Johnny Angel is a 1945 film noir directed by Edwin L. Marin and written by Frank Gruber and Steve Fisher from the novel Mr. Angel Comes Aboard by Charles Gordon Booth. The movie stars George Raft, Claire Trevor and Signe Hasso, and features Hoagy Carmichael.
Plot
A merchant ship captain (George Raft) finds his father's ship â€" of the same line â€" derelict at sea, the entire crew having disappeared. From an unlisted passenger (Signe Hasso), the only survivor of the hijacking of the ship, he learns of a plot involving secret gold, and searches New Orleans for his father's murderer.
Cast
- George Raft as Johnny Angel
- Claire Trevor as Lilah "Lily" Gustafson
- Signe Hasso as Paulette Girard
- Lowell Gilmore as Sam Jewell
- Hoagy Carmichael as Celestial O'Brien
- Marvin Miller as George "Gusty" Gustafson
- Margaret Wycherly as Miss Drumm
- J. Farrell MacDonald as Capt. Angel
- Mack Gray as Mack, the Bartender
Release
Although RKO had low expectations for the film it was an unexpected hit, earning the studio a profit of $1,192,000. Raft went on to make three more thrillers for RKO.
Critical reception
The staff at Variety magazine gave the film a lukewarm review, and wrote, "Johnny Angel is another in the seemingly never-ending series of maritime intrigues involving murder and lust. It is slow and plodding, with poor story development...Raft is his invariably glowering self as a guy who really handles his mitts - and the dames - while Claire Trevor and Signe Hasso are the romantic interests. Rest of the cast is weighted down too much by the story..."
Time Out film guide gave the film a positive review and wrote, "The world of Johnny Angel is very noir indeed...They all inhabit a closed world, where even pastoral idylls reek of claustrophobia and obsession. The men struggle against the towering shadows of their fathers, the women are dangerously enigmatic, and the docks of New Orleans glisten under the diffuse light of a single street-lamp. Even Hoagy Carmichael sounds eerie singing "Memphis in June." There are no black diamonds, but Johnny Angel glitters like one."
References
Notes
External links
- Johnny Angel at the Internet Movie Database
- Johnny Angel at AllMovie
- Johnny Angel at the TCM Movie Database
