Angel Face with Robert Mitchum & Jean Simmons

NOTE: Since I'm reading Lee Server's comprehensive biography of the American film star Robert Mitchum, I reposting my review of his very under-rated but classic film noir with Jean Simmons. It has got to be one of his top five movies. According to Server, Jean Simmons was trying to break her contract with RKO and get away from its creepy boss Howard Hughes who was pursuing/stalking her. Anyway, the right ingredients came together to bake a good film noir.

I swear Robert Mitchum was born to star in first-rate film noirs, or at least the ones that I get a big kick out of watching. This 1952 forgotten gem stars him and Jean Simmons as the femme fatale. Otto Preminger directed it, all filmed on locale in Beverly Hills. I won't rehash the pretty straightforward plot except to say Mitchum plays the poor boy, and Simmons is the rich pixie. The class distinction is a nice touch to the plot. Of course, almost from the get-go she has designs on him when he first shows up at her wealthy stepmother's mansion as an ambulance driver. Mitchum plays something of a sap, but he's also a war vet who has been around the block. I had difficulty hearing Jean Simmons, a soft-spoken actress, saying her lines at times, but she does a fabulous job in her role. Look for Jim Backus of Mr. Magoo and Gilligan's Island fame as the fiesty D.A. Imdb.com rates Angel Face as 7.3/10, but I'd go even further and give it 8.5/10. Check out Angel Face if you like gritty but well-plotted film noirs.