ANGEL FACE

Jean Simmons

ANGEL FACE (1953). Produced and directed by Otto Preminger. 

Frank Jessup (Robert Mitchum) is an ambulance driver who meets the fascinating Diane Tremayne (Jean Simmons) when her stepmother, Catherine (Barbara O'Neil), has a near-deadly encounter with a gas jet. Although Frank is already involved with Mary (Mona Freeman), Frank can't quite resist seeing Diane and ultimately going to work for her family as a chauffeur. Diane truly hates her stepmother -- she thinks she treats her beloved father (Herbert Marshall) like a lap dog -- but Frank has no interest in her nefarious plans. In spite of his admonitions, there is a very terrible accident, and Frank's life winds up spiraling out of control ... But there are worse things to come. 

Robert Mitchum and Mona Freeman

Angel Face is one of Otto Preminger's best movies, an absorbing and exciting, well-acted exercise in film noir with Jean Simmons wisely underplaying so that the audience is never quite certain what is on her mind. Mitchum plays an essentially decent guy who isn't quite willing to do indecent things for Diane's sake, although one could argue that he isn't terribly nice to his cast-off girlfriend, Mary, who stands by him for awhile. Kenneth Tobey [It Came from Beneath the Sea] is Mary's admirer and Frank's former associate, Leon Ames is a defense lawyer, and Jim Backus plays the prosecutor; all are fine. There are twists and turns to the plot and a ferociously horrifying climax. (Those who suggest that  Frank's actions at the end are unrealistic forget that he was never the brightest bulb in the chandelier.) Angel Face contains elements of everything from Double Indemnity to Leave Her to Heaven but has a mystique all of its own. 

Verdict: Some people you should never get into cars with. ***1/4.