\n<li>Dana Andrews Films<\/li>\n<li>Femmes Fatales<\/li>\n<li>Heiresses<\/li>\n<li>Linda Darnell Films<\/li>\n<li>Murder Mystery<\/li>\n<li>Otto Preminger Films<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nAfter the enormous popular and critical success of <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6718\"><em>Laura<\/em> in 1944<\/a>, Otto Preminger directed this follow-up murder mystery, featuring the same leading man but little of <em>Laura<\/em>&#8216;s inherent charm. While all the ingredients necessary for a top-rate <em>noir<\/em> are present &#8212; including a sexy, disdainful femme fatale (Darnell); a mysterious stranger who will do anything to win her love (Andrews); an unsuspecting &#8220;loyal&#8221; female waiting in the wings (Faye); a murder mystery with multiple suspects; and shadowy b&#038;w cinematography &#8212; the story itself never really gels. This is due partly to the mediocre script, and partly to the overly stoic performances of the romantic leads: Andrews&#8217; undistinguished anti-hero ultimately fails to leave an impression, while Faye&#8217;s noble attempt to break out of her singing and dancing career does her no favors here in this underdeveloped, goody-two-shoes role. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Faye2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Faye2-1024x771.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"482\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64746\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Faye2-1024x771.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Faye2-300x226.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Faye2-128x96.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Faye2-768x578.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Faye2-359x270.png 359w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Faye2.png 1231w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s smoldering Darnell who &#8212; much to Faye&#8217;s reported dismay &#8212; really carries the film (indeed, Faye was so upset about this fact that she blamed Preminger for butchering her role through editing, and infamously walked away from Fox Studios before her contract was up). While wide-eyed, leggy Darnell was never a truly accomplished actress (my first film appreciation professor &#8212; during a discussion of 1950&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=37792\"><em>No Way Out<\/em><\/a> &#8212; snarkily pointed out that Darnell&#8217;s idea of acting was to pout or sneer), she radiates insouciant sex appeal, and fits the <em>femme fatale<\/em> bill perfectly. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Darnell2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Darnell2-1024x760.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"475\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64747\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Darnell2-1024x760.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Darnell2-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Darnell2-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Darnell2-768x570.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Darnell2-364x270.png 364w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Darnell2.png 1259w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>**** <strong>SPOILERS <\/strong> ****<\/p>\n<p>Therefore, when she dies halfway through the film, so does any inherent tension in the story. The issue of how poor, duped Faye will respond to news of Andrews&#8217; deception fails to hold our attention; meanwhile, her more intriguing spinster sister (Anne Revere) &#8212; with a &#8220;love lost&#8221; story of her own &#8212; is given far too little screen time. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Revere.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Revere-1024x775.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"484\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64748\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Revere-1024x775.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Revere-300x227.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Revere-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Revere-768x581.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Revere-357x270.png 357w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Revere.png 1241w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>While many critics have noted that the film&#8217;s unsatisfying denouement is its weakest element &#8212; and I&#8217;ll agree &#8212; ultimately it&#8217;s just a capstone on what is mediocre <em>noir<\/em> at best. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong>The following year, many of the key plot and character elements of <em>Fallen Angel<\/em> &#8212; a roadside California diner, a troubled drifter, an ambitious <em>femme fatale<\/em> waitress, etc. &#8212; would show up in the superior <em>noir<\/em> classic <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5452\"><em>The Postman Always Rings Twice<\/em><\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Linda Darnell as Stella<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Darnell7.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Darnell7-1024x762.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"476\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64750\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Darnell7-1024x762.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Darnell7-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Darnell7-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Darnell7-768x571.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Darnell7-363x270.png 363w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Darnell7.png 1241w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Effectively noirish cinematography by Joseph LaShelle (who won an Oscar for his work the previous year on Preminger&#8217;s <em>Laura<\/em>)<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Cinematography4.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Cinematography4-1024x756.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"473\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-64749\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Cinematography4-1024x756.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Cinematography4-300x222.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Cinematography4-128x95.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Cinematography4-768x567.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Cinematography4-366x270.png 366w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/Fallen-Angel-Cinematography4.png 1239w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo; this one isn&#8217;t required viewing. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0037691\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1946\/02\/07\/archives\/the-screen-in-review-miss-susie-slagles-with-joan-caulfield-lillian.html\">NY Times Original Review (scroll down to third review)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.noiroftheweek.com\/2005\/07\/fallen-angel-1945-72005.html\">Noir of the Week Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Love alone can make the fallen angel rise &#8212; for only two together can enter Paradise.&#8221; Synopsis: When a drifter (Dana Andrews) falls for an ambitious waitress (Linda Darnell) at a roadside caf\u00e9, he tricks a local heiress (Alice Faye) into marrying him, intending to take her money and run away with Darnell &#8212; but his plans are soon complicated by an unexpected turn of events. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Charles Bickford Films Con Artists Dana Andrews Films Femmes&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=5974\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5974"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81521,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5974\/revisions\/81521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}