Waste of time

People are voting emotionally.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

A minor Preminger "noir" following the much superior "Laura". Dana Andrews is Eric, a drifter down on luck, stranded in a small town between Los Angeles and San Francisco. While planning a quick swindle to buy the ticket for San Francisco, Eric gets obsessed with local bad girl Stella (Linda Darnell).Stella is not the archetypal femme fatale because she is not "bad" enough. Although dishonest and greedy, she tries not to get involved with married men and wants only a decent home and husband. However, Darnell plays Stella as a femme fatale, with plenty of make up, tight clothes, attitude and all the boys in town drooling at her sight.Eric's plan to make a quick buck and marry Stella is to seduce and marry first the local rich spinster June, played by Alice Faye. Predictably, spinster June falls for the bad guy and they get married within a week. The plot twist is that Stella, tired of waiting decides to marry another suitor, but ends up dead. Follows the investigation, which should include all men in town. The main problem of the movie is that Eric's character is not very sympathetic - even for noir standards - and does not engage the audience with his passive attitude (as the much superior Swede did, in "The Killers"). June is also quite an annoying, passive-aggressive character. Finally, the small town atmosphere cannot compete with the usual big, dirty town background of classic noir.

Someone commented that this film is better than 'Laura'. I'd have to say that I agree, but that is no ringing endorsement for 'Fallen Angel', because there are at least two too many unbelievable characters.We get quite early on that Dana Andrews is your quintessential ne'er do well con artist. His cheeky move of marrying a virtuous girl with money (Alice Faye) to eventually use his new-found wealth to romance the very sexy Linda Darnell, is a tad outrageous.The only believable character is the teasing Darnell. She looks very fresh and lovely here.Alice Faye looks out of place in this film noir, as she had that oh so sweet blonde innocent look. I was literally scratching my head trying to figure out why such a nice girl would be so taken with the obvious bum Andrews.So, no, I didn't 'buy' the movie, as i didn't 'buy' 'Laura'. But the ending I must admit was very clever and a wonderful bit of off-type casting.The ending is almost as good as Preminger's ambiguous finish to his masterpiece 'Anatomy of a Murder'.I recently rewatched this film and I found myself enjoying it even more. Darnell is gorgeous in her role...someone's review talked about Linda as 'out of place' playing a 'bad girl' but I think she fits it perfectly.I fell in love with Ms. Darnell as 'Stella', much like every male in the cast did! 'Stella' is the classic film noir femme fatale. I came to appreciate Charles Bickford's role as the sadistic cop, but I still could not make heads or tails of Alice Faye's blind faith in the greasy Dana Andrews' character.This is a flawed film, but I must say, I enjoy it much more than 'Laura'. Preminger seems to have a real affection for the genre. The con man/spookchaser role played by John Carradine allows the actor to ham it up magnificently as only Carradine can.Poor Alice Faye still seems out of place. She at first appears as your Cardboard Virtuous Blonde. It's interesting that Faye tried to reinvent herself in this film noir film, it may have worked with a better screenplay. Closer examination of Ms. Faye reveals a very lovely woman. Her appeal is still quite obvious in this mid forties' flick.

A seedy environment, reckless actions and the infatuation of a femme fatale. These elements of film noir are essential in Fallen Angel in portraying a secretly yet deeply morally corrupt society by following the journey of the protagonist.Drifter Eric Stanton finds himself in the town of Walton, a place whose exterior seems wholesome but a number of the residents are the opposite conversing in cafes, dance halls and quiet spots. Most notably local waitress Stella who oozes sexuality just by being in a room evident in her opening scene. As with most male protagonist in film noirs Eric immediacy becomes fixated on the emotionally lethal Stella to the point of becoming involved with a less tainted woman in order to steal money, all as a result of Eric's blind passion for Stella. Delving deeper into their relationship Eric and Stella have common ground; both are searching for their vision of a perfect lifestyle and won't let morals get in the way. It becomes somewhat appealing to see these fragile figures together mixing in their immorality. Yet the visions they both share soon leads them to dark ends.Fallen Angel's plot reaches its core with the murder of Stella evokes dangers for Eric. Whilst the situation turns nasty, Eric runs to safety with June, the less tainted woman he married solely for her money. However this relationship which had been built upon deception turns two dimensional. It offers a great dynamic to Fallen Angel as Eric finally finds the permanency he had been drifting years for in June, whose kind and loving personality leads Eric to a more pure existence. Kudos has to be given to Alice Faye, who makes her performance as June one of heartfelt sentiment that we cheer for her to sway Eric to moral goodness.And with good reason as the climax reveals a senior figure in Walton as the murderer not only gave a pessimistic view of amorality in society but also mirrored how Eric's life could have been if his infatuation with Stella had gotten to more extreme heights. This reflective realisation and the whole dynamic of Eric drifting between the worlds of evil and good make Fallen Angel a provocative character piece.

Down on his luck drifter Eric Stanton (Dana Andrews) is dropped in a backwater between LA and Frisco after trying to extend his ticket to ride. Having a way with words he is soon involved with the town hottie, waitress Stella (Linda Darnell) as well as a local pillar of the community June Mills (Alice Faye). While Mills is a little naive to the ways of the world and easy to manipulate the more experienced Stella juggles a handful of suitors much to Stanton's frustration. In order to get Stella he's going to need cash and decides to marry June to get it. A murder however short circuits Stanton's plans. Under the meticulous and subtle style of director Otto Preminger Fallen Angel's storyline unfolds with a restrained urgency with its cast of ambiguous characters holding their intent close to their vest. In doing so Preminger stretches the mystery and the number of possible suspects right up until the final moment with clever distractions to keep the audience off balance. Andrews is excellent as the cynical protagonist Stanton, a surly and unpredictable con man whose about to reach a crossroad in his life. Linda Darnell's man eater Stella is one sexy force of nature who can teach Stanton a thing or two about manipulation but she is also capable of attracting sympathy and understanding given the path of lies and broken promises her desirability has attracted from men. Faye's June is a little reticent and gullible at first but gains strength and independence as the film progresses. Charles Bickford, Ann Revere and Percy Kilbride in crucial roles also acquit themselves well.Along with Laura this is Preminger's best early effort as he displays his proficient craftsmanship with the same tension found in the glossier bright lights big city pic. The main set piece may be the counter area in a small town greasy spoon but with Otto as its cook it transforms into three star.