Angel Face (1952 film)
| Angel Face | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
|
|
| Directed by | Otto Preminger |
| Produced by | Otto Preminger |
| Screenplay by |
Frank Nugent and Oscar Millard |
| Story by | Chester Erskine |
| Starring |
Robert Mitchum Jean Simmons Mona Freeman Herbert Marshall |
| Music by |
Dimitri Tiomkin (composed and conducted) |
| Cinematography | Harry Stradling, A.S.C. |
| Edited by | Frederic Knudtson |
|
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by | RKO Radio Pictures |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Angel Face is a 1953 American black-and-white film noir directed by Otto Preminger. The drama, filmed on location in Beverly Hills, California, features Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons.
Frank and Bill, two Beverly Hills ambulance drivers, arrive at the Tremayne mansion, where Catherine Tremayne has been affected by gas poisoning, but has already been treated by the police. When Frank tries to reassure Catherine’s stepdaughter, Diane, she becomes hysterical, causing them to trade slaps. After they leave, Diane follows Frank to a diner, where they flirt and decide to go to dinner, in spite of Frank already having a girlfriend, Mary.
Over the course of dinner, Diane tells Frank about her father, and Frank tells her about Mary. We learn that Frank had been a race-car driver, and that Mary was saving up money in order to help Frank to buy his own garage. The following day, Diane meets with Mary under the pretense of contributing to Frank’s garage, but in reality she wants to make Mary jealous by letting it slip that they had dinner the prior evening.
As Mary loses confidence in Frank and agrees to go out with an old boyfriend, Bill, Frank tracks down Diane to berate her about telling Mary about their impromptu dinner. Frank berates but when she tells Frank he can work at the estate as the chauffeur and offers him the chance to prepare and drive her sportscar in an upcoming race, Frank forgets about what she has done. Following this, she convinces her parents to hire Frank as their chauffeur and he can live in a small apartment on the estate grounds. She further ingratiates herself to Frank by getting her stepmother Catherine to agree to listen to Frank’s proposal about investing in a garage. The two begin a romantic involvement.
While Catherine is awaiting advice on Frank’s proposal from her attorney, Diane lies to Frank, telling him that Catherine wants nothing to do with the project. She further attempts to alienate Frank from Catherine by telling him that she would fire Frank if she ever found out about his and Diane’s romance.
When Frank tries to assuage her fears, she tells him that Catherine would take it out on both her and her sickly father, if she felt she was being defied. In an attempt to convince him, she tells Frank that she saw Catherine in her bedroom and that she even attempted to kill Diane by turning on the gas in the fireplace. Frank is skeptical, as a street-wise man, and suspects Diane is lying.
...
Wikipedia