Angel Face

Angel Face

1953
Drama, Crime
1h 31m
When Mrs. Tremayne is mysteriously poisoned with gas, ambulance driver Frank Jessup meets her refined but sensuous stepdaughter Diane, who quickly pursues and infatuates him. Under Diane's seductive influence, Frank is soon the Tremayne chauffeur; but he begins to suspect danger under her surface sweetness. When he shows signs of pulling away, Diane schemes to get him in so deep he'll never get out. (imdb)
Your probable score
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Angel Face

1953
Drama, Crime
1h 31m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 62.53% from 317 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(317)
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Rated 24 Oct 2008
80
86th
Though not on par with Premingers great noirs (Laura, Where the Sidewalk Ends), Angel Face is still very good, with decent performances from both Mitchum and Simmons who plays a memorable femme fatale.
Rated 22 Jun 2012
90
80th
Oh man, this one's grim in a way you wouldn't ever expect a movie from the early 50's, made in the thick of the Hays code, to be. Jean Simmons is one of the best femme fatales ever and Mitchum is great playing kind-of-against-type as a guy who isn't always in control.
Rated 23 Apr 2022
79
87th
It was an good film... until the ending. That made it great. Unusually grim for a 50s film. Was sold from the moment she started playing the piano like Farley Granger in Rope.
Rated 15 May 2007
3
45th
It seems more cynical than other Preminger films. His direction here is much more subtle, and the whole movie is incredibly foreboding and ominous. Jean Simmons plays one of the most three-dimensional, memorable femme fatales ever, and while Mitchum is cool, he's a bit of a sucker in this one. Not that his performance isn't great.
Rated 19 Dec 2008
51
2nd
977
Rated 31 Jul 2009
80
66th
I wasn't too thrilled with this at first. It was a solid but lackluster noir, and in a lot of ways not very noir at all. Mitchum's performance was definitely the highlight, everything else about it was just slightly above average. But holy shit, the ending. You think it's going to lead up to a rather dull, possibly even disappointing, conclusion and then WHAM. The last minute of this movie is pure genius, and just enough to elevate it above the mediocre score I would have given it otherwise.
Rated 17 Sep 2009
72
48th
The story is fairly interesting (I like how it focuses on the plot's aftermath just as much as its development), but the characters aren't very captivating. Mitchum plays a fairly blah antihero, at times sly but mostly pretty bored and detached (and ultimately very dumb); Simmons is a more sympathetic femme fatale than in most noirs, but ultimately as dull and dumb as Mitchum. It's entertaining, but I was expecting more from Mitchum and Preminger.
Rated 05 Apr 2011
85
81st
Not sure how I feel about that ending, and the film is lacking that extra something that the best noirs have, but it's still a pretty well made film.Mitchum's character is a little subdued, which I think works really well.
Rated 29 Aug 2011
70
72nd
Mitchum's great, although the story itself is nothing interesting.
Rated 02 Dec 2011
60
20th
#791
Rated 13 Dec 2011
71
45th
Great ending.
Rated 04 Jan 2012
74
59th
Of course, in this kind of story, the principals are doomed from the moment they meet. Mitchum is good as a man who knows for the most part, what's going on, but is unable to do anything about it. Jean Simmons is better as the woman who has him on a leash.
Rated 04 Jan 2012
75
66th
Doom and gloom abound from Preminger. Angel Face is well-shot, well-acted and has a great score. Mitchum feels sort of wasted here, playing the lovesick dope to Jean Simmons' femme fatale. Simmons' turn as Diane is chilling and her sociopathy cements her as one of the high water marks for deadly women in cinema during the era.
Rated 08 Apr 2012
80
94th
Pretty remarkable for '52, not a cliché or a narrative convention within 100 miles. Every single character is intelligent, grey and dynamic, especially the two leads. It felt real, even the music was good, which is saying a lot for films in this time period.
Rated 13 Sep 2012
65
80th
When I realised Robert Mitchum was doing his usual impression of a piece of cardboard, I figured I wasn't in for a very good time. It wasn't too bad though. Unlike pretty much every other film noir, the female characters are actually quite interesting and well acted. I also find that usually the 'femme fatale' is only ever around when the lead male is with them, whereas she developed her a little more. It was a little too slow and Mitchum's blandness drag it down a lot though.
Rated 11 May 2015
83
87th
There's something missing or not polished about the direction but the story is absorbing. Mitchum's character is simple and dull yet exciting at that. Simmons' Diane has more depth to her but is ultimately powerless and awfully fragile. Only a thin layer of courtroom drama and virtually no drag. The fittingly rapid pacing lessened the constructional lacks, making it effective. The last half an hour was surprisingly thought-provoking, somehow.
Rated 23 Oct 2015
100
0th
"Do you think these dysfunctional personalities are essential to film noir?" "Absolutely!" http://illusionpodcast.blogspot.com/2014/11/episode-36-films-noir-of-otto-preminger.html
Rated 06 Aug 2017
84
75th
Filme # 1 em honra do Centenário de Robert Mitchum. Tem uma fofoca desse filme de que gosto muito, o fato do Mitchum ter dado um soco na cara do Preminger porque não aguentou o comportamento abusivo que o mesmo estava tendo com a Jean Simmons, como é usual para com suas atrizes. O que também não impediu que Preminger e Mitchum voltassem a trabalhar juntos em River of No Return.
Rated 27 May 2018
21
64th
I'll say it: Mitchum's character here got exactly what he deserved unlike, say, Jeff from Out of the Past. Jean Simmons plays the most pitiable femme fatale in noir history, an unenviable amalgam of Macbeth+Lady Macbeth.
Rated 31 Dec 2019
81
66th
I understand the Jean Simmons appeal now.
Rated 05 Mar 2020
78
66th
A dark little thriller with a pretty pessimistic finale. Jean Simmons is great and Mitchum is perfect with his stoic demeanor. The plot is fairly throwaway, but the film's femme fatal is quite unique in her perceived innocence.
Rated 16 Nov 2020
7
73rd
Interesting ending .
Rated 28 Dec 2021
80
78th
In which Mitchum must pick between Betty or Veronica. That's about the last choice he makes, as he stoically (or "sleepwalking-ly"?) then accepts his fate. Even with an ending you can see coming a mile away, this noir has good performances which bump it a little above average.
Rated 18 Jul 2023
60
54th
"It's a weird outfit. Not for me." You said it, mister! I approve of everything Mitchum does in this film, not sure what that says about me.
Rated 07 Nov 2023
71
46th
Pretty good but not quite great noir. Feels like it's just slightly missing something, but Simmons as femme fatale is interesting casting. Casting an actress with such an innocent face and persona as such a crazy character is an interesting choice. Mitchum's role is a bit odd. Unlike most men involved with a femme fatale, he more or less keeps his head but gets caught up in things anyway. Not bad but disappointing for a Preminger/Mitchum.

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