Dana andrews plays a man with one dollar to his name who rides in on the bus and is dropped off in a small town in california on his way to san fransisco. To a degree uncommon in hollywood film, the makers of noir used lighting, smoke, and scenery to create naturalseeming scenes evocative of interior states such as guilt and anxiety. Alice faye noir and brooding darnell as femme fatale the 1945 film noir drama fallen angel was seen by twentiethcentury foxs boss. Mar 01, 2018 fallen angel is a 1945 blackandwhite film noir directed by otto preminger, with cinematography by joseph lashelle, who had also worked with preminger on laura a year before. While often called film noir, the proper classification of fallen angel is sexmoney murder drama. Fallen angel marked a dramatic change of pace for alice faye. Fallen angel features shades of the previous years double indemnity and of the following years the postman always rings twice, with andrews in a sort of male version of the barbara stanwyck and lana turner roles except for the fact that its not the wife who gets bumped off, but the prospective mistress. Despite the happy ending, fallen angel has its noir credentials straight. An unemployed drifter, eric stanton wanders into a small california town and begins hanging around the local diner. Approved 1h 38min crime, filmnoir, mystery 20 march 1946 argentina. May 01, 2020 fallen angel, produced and directed by otto preminger, tells a story of crisscrossing confessions and deceptions, with a deceptively divided style to match.
The project, under the leadership of bob sneider and joe locke, looks at the scores of cinematic works of the film noir genre. While eric falls for the lovely waitress stella, he also begins romancing a quiet and welltodo woman named june mills. Alice faye noir and brooding darnell as femme fatale the 1945 film noir drama fallen angel was seen by twentiethcentury foxs boss darryl f. Aug 22, 20 fallen angel 1945raksin august 22, 20 in all of the years that ive been watching movies which has now reached well over fifty years ive yet to come up with a definition for film noir that establishes a concrete set of attributes that one can categorize them as being such a film. Oct 31, 2017 one of the great benefits of the fox noir series, of which this film is a standout, is the remasteringrelease of the classic 1940s work of the great otto preminger. I n the mid1940s, hollywood began to make a new kind of crime film. Since stella isnt interested in eric unless he has money, the lovelorn guy comes up with a scheme to win her over, and it involves june. The two women, blonde faye and brunette darnell, represent the light and dark sides of andrewss soul a device that is used to even greater depth in the excellent noir raw deal 1948. Both had prosperous careers in that decade, the 1940s, and. In his film noir fallen angel 1945, otto preminger depicts a passionate love triangle. Fallen angel 1945 is a film noir that had me guessing and then second guessing right to the very end.
Angels fall and rise, and, as faye ponders at one point, are we to judge. Noir alley dana andrews and linda darnell in fallen angel. Fallen angel this weeks film noir is fallen angel, a 1945 fox production starring dana andrews, alice faye and linda darnell and directed by otto preminger. Many noir protagonists do find salvation, though oftentimes only in death. Two years after linda darnell appeared unbilled as the virgin mary in the song of bernadette 1943, she hit her stride as an actress in a pair of films noirs. Preminger brought along the same cinematographer, joseph lashelle.
Fallen angel 1945 two years after linda darnell appeared unbilled as the virgin mary in the song of bernadette 1943, she hit her stride as an actress in a pair of films noirs as the victim of laird cregars homicidal composer in john brahms gaslitera hangover square 1945 and as a hashhouse waitress dreaming of better things in otto premingers fallen angel 1945. I should maybe note that almost all the films in this 18week series come from the fox and rko studiesand that this will account for the reappearances of a group of stars and. Nov 07, 2015 fallen angel was premingers followup to laura, which not only was a stellar noir film, but one of the best films of the 1940s. Fallen angel is a 1945 film noir about the misfortunes of a drifter caught between two lovers. The 1945 film noir drama fallen angel was seen by twentiethcentury foxs boss darryl f. If you can overlook the selfcentered protagonist and some questionable plot elements, theres a decent mystery to be. Mar 10, 2006 fallen angel may not satisfy genre fans who like their noir with fewer gray zones, but the directors take on obsession remains no less fascinating for trading suspense for multilayered lucidity. Noir alley dana andrews and linda darnell in fallen. Alice fayes meteoric rise to stardom beginning as a great. Fallen angel, a tv film starring gary sinise and joely richardson. Weve been heavily influenced by film critics to see happy endings in noir as a fault and the redemptive aspects of the genre are often overlooked.
