Angel on My Shoulder (1946)

★ 6.5 1h 40m IMDb

Comedy Fantasy Romance

The Devil arranges for a deceased gangster to return to Earth as a well-respected judge to make up for his previous life.

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Cast

Paul Muni as Eddie Kagle / Judge Fredrick Parker Died 1967 · Lemberg, Galicia, Austria-Hungary [now Lviv, Ukraine] From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Paul Muni (born Meshilem Meier Weisenfreund, September 22, 1895 – August 25, 1967) was an Austro-Hungarian-born American stage and film actor. During the 1930s,...

Anne Baxter as Barbara Foster Died 1985 · Michigan City, Indiana, USA Anne Baxter (May 7, 1923 – December 12, 1985) was an American actress best known for her work in Hollywood films, Broadway, and television during the mid‑20th century. Born on May 7, 1923, in Michigan...

Claude Rains as "Nick" Died 1967 · Clapham, London, England, UK Claude Rains was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned 47 years; he later held American citizenship. He was known for many roles in Hollywood films, among them the title role in The In...

Onslow Stevens as Dr. Matt Higgins Died 1977 · Los Angeles, California, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Onslow Stevens (March 29, 1902 – January 5, 1977) was an American stage, television and film actor. Stevens became involved in performing in 1926 at the Pasade...

George Cleveland as Albert Died 1957 · Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia George Alan Cleveland (September 17, 1885 – July 15, 1957) was a Canadian film actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1933 and 1954. Cleveland is per...

Director Archie Mayo

Cast Paul Muni, Anne Baxter, Claude Rains, Onslow Stevens, George Cleveland, Erskine Sanford, Marion Martin, Hardie Albright, James Flavin, Murray Alper

John Chard 6/10 Jun 14, 2020

Above average tale of heaven and hell shenanigans.

I have to say that my rating for this film is somewhat clouded because that is exactly what the film's copy was, very cloudy. I can't believe there is not a restoration in line for this film from 1946, it is barely watchable and the sound mix is nigh on impossible to hear.

The film is standard fare as regards the tale of the bad man gets a shot at life again, only here it's with a kicker, and watching this film unfold is never less than interesting without actually pulling up any trees. Paul Muni is fine and plays our main protagonists dual personality with credible verve, and Claude Rains is clearly enjoying himself as the devil of the piece, and I heartily applaud the dark shift the film took for the final reel, yet it is a hard film to recommend unless you can see and hear it properly.

I have no hesitation in watching this film again if a restoration comes to pass, but until then I say approach with caution. 6/10

CinemaSerf 7/10 Jul 07, 2022

Claude Rains is at his mischievous best in this fantasy drama as the Devil who decides that he can use a recent arrival in his domain - gangster "Eddie" (Paul Muni) to thwart the goody-goody antics of "Judge Parker", a jurist who has aspirations to run for governor. Now "Eddie" is more than happy with his Satanic proposal and relishes the fun he can have as he takes over the body of the judge and has a whale of a time. Thing is, though, his actions actually start to enhance the reputation of the man he was sent to tarnish, and when he meets Anne Baxter ("Barbara") who is now his new-found fiancée, he rapidly starts to look like he might not be such a great choice for Old Nick after all... Both are on good form, the characters are engaging and as the worm turns, I felt a slight degree of satisfaction as his puppet master has to look on, powerless... The ending isn't great, but I suppose desserts were just all round, and I enjoyed the whole thing.