Lost Angel (film)
Encyclopedia
Lost Angel is a 1943
film starring Margaret O'Brien
as a little orphan girl raised to be a genius. James Craig
plays a reporter who shows her the world outside the Institute of Child Psychology.
Newspaper reporter Mike Regan is assigned, over his protests, to write an article about her. He manages to secure an interview, despite the reluctance of the professors, and discovers that Alpha, while raised with loving care, has missed out on the joys of childhood. Disturbed by Mike's claim that magic is real, Alpha decides to investigate further and sneaks out to see Mike, leaving the confines of the institute for the first time in her life.
She enjoys the sights and sounds of New York as she makes her way to the offices of the newspaper. Mike is less than pleased to see her, but takes her along so he can keep a date with his girlfriend, nightclub singer Katie Mallory (Marsha Hunt
). Alpha takes an instant dislike to Katie; it turns out that the child has a crush on Mike. However, Katie's kindness and understanding soon win Alpha over.
An outbreak of measles
at the Institute and the resulting quarantine force Mike to look after Alpha for a few days. That night, escaped convicted murderer Packy Roost (Keenan Wynn
) shows up at Mike's apartment. While waiting for the reporter, he and Alpha become friends. When Mike does come back, Packy demands he find Lefty Moran, who can clear him of the crime. The reporter reluctantly agrees, eventually bringing in Lefty. It turns out that Lefty is the killer; the police take him away, and Packy is exonerated.
When the professors come to reclaim their test subject, she does not want to leave Mike. However, he is unwilling to accept the responsibility and does not put up a fight for her. When Mike proposes marriage to Katie, she turns him down, citing his irresponsibility. Guilt-ridden, he gets a job transfer to Washington, DC. Meanwhile, a despondent Alpha refuses to eat or sleep. Fortunately, Mike has a change of heart and is reunited with both Alpha and Katie. The three leave the institute hand in hand.
and the December 18, 1946 broadcast of Academy Award Theater
, each starring Margaret O'Brien.
1943 in film
The year 1943 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 3 - 1st missing persons telecast * February 20 - American film studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor films....
film starring Margaret O'Brien
Margaret O'Brien
Margaret O'Brien is an American film and stage actress. Although her film career as a leading character was brief, she was one of the most popular child actors in cinema history...
as a little orphan girl raised to be a genius. James Craig
James Craig (actor)
James Craig was an American actor.After graduating from the Rice Institute, Craig began appearing in films in 1937, most often in B-movies and serials...
plays a reporter who shows her the world outside the Institute of Child Psychology.
Plot
The professors of the Institute of Child Psychology raise a foundling baby, whom they name "Alpha", as an experiment to see if a scientific upbringing can create a genius. By the time she is six years old, Alpha can speak Chinese, play chess and the harp, and has studied algebra and the campaigns of Napoleon, among other things.Newspaper reporter Mike Regan is assigned, over his protests, to write an article about her. He manages to secure an interview, despite the reluctance of the professors, and discovers that Alpha, while raised with loving care, has missed out on the joys of childhood. Disturbed by Mike's claim that magic is real, Alpha decides to investigate further and sneaks out to see Mike, leaving the confines of the institute for the first time in her life.
She enjoys the sights and sounds of New York as she makes her way to the offices of the newspaper. Mike is less than pleased to see her, but takes her along so he can keep a date with his girlfriend, nightclub singer Katie Mallory (Marsha Hunt
Marsha Hunt
Marsha Hunt may refer to:* Marsha Hunt * Marsha Hunt...
). Alpha takes an instant dislike to Katie; it turns out that the child has a crush on Mike. However, Katie's kindness and understanding soon win Alpha over.
An outbreak of measles
Measles
Measles, also known as rubeola or morbilli, is an infection of the respiratory system caused by a virus, specifically a paramyxovirus of the genus Morbillivirus. Morbilliviruses, like other paramyxoviruses, are enveloped, single-stranded, negative-sense RNA viruses...
at the Institute and the resulting quarantine force Mike to look after Alpha for a few days. That night, escaped convicted murderer Packy Roost (Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn
Keenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
) shows up at Mike's apartment. While waiting for the reporter, he and Alpha become friends. When Mike does come back, Packy demands he find Lefty Moran, who can clear him of the crime. The reporter reluctantly agrees, eventually bringing in Lefty. It turns out that Lefty is the killer; the police take him away, and Packy is exonerated.
When the professors come to reclaim their test subject, she does not want to leave Mike. However, he is unwilling to accept the responsibility and does not put up a fight for her. When Mike proposes marriage to Katie, she turns him down, citing his irresponsibility. Guilt-ridden, he gets a job transfer to Washington, DC. Meanwhile, a despondent Alpha refuses to eat or sleep. Fortunately, Mike has a change of heart and is reunited with both Alpha and Katie. The three leave the institute hand in hand.
Cast
- Margaret O'BrienMargaret O'BrienMargaret O'Brien is an American film and stage actress. Although her film career as a leading character was brief, she was one of the most popular child actors in cinema history...
as Alpha - James CraigJames Craig (actor)James Craig was an American actor.After graduating from the Rice Institute, Craig began appearing in films in 1937, most often in B-movies and serials...
as Mike Regan - Marsha HuntMarsha Hunt (actress)Marsha Hunt is an American film, theater, and television actress who was blacklisted by Hollywood movie studio executives in the 1950s.-Career:...
as Katie Mallory - Philip MerivalePhilip MerivalePhilip Merivale was an English film and stage actor and screenwriter....
as Professor Peter Vincent - Henry O'NeillHenry O'NeillHenry O'Neill was a film actor known for playing gray-haired fathers, lawyers, and similarly dignified roles during the 1930s and 1940s.-Life and career:...
as Professor Josh Pringle - Donald MeekDonald MeekDonald Meek was a Scottish-born American character actor. He first worked as a stage actor and later became a film actor, starring in several movies including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Little Miss Broadway, and State Fair. Before becoming an actor, he fought in the Spanish-American War and...
as Professor Catty - Keenan WynnKeenan WynnKeenan Wynn was an American character actor. His bristling mustache and expressive face were his stock in trade, and though he rarely had a lead role, he got prominent billing in most of his film and TV parts....
as Packy Roost - Alan NapierAlan NapierAlan William Napier-Clavering was an English actor, best known for portraying Alfred Pennyworth in the 1960s live-action Batman television series.-Early life and career:...
as Dr. Woodring - Sara HadenSara HadenSara Haden was a character actress in Hollywood films of the 1930s through the 1950s.She was born Sarah Haden on November 17, 1899 in Galveston, Texas. Haden was the daughter of another character actress, Charlotte Walker, who was active in silent films and early talkies...
as Rhoda Kitterick - Kathleen LockhartKathleen LockhartKathleen Lockhart was an English-born stage actress.She was born Kathleen Arthur in Southsea, Hampshire in England. An actress and musician, Kathleen got her start on the stage in England and then immigrated to the United States in 1924, upon her marriage to Canadian-born actor Gene Lockhart...
as Mrs. Catty - Walter Fenner as Professor Endicott
- Howard FreemanHoward FreemanHoward Freeman was an American stage actor of the early 20th century, and film and television actor of the 1940s through the 1960s....
as Professor Richards - Elisabeth RisdonElisabeth RisdonElisabeth Risdon was an English film actress. She appeared in over 140 films between 1913 and 1952. An attractive beauty in her youth she usually played in society parts...
as Mrs. Pringle - Robert BlakeRobert Blake