Black Angel is a 1946 film noir

Film noir

Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...

, based on the novel The Black Angel

The Black Angel (novel)

Cornell Woolrich reworked many of his short stories into full length novels, most notably in the novel, Black Angel . It was based on two short stories, “Murder in Wax” and “Face Work” .-Murder In Wax:“Murder In Wax” was first published in the pulp magazine Dime Detective in March 1935, a short...

by Cornell Woolrich

Cornell Woolrich

Cornell George Hopley-Woolrich was an American novelist and short story writer who sometimes wrote under the pseudonyms William Irish and George Hopley....

. The film was director Roy William Neill

Roy William Neill

Roy William Neill was a film director best known today for directing several of the Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, made between 1943 and 1946 and released by Universal Studios....

's last film.

Plot

A falsely convicted man's wife, Catherine (June Vincent), and an alcoholic composer and pianist, Martin (Dan Duryea) team up in an attempt to clear her husband of the murder of a blonde singer, who is Martin's wife. Their investigation leads them to face-to-face confrontations with a determined policeman (Broderick Crawford) and a shifty nightclub owner (Peter Lorre), whom Catherine and Martin suspect may be the real killer.

Reaction

Dark City: The Film Noir, by Spencer Selby, calls Black Angel:
"Important, stylish B-noir, featuring Dan Duryea as the ironic central character."

Writer Cornell Woolrich hated this adaption of his story which, aside from the conclusion, differed greatly from his book.

Main cast

• Dan Duryea
  Dan Duryea
  Dan Duryea was an American actor, known for roles in film, stage and television.-Early life:Born and raised in White Plains, New York, Duryea graduated from White Plains Senior High School in 1924 and Cornell University in 1928. While at Cornell, Duryea was elected into the Sphinx Head Society...
  
   as Martin Blair
• June Vincent
  June Vincent
  June Vincent was an American actress.-Biography:Born Dorothy June Smith in Harrod, Ohio, Vincent began her career in film in the early 1940s. She later became a successful television actress appearing in many television programs throughout the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s...
  
   as Catherine Bennett
• Peter Lorre
  Peter Lorre
  Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
  
   as Marko
• Broderick Crawford
  Broderick Crawford
  Broderick Crawford was an Academy Award-winning American stage, film, radio and TV actor, often cast in tough-guy roles and best known for his starring role in the television series "Highway Patrol."-Early life:...
  
   as Captain Flood
• Constance Dowling
  Constance Dowling
  Constance Dowling was an American model turned actress of the 1940s and 1950s.-Early life and career:...
  
   as Mavis Marlowe
• Wallace Ford
  Wallace Ford
  Wallace Ford was an English film and television actor who, with his friendly appearance and stocky build later in life, appeared in a number of film westerns and B-movies....
  
   as Joe
• Junius Matthews
  Junius Matthews
  -Career:He was a private in World War I before becoming an actor, and determined to become a popular radio and television actor, his career began on stage where he got his first role in a silent film called The Silent Witness . He later played the role of the Tin Woodsman on a radio version of The...
  
   as Dr. Courtney

Pop culture

Black Angel is referenced in the 2006 noir-influenced film The Black Dahlia

The Black Dahlia (film)

The Black Dahlia is a 2006 neo noir crime film directed by Brian De Palma. It is based on the novel of the same name by James Ellroy, writer of L.A. Confidential and starred Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank. The story is based on the murder of Elizabeth Short...

starring Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson

Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...

 and Hilary Swank

Hilary Swank

Hilary Ann Swank is an American actress. Swank's film career began with a small part in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then a major part in The Next Karate Kid , as Julie Pierce, the first female protégé of sensei Mr. Miyagi...

. It is the movie shown playing at the cinema featured in the rainy street scene.