directed by Otto Preminger
Angel Face is a 1953 film noir that, like Chinatown two decades later, has some Freudian undertones. These were not usually explicit. It was the 50s. When you think about them you might get the heebie-jeebies. This movie didn't use WW2 as a backdrop but did use wealth and corruption as the story environment.
Depending on whom you spoke to, the director was known as a demanding perfectionist auteur or as a sadistic bully.
There is a famous story that Preminger required too many takes of a scene where Robert Mitchum slaps Jean Simmons. Preminger wanted the scene to be realistic; he refused to let the slap be faked or toned down as Mitchum wanted to do. After Preminger kept insisting that Mitchum slap Simmons harder, Mitchum lost his temper and slapped Preminger in the face with his full strength, sarcastically asking him was that the right force or should he do it again.
Preminger fled the set. Preminger tried and failed to get Mitchum fired. The studio owner, Howard Hughes, had attempted to seduce Simmons, although she was married. In revenge for being rejected by Simmons, Hughes had insisted that Simmons fulfill her studio contract with Preminger as the director.
Mitchum's top acting assets, his laid back laconic cool and nonchalance, served him well in this film. Here, he's Frank Jessup, a WW2 veteran and ambulance driver who would rather be a race car driver and/or run his own garage. However Frank lacks the funds or the ambition to make his dreams happen.
Nope. Frank is content to just play out the string. Frank has a lukewarm relationship with Mary Wilton (Mona Freeman). Sometimes he's there for her; sometimes he's not. Don't bother him about it.
One night Frank is on an emergency call to the Tremayne home, really more estate. Catherine Tremayne (Barbara O'Neil) has suffered from gas poisoning. Her room radiators or pipes malfunctioned. Or maybe it was a suicide attempt. Or maybe it was foul play. Frank's no cop so whatever happened isn't his business.
What IS Frank's business is Catherine's striking young stepdaughter Diane Tremayne (Jean Simmons) who instantly takes a hankering to him. Diane is unbothered that Frank already has a girl. She has a plan for that.
Simultaneously bemused and attracted, Frank starts hanging out with Diane. Frank makes a good impression and is hired as a live-in mechanic/chauffeur, though it's unclear whether this is Catherine's or Diane's decision.
What is clear is that (1) Catherine has the money in the family, (2) Diane and Catherine don't like each other very much, (3) Diane's father Charles Tremayne (Herbert Marshall) is a weak willed failed author who can't convince his daughter and new wife to get along, and (4) Diane likes to get her way.
When a tragedy occurs Frank must make some decisions about love, commitment, and responsibility. He can no longer float through life. Leon Ames is a smooth avuncular defense attorney. Jim Backus, whom I remembered as Thurston Howell III from Gilligan's Island, is a blunt district attorney. The dialogue is terse, befitting Mitchum's style. Preminger uses a lot of silence and lighting to indicate moods. This movie has a few non-white people in relatively non-stereotypical roles, considering the times. Simmons is worth watching.
