The star player is Alice Faye. She gives a superb, if slightly overstated, performance. This is the only movie of hers I've seen, as musicals are generally not my thing. Here she is vulnerable but strong and exceptionally appealing.
The rest of the cast is good to excellent also. Charles Bickford is superb in a somewhat formulaic role. Dana Andrews gives a performance he gave often but that is good. Ann Revere is properly menacing as Faye's older sister who doesn't approve of what she's doing.
Linda Darnell is good but something isn't right about her. Maybe I prefer seeing her in a more favorable light. She was such a charming, beautiful actress, it's hard to think of her as a bad girl. And, essentially, that's what she plays here. Who wants to think of her as calculating and cold-blooded? The real star of "Fallen Angel" is its atmosphere. We have the usual drifter, a somewhat incongruous big-city cop, and the usual smalltime denizens in the small town where it takes place. A mood of doom hangs over this town and we sense that from the very beginning.
The cinematography is first-rate. The script is a little predictable but very literate.
It's not "Laura" and, though the public at the time may have expected it to be, I don't. But it falls short of the top rung of noir. And yet -- It will haunt anyone who sees it. It's not easy to shake off.
The rest of the cast is good to excellent also. Charles Bickford is superb in a somewhat formulaic role. Dana Andrews gives a performance he gave often but that is good. Ann Revere is properly menacing as Faye's older sister who doesn't approve of what she's doing.
Linda Darnell is good but something isn't right about her. Maybe I prefer seeing her in a more favorable light. She was such a charming, beautiful actress, it's hard to think of her as a bad girl. And, essentially, that's what she plays here. Who wants to think of her as calculating and cold-blooded? The real star of "Fallen Angel" is its atmosphere. We have the usual drifter, a somewhat incongruous big-city cop, and the usual smalltime denizens in the small town where it takes place. A mood of doom hangs over this town and we sense that from the very beginning.
The cinematography is first-rate. The script is a little predictable but very literate.
It's not "Laura" and, though the public at the time may have expected it to be, I don't. But it falls short of the top rung of noir. And yet -- It will haunt anyone who sees it. It's not easy to shake off.