The Tarnished Angels (1958)

A Major Disappointment

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Story of a friendship between an eccentric journalist (Rock Hudson)and a daredevil barnstorming pilot (Robert Stack).The Universal-International film reunited director Sirk with Stack, Malone, and Hudson, with whom he had collaborated on "Written on the Wind" two years earlier. Sirk chose to shoot "Angels" in black-and-white to help capture the despondent mood of the era in which it is set. Faulkner considered the film to be the best screen adaptation of his work.The reviews on this film have improved with age, due in part to Sirk really not getting respect until much later (thanks in part to Fassbinder). I found the film to be solid, and would rank it among the very best of Sirk's work. Truly a must-see. Not quite a noir, but still on the edges of that world.

A Douglas Sirk soap opera based on the William Faulkner novel Pylon (George Zuckerman wrote the screenplay) that's overrated by Leonard Maltin, among others.Robert Stack plays a former World War I flying ace who only finds work now in air shows, flying around pylons racing with other pilots like NASCAR drivers do around racetracks. Dorothy Malone plays his too attractive for "his" own good wife, especially with Rock Hudson around. Jack Carson plays Stack's socially dim-witted, too old to still be attractive, longtime friend and mechanic. The three (four with Stack's and Malone's 10 year old son) barely get by financially as they travel the country, with Stack's stunts providing their only means.Hudson plays a reporter in the town they're currently in who finds a "how the mighty have fallen" story in the tension these three adults exude. Robert Middleton plays Stack's former boss, now competitor, and soon to be partner through circumstances he can't avoid.Interesting, but average. None of the character's are particularly credible, and none of the acting performances are memorable either (though Malone is beautiful, even in black-and-white), save for Carson's Jiggs, if you can believe it.

Within this movie, we see 50s film making, showing it has little concept of time and era. This is Universal International (at the time, big in television) trying to cash in on the popularity of its earlier hit 'Written on the Wind'. Same stars, same Director, same screen writer, same heavy handedness. The use of the wide CinemaScope screen makes this unconvincing soap opera look even emptier. Film makers needed more than wide screens to get people away from their 50s TVs ~ they needed quality screen writers, with believable stories to tell, not just shows that left you wondering why you took the trouble of going out. With so many movies made using stretched material like this during the 50s and on...it was little wonder theaters were closing in big numbers.The shades of morality are admirable, but even the stars tend to look uncomfortable with their unlikable and unconvincing characters. The end monologue needed a performer of deeper conviction than Hudson. Soap specialist Director Douglas Sirk, had a leaden, turgid script to work with, and fails to inject any pace into the overall slow structure. At least with 'Angels' he's free of the influences of 'Mr Gloss'... producer Ross Hunter, known for his glittery but superficial, chick flicks. Composer Frank Skiner tries hard with his score but he too seems uninspired by the situations (at least Universal gave him a credit on this film, for dozens of earlier works he was un-credited). This film also gives capable Director of Photography Irving Glassberg a chance to get away from talking mules and cowboys ~ here, he turns in some fine flying scenes, but even they fail to lift this one off the ground. This is a pity, because within a year he would be dead at only 54.Viewers who grew up with this style of film --or on 50s and 60s TV-- won't expect much more, and will probably be content with this interpretation of Willam Falkner's novel. Those looking for more, beware. The DVD release is however good quality, with a fine B/W transfer.

While most critics rate "All That Heaven Allows" and "Written On The Wind" as Sirk's best, I found myself most drawn to this film, and I can't wait to see it again. Sirk filmed this drama in black and white Cinemascope as he couldn't get backing for his trademark lush colour as Universal bosses hated the original source material, William Faulkner's novel "Pylon". Black and white 'Scope actually benefits "Tarnished Angels" because it captures the bleakness of both the 30's setting (although the costumes are all 50's) and the character's circumstances. And, as all film noir fans know, an emotionally charged night scene always looks best in shadowy black and white. I found this film the most thematically interesting of all Sirk's, and the characters the most captivating. Dorothy Malone is even better here than in "Written On The Wind", as the ignored wife of Robert Stack's flier, who is king of the skies yet seemingly emotionally barren when he hits the earth. The Shuman's might be one of the most tragic couples in movie history, both desperately in love with each other at cross purposes. Rock Hudson gives perhaps his best performance as alcoholic reporter Devlin, who forges a connection with the sad Malone borne out of mutual loneliness. The direction by Sirk is terrific and he makes the flying scenes thrilling and the emotional scenes breathtaking.