Calder june 21, 2006 sign in to view read count very, very nice this one is, the absence of an overall noir atmosphere no cause for complaint. In the 1945 20thcentury fox film noir fallen angel, the nowhereman is noir icon dana andrews, whose bus ticket has run out of places to gothus he ends up at one of those lifeless midwestern towns that exist only to be gotten out of. And, essentially, it is a onesided romance which focuses on dana andrews eric who is obsessing over linda darnell stella, whom he can probably never have. The plot is about drifter eric stanton dana andrews who gets stranded in a small town c. Fallen angel is a 1945 film noir directed by otto preminger, with cinematography by joseph lashelle, who had also worked with preminger on laura a year before. Fallen angel is a fine entry in the film noir genre. Fallen angel, a 2004 documentary film about gram parsons. The film features alice faye, dana andrews, linda darnell, and charles bickford. Eric stanton dana andrews is a broke and dejected press agent who is thrown off a crosscountry bus. An out of money drifter named eric who gets thrown off a pacific coast highway bus in a california seaside flyspeck called walton. Dana andrews, linda darnell, alice faye, charles bickford, anne revere, bruce cabot, john carradine, percy. I keep thinking i have topped out on the film noir genre but every time i find a new one old one i have to update my list of forty essential film noir.
Combining sex and violence, lust and greed, the noir was distinguished by the darkness of its themes and photography. Fallen angel is a 1945 blackandwhite film noir directed by otto preminger, with cinematography by joseph lashelle, who had also worked with preminger on. Fallen angel 1945 film noirgangster tcm message boards. What makes fallen angel a film noir is its claustrophic, seedy atmosphere and the sense of desperation for sex and money that drives andrews to his behavior. A slick con man arrives in a small town looking to make some money, but soon gets more than he bargained for.
Both had prosperous careers in that decade, the 1940s, and then their 50s resume reads like a clean slate. Ethans rating of the film fallen angel ethan this is a nice little film noir about how women make men crazy and how women are crazy for men that dont want them. If you came out to aprils noir on the boulevard screening of otto premingers entertaining film version of the novel fallen angel by marty holland real name, mary hauenstein, you may. He ups the ante on his visual prowess where laura is surprisingly welllit for a film noir, fallen angel is full of deep contrasts between lingering shadows and blown out whites. Eric stanton dana andrews is a stonebroke new york drifter and. Noir sought the same object by more realistic means. The fallen angel, a japanese film by genjiro arato. In the 1945 20thcentury fox film noir fallen angel, the nowhereman is noir icon dana andrews, whose bus ticket has run out of places to gothus he ends up at one of those lifeless midwestern towns that exist only to be gotten out of this onehorse burg, however, happens to contain something. Fallen angel is a 1945 blackandwhite film noir directed by otto preminger, with cinematography by joseph lashelle, who had also worked. Thats a tough act to follow, so its not surprising fallen angel doesnt meet the bar. I should maybe note that almost all the films in this 18week series come from the fox and rko studiesand that this will account for the reappearances of a group of stars and directors and other personnel from film to film. Title fallen angel year 1945 director otto preminger genre crime, film noir, mystery. Typically the nasty girl at the bar falls for the nasty drifter who bums his way into town with less than two dollars and a wicked idea up his sleeve. If you look at the filmography of two actresses who play sisters in the otto preminger film noir fallen angel, alice faye, as naive june mills, whos mentored by an older, wiser, more cautious ann revere as clara.
The fallen men of film noir by matthew schmitz articles. The film features alice faye, dana andrews, linda darnell and charles bickford. Otto preminger, fresh off the success of laura, was tasked with recreating the same success with a vehicle intended to promote alice faye. The film noir of the week is fallen angel the 1945 film directed by otto preminger. Kicked off a bus traveling crosscountry for not being able to come up with the fare. So while there is no universally accepted definition of the term film noir. Save fallen angel dvd noir to get email alerts and updates on your ebay feed. John alton, the greatest noir cinematographer, perfected these methods. Fallen angel 1945 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.
Fred macmurray played walter neff, a solitary insurance salesman whose. Zanuck as an opportunity to show a new alice faye as a transformation to dramatic star from her hugely successful previous career as the studios premiere leading lady of musicals. Otto preminger directed this stylish film noir exercise, intended as a followup to his surprise hit laura. This is another great film noir starring dana andrews, alice faye, bruce cabot, charles bickford, and a little bit of john carradine thrown in for fun. All the four preminger titles in this series demonstrate what a concise, fluid director he was, easily managing crowd scenes as well as dramatic closeups with his supple. Fallen angel is a 1945 blackandwhite film noir directed by otto preminger, with cinematography by joseph lashelle, who had also worked with preminger on laura a year before. Jan 22, 2017 this film can and probably will be classified as a film noir, but, interestingly, it takes place in a very small town. Lets continue the noir film thread that started last week by looking at another movie directed by otto preminger and with costumes by bonnie cashin, fallen angel released in 1945, a year later than laura, the film was taken from marty hollands eponymous novel the film follows the vicissitudes of eric stanton dana andrews, a press agent down on his luck and an exceptional con man. Released in 1945, a year later than laura, the film was taken from marty hollands eponymous novel.
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