Black Angel (Screen 1)

1946  - 81 mins - Director: Roy William Neill - Cast: Dan Duryea, June Vincent, Peter Lorre - b&w - DCPKirk Bennett is sentenced to die for the murder of a gorgeous actress, but his wife (June Vincent) won't give up trying to prove his innocence. She desperately enlists the aid of Marty Blair (Dan Duryea), a pickled pianist on the skids who happens to be the victim's husband! This is one of the era's best adaptations of a Cornell Woolrich novel, the undisputed master of noir fiction. Vincent and Duryea become amateur sleuths and go undercover as a performing musical duo, tracing clues to a ritzy Sunset Strip nightclub run by shady operator Marko (Peter Lorre). Bringing extra heat is Broderick Crawford as a dogged LAPD police captain. As usual in Cornell Woolrich stories, things aren't what they seem--leading to one of the writer's most memorable and unexpected climaxes. Known for his smarmy, villainous turns in many films of the period, here Duryea had his first role as a leading man. Black Angel features fantastic art direction by Martin Obzina and inventive camerawork by Paul Ivano.CREDITSDirector: Roy William NeillCast: Dan Duryea, June Vincent, Peter Lorre, Constance DowlingScreenplay: Roy ChanslorCinematographer: Paul IvanoMusic: Frank SkinnerStudio: Universal PicturesPresentation: digital DCP / b&w / 1.37:1