"Johnny Angel" is a 1945 noir starring George Raft, Signe Hasso, Claire Trevor, Hoagy Carmichael, and Marvin Miller. Johnny Angel (Raft) endeavors to find out who stole a gold shipment from his father's ship and killed his father, who was the captain. He discovers that there was a survivor on the ship, which seems empty when he boards it -- Paulette (Signe Hasso). Her father was killed by the hijackers, and she's trying to clear his name by finding out who took the gold.
No one from my generation can see Marvin Miller without thinking of him as Michael Anthony, the associate of John Beresford Tipton, who used to give random people $1 million. I'm still waiting for him to show up at my house. Here, Miller plays the weak husband of Lilah (Trevor). Lilah is madly in love with Johnny, and he wonders if she may know something about the missing gold.
The big problem here is Raft. I admit that I like him - he had a certain presence, and sometimes even warmth, but he was a very specialized actor. In the right role, he had all the bells and whistles, such as in Nocturne, but in the wrong role, he was ordinary. He wasn't really a leading man. Johnny Angel was a part for Bogart or Mitchum. Without that gravitas, it falls flat. Bogart certainly had a lot to thank him for, since he turned down High Sierra, Casablanca, and The Maltese Falcon. Amazing.
Still, it's pretty good, with the film elevated by the presence and singing of Hoagy Carmichael, one of my all-time favorites, as well as the marvelous Trevor and Signe Hasso.
No one from my generation can see Marvin Miller without thinking of him as Michael Anthony, the associate of John Beresford Tipton, who used to give random people $1 million. I'm still waiting for him to show up at my house. Here, Miller plays the weak husband of Lilah (Trevor). Lilah is madly in love with Johnny, and he wonders if she may know something about the missing gold.
The big problem here is Raft. I admit that I like him - he had a certain presence, and sometimes even warmth, but he was a very specialized actor. In the right role, he had all the bells and whistles, such as in Nocturne, but in the wrong role, he was ordinary. He wasn't really a leading man. Johnny Angel was a part for Bogart or Mitchum. Without that gravitas, it falls flat. Bogart certainly had a lot to thank him for, since he turned down High Sierra, Casablanca, and The Maltese Falcon. Amazing.
Still, it's pretty good, with the film elevated by the presence and singing of Hoagy Carmichael, one of my all-time favorites, as well as the marvelous Trevor and Signe Hasso.