Not too many people are going to mourn the passing of Constance Dowling who by all accounts was a two timing blackmailer. John Phillips has drifted into an affair with her and she's making him pay big time. So when she's found strangled and he's nearby suspicion falls on him and homicide cop Broderick Crawford makes the arrest. Phillips is scheduled to die in the gas chamber.That does not sit well with Phillips's wife June Vincent who is a nightclub singer. She's still working to prove her man innocent and she collaborates with Dowling's former husband, composer Dan Duryea who has a drinking problem to rival Ray Milland's in The Lost Weekend. In fact the last ten minutes of the film are dominated by a very powerful performance by Duryea, very much rivaling what Milland got an Oscar for in The Lost Weekend. I'm betting that's what attracted Duryea to the role.As singer and accompanist Vincent and Duryea take a job at Peter Lorre's nightclub. Lorre is known to be mobbed up to the gills and the team hopes to find answers there.Black Angel is a real sleeper of a noir film with great performances all around by a talented group of players. But even with a scene stealer like Peter Lorre exuding the menace he does, the film is dominated by Dan Duryea who is a tragic figure.

I love to find good movies where you're not expecting one. That's what happened with "Black Angel", adapted from a Cornell Woolrich novel and is complete with his signature psychiatric undertones woven into the plot. Dan Duryea is the star of the film but with one big difference from his usual characters; here his trademark sardonic grin and snappy wisecracking dialogue are missing. He's not a tough guy in this one, but an average, hard-drinking shlub who gets sucked into solving a murder by a pretty face.The picture moves along at a brisk pace and almost defies you to guess the outcome (but you won't). Several dependable character actors are on hand to lend professionalism to the story, among them Broderick Crawford as a Police Lt. and Peter Lorre as a nightclub owner. Also Wallace Ford as his best friend/roommate.There are many plot descriptions among the reviewers, so suffice it to say that this is a vastly underrated, forgotten film noir which is one of the better examples of the genre. I can't say I've seen it listed on TCM but it is available on DVD. If you're a fan of noir you should see this one.

What's lacking here is a great director,someone like Robert Siodmak ("Phantom Lady" ) or Mitchell Leisen ("No man of her own").Who says Truffaut?("the bride wore black").Even flawed ,"Black Angel" is far better than the two Truffaut movies (the second being "La Sirene Du Mississipi" ) cause only an American can feel the desperate atmosphere of Cornell Woolrich's (aka William Irish)best novels and short stories.Generally the character who experiments tragedy is a woman ;such is not the case here.Martin is the loser,the unfortunate expiatory victim who is looking for a second chance.Some people won't accept the fact that half of the action is based on a wrong track:it's necessary to make us feel Martin's growing hope.His moonlight sonata is not only a warning,it's also a love message (look at his face when he is playing ) When Cathy tells him there can only be one man in her life ,he's got no reason to live anymore.Hence this ending a la "lost weekend" (which was released the precedent year) and these words of Martin when he says he is happy now.William Irish's novel was arguably not his best :the story is too close to that of "phantom lady" and Cathy becoming a singer overnight is not very plausible. But it's Dan Duryea's hope against hope and his face longing for happiness and peace of mind that will haunt you after watching this good film noir.

One sided love affair, blackmail and murder. Director Roy William Neil serves up mild tempered Film-Nior that provides an unexpected twist. An experienced cast makes the movie work. A beautiful blackmailer(Constance Dowling) is killed and the wife(June Vincent)of the man(John Phillips) convicted of the murder sets out to prove his innocence with the aid of the victim's ex-husband(Dan Duryea). Broderick Crawford plays Captain Flood, who is really not totally concerned either way in innocence or guilt, because his squad is three months behind solving cases.Also in the cast are: Wallace Ford, Marion Martin, Ben Bard and an under used Peter Lorre.