Angels Over Broadway

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Movie
Original title Angels Over Broadway
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1940
length 79 minutes
Rod
Director Ben Hecht ,
Lee Garmes (co-director)
script Ben Hecht
production Ben Hecht,
Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
music George Antheil
camera Lee Garmes
cut Gene Havlick
occupation

Angels Over Broadway is an American drama film starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Rita Hayworth from 1940.

action

On a rainy evening, rascal Bill O'Brien tries to find a naive person in a nightclub on New York's Broadway , whom he can shamelessly riot. His choice falls on Charles Engle, who he believes is a wealthy suburban businessman. But Engle is just an employee who recently embezzled $ 3,000 from his business for private use. He sees no other way out of his tricky situation than to take his own life later in the evening. Even the rather simple-minded show girl Nina Barona thinks Engle is a man he is not, namely the owner of the restaurant. In this belief she sits down with Engle, hoping that he could offer her a job as a dancer. Bill, on the other hand, doesn't let that irritate him and harnesses pretty Nina for his own purposes. With her help, he tries to persuade the unsuspecting angel to play poker in a remote hotel with the gangster Dutch Enright.

Meanwhile, the well-drinking playwright Gene Gibbons enters Engle's life. When he was about to leave the nightclub, he was accidentally handed Engle's coat instead of his own coat, and he discovered a suicide note in his pocket. Gibbons, though plagued by melancholy himself, is determined to help the suicidal man. When he found out both the reason for Engle's grief and Bill's real intentions, he had an idea: Instead of letting Engle lose at the poker game, Bill should make sure that Engle gets out in good time after the initially won games and can sneak away with the money. Bill agrees on the condition that he receives a share of the profits.

Soon afterwards, the four of them make their way to the hotel, where Gibbons explains the plan down to the smallest detail to Bill, Nina and Engle. Before he can finish his remarks, however, he is overwhelmed by alcohol and his own fatigue. When he wakes up again, he has forgotten the events of the evening, but his own life seems clearer to him than it has been for a long time. Remorseful and determined, he leaves the hotel to make up with his ex-wife. Now that the game of poker is about to begin, Bill, Nina and Engle are on their own. At first, the plan seems to be working. As expected, Dutch Enright and his men let Engle win the first round of the game, only to take away much higher stakes from him. But before Engle can retire, the sleazy Enright gets wind of Engle's plan. When the situation threatens to escalate, Nina appeals to Bill's conscience. Bill then starts a fight with Enright's men so that Engle can use the money to get to safety. Now he can settle his debts in the company and go on his way through life with renewed courage. Meanwhile, Bill and Nina become aware of their feelings for each other and happily hug each other.

background

Angels Over Broadway , also known as Before I Die , was one of the few directing works by the successful screenwriter Ben Hecht , who also delivered the dialog-rich script and received an Oscar nomination for it. At the same time he appeared next to his main actor Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as a producer. Just as RKO Orson Welles later gave free rein to his celebrated work Citizen Kane (1941), Ben Hecht was allowed to follow his artistic ideas at Angels Over Broadway without Columbia Pictures interfering with him.

Highly praised by the critics, but downright prophetic as "ahead of its time", Angels Over Broadway was a box office flop after the film was first released on October 2, 1940.

Reviews

Otis Ferguson of The New Republic said that viewers would "have a lot of fun with this film" "because the dialogue is intelligent and the various intricacies are well-designed." The poker game is "an all-round first-class film sequence". Among the actors, Thomas Mitchell "as a former genius and clumsy fairy godmother" steals the show from everyone else.

The Hollywood Reporter described the film at the time as "a strangely captivating drama set in the glories and shadows of Broadway at night." Marked by a “brilliant interpretation of a brilliant script”, Angels Over Broadway is “so far removed from mass taste that it doesn't fit into a single Hollywood category”. Thomas Mitchell delivers “a fantastic performance” and “an unforgettable portrait” that calls for Oscar. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. shows "probably the best performance of his career", John Qualen is again "excellent as a suicide risk". Rita Hayworth is also "excellent in her most demanding role to date". All in all, it is “an unmistakable work that deserves a large audience”. Nevertheless, the success at the box office is "to be doubted".

According to Bosley Crowther of the New York Times , Lee Garmes “captured the mood of the story perfectly with his camera work, which is characterized by light and shadow”. The cast is under the direction of Ben Hecht "extremely effective down to the smallest role". Thomas Mitchell is “nothing but terrific” in the role of a writer “who plays God”. Douglas Fairbanks Jr. was "dynamic and amazingly truthful as a contradicting young man" who was initially only after money. Rita Hayworth and John Qualen, in turn, “both meticulously meet the demands of the script”. Ben Hecht deserves praise as the “clever maker” of the film.

Awards

At the 1941 Academy Awards , Ben Hecht was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Original Screenplay category. However, he had to admit defeat to Preston Sturges , who received the trophy for The Great McGinty .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 115.
  2. ↑ “You will find the picture pretty good fun, for the talk is bright and the various complications well devised - the poker game, in fact, is a first-rate movie sequence all around. Thomas Mitchell as the genial has-been and ham Good Fairy steals the show. " Otis Ferguson in The New Republic quoted. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 115.
  3. ↑ “A strangely compelling drama of shadowy seams in the background of Broadway's nocturnal glitter, marked for its brilliant interpretation of a brilliant script, Angels Over Broadway is so far off the beaten track that it fits into none of Hollywood's formulized categories. [...] Thomas Mitchell gives a tremendous performance, an unforgettable portrait of Academy Award caliber. Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. offers probably the finest portrayal of his career, while John Qualen is superfine as the would-be suicide. Rita Hayworth is outstanding in the most exacting role she has essayed [...]. It is a distinctive work, worthy of a large audience. Nevertheless, its box-office future is a question. " See The Hollywood Reporter quoted. after Gene Ringgold: The Films of Rita Hayworth . Citadel Press, Secaucus 1974, p. 115.
  4. ↑ “Lee Garmes has caught the mood of the piece perfectly by photographing the scenes in high lights and shadows and that the cast under Mr. Hecht's direction is uncannily true to the smallest part. Thomas Mitchell is nothing short of superb as the playwright playing at God; Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. is vigorous and amazingly true as the contradictory young man 'on the make,' and Rita Hayworth and John Qualen both respond sensitively to the demands of the script. And as for the shrewd designer - bravo Mr. Hecht! " Bosley Crowther : 'Angels Over Broadway' at Globe . In: The New York Times , November 18, 1940.