Runtime: 91 minutes
Directed by: Douglas Sirk
Starring: Rock Hudson, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone, Jack Carson, Robert Middleton
From: Universal
The Criterion Channel has been killing it this year so far in what they’ve selected to be on their service for a limited time. Last month included some more obscure Douglas Sirk melodramas-such as this-and this month is especially wondrous… Michelle Yeoh, Buster Keaton, some Czech New Wave, Isabelle Huppert AND a return of Pre-Code Paramount, featuring some new titles that weren’t included when they first had that collection last year.
As for why I chose this for viewing: it brought back three of the main players from the previous year’s Written on the Wind (Rock Hudson, Robert Stack, Dorothy Malone), it was based on a William Faulkner novel, and the setting is Great Depression New Orleans as Hudson is an alcoholic newspaper reporter who meets the odd trio of Stack, Malone and Jack Carson who are an old WWI air pilot for the Lafayette Escadrille who is forced to do stunt aerobics to earn a paycheck, his long suffering wife who sometimes parachutes as part of their act and their mechanic respectively. They also have a 9 year old son so it’s complicated between them—only it becomes even more so after Hudson enters their life. The plot and what I described: shoot it in my veins!
It's a mature film where the melodrama isn’t over the top or saccharine like in Sirk’s most famous works and all the main characters get their chance to shine as they interact w/ one another in such a vibrant setting. Unlike his famous works in color, this was in black and white-which was appropriate for the retro setting and its darker tone. There were nice performances all around (even from the child actor) yet IMO it was Malone who was the standout; as the movie proved to be centered around her, that helped make this movie so captivating.
The word “tarnished” is a hint that this is not a feel-good motion picture; there’s death, bitterness, and Malone’s unhappiness that the man she first saw on a poster glorifying his WWI successes wasn’t a loving husband. Much to my relief this movie wasn’t a miserable slog-it is not entirely bleak. All the main players get their chance to shine-what a monologue Hudson had at the conclusion. The Tarnished Angels only solidified the belief that it was a wise decision to finally start seeing some Douglas Sirk last year.
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