- Ambulance driver Frank Jessup (Robert Mitchum) and wealthy heiress Diane Tremayne (Jean Simmons) are perfect for each other. Sure, Frank works professionally to save lives while Diane is better at killing people, but the two share a certain amusing amorality that forms the cornerstone of their relationship. Consider their first date, where nothing about their pleasant conversation suggests that either is especially worried about the suspicious gas leak that almost killed Diane's stepmother Catherine (Barbara O'Neil). Frank's carefree attitude also extends to how he treats his steady girlfriend Mary (Mona Freeman), whom he blows off to spend the night with Diane. Did I mention that Frank and Diane both love sportscars, too? Shared interests are crucial!
- Frank is so taken with Diane that he agrees to work as the family chauffer. On one fateful afternoon, the family car goes careening off a nearby cliff, killing both Diane's stepmother and her father (Herbert Marshall). Diane is completely heartbroken at the loss of her father, even if she didn't care for Catherine all that much. The good news is that Frank and Diane get married soon after! The bad news is that their marriage is a transparent attempt by their lawyer (Leon Ames) to win over the jury. You see, the police noticed that the family car had been reconfigured to move with maximum acceleration in reverse, regardless of the driver's intentions. Frank and Diane manage to survive the trial, but their relationship is headed downhill fast. Figuratively, at first.
- While watching Angel Face, I recalled a description I once read of Otto Preminger as a director whose infamously volatile and hostile treatment of actors often led to the impression that the characters in his films were sleepwalking through their own stories. That is certainly the case in this film, where neither Frank nor Diane actually seem to possess any of the normal human emotions. Diane even gets a scene where she slowly strolls through her newly-inherited mansion exactly like a somnambulist might. Otherwise, Angel Face is notable primarily for its two dramatic car crashes and, in my mind, for its vague resemblance to The Postman Always Rings Twice, right down to its casting of Leon Ames. That's a much better film than this one, but it has about half as many car accidents.
