George Raft has his own style of doing things unique unto him which makes for memorable movie watching. Throw in a decent story, some dames and someone trying to kill someone and you have Hollywood doing what it did best in the 30's, 40's and 50's. Imagine you were out for the night and wanted to catch movie, this would be one of thousands that the studios would churn out. Here we have Raft playing a straight shooter and a mystery of mysteries just pops up right in front of him and becomes personal as it unravels. Ships at sea, fog, large amounts of money, women, bad guys, good guys and various sound affects soon weave a tale of entertainment. I recommend a sandwich with a tasty drink plus some delicious personal candy favorite for this little gem. By the way, it was always the custom for the good guy to get the girl in many movies of that time because that is what was going on more often than not. No exception here and the only thing is, which girl? Also, you had to be good with your fists and guns were last resorts or no fair. Enjoy

Tough sea captain Johnny Angel (George Raft) finds his father's ship adrift at sea and boards it. He finds no trace of anyone on board, including his father. So Johnny tows the ship into New Orleans and begins investigating, wooing dames and punching faces where needed.Raft gets a lot of flack these days for being a stiff or limited actor. Okay he wasn't the most versatile or charismatic actor around but he still had a good screen presence and could deliver when needed. Here the only problems are his love scenes with Signe Hasso which are just uncomfortable to watch. But when he's angry-man-out-for-justice, then he's pretty compelling. I do agree with others' assessment, however, that with a stronger lead like Bogart this would probably be a more appreciated film. A punchier script wouldn't hurt, either. The cast backing Raft up is pretty good. Hoagy Carmichael steals his scenes as cab driver Celestial O'Brien (what a great name). He also sings "Memphis in June." Signe Hasso and Claire Trevor play the good and bad girl respectively. Take a wild guess which of those parts is more interesting. Marvin Miller as the mama's boy owner of the steamship line and Margaret Wycherly as his overprotective nursemaid are the kinds of characters that make a so-so noir into something more. Nice score from Leigh Harline and atmospheric photography by Harry J. Wild. It's not a strong film noir at all and it does drag in the middle but it is enjoyable, especially for Raft and Trevor fans.

Fine grabber opening—the ghost ship in the fog, but where's the crew? More importantly for Capt. Angel (Raft)— where's his dad and why is his dad's ship abandoned. The suspense mounts, as a mysterious woman (Hasso) turns up, apparently in the know, but too scared to talk. Now Angel's got a big complicated mystery to unravel and only 80 minutes to do it in.Fine noir visuals from RKO's crack production team. Director Marin too knows his way around a shadowy set. I really like his bar scenes; then too, who is that blonde bar babe who makes a pass at Angel who foolishly prefers business to a little recreation. But then Claire Trevor has the franchise on vamping and is really good at it, all dolled up like a blonde ice sculpture. However, the eccentric eye-catcher is Marvin Miller looking a little like the Pillsbury doughboy with a spine to match. It's almost as if surrogate mother Wycherly has yet to wean him. On the other hand, the best you can say about non-actor Raft is that he's really good at being driven. Wind him up and he walks through the sets like a mechanical man with an emotional make-up to match. To me that same unblinking stare for every occasion does get tiresome. Anyway, an over-age Raft made a number of these post-war noirs. In almost all, he rather oddly has a parent present, probably to make him seem younger than his 50 or so years. Most of the films are routine, except for the truly awful Whistle Stop (1946). Arguably, this is the best of the lot, thanks to a shrewd supporting cast, expert atmosphere, and a screenplay with a neat twist that I, for one, didn't see coming.

I couldn't really get into this one, mainly because of the casting of George Raft as the hero. I'm not a big fan of Raft at the best of times, but he was usually convincing as a gangster or something similar. In this movie he looks uncomfortable as a more conventional leading man, and I just didn't find his character believable. With another actor, say Bogart or Robert Mitchum, I might have enjoyed 'Johnny Angel' a lot more, but as it is I found it very difficult to get interested in the plot, and my attention kept wandering. However the movie isn't entirely worthless, Hoagy Carmichael gives an entertaining turn as the wonderfully named eccentric cabbie Celestial O'Brien. And yes he sings. watch this movie for Hoagy if nothing else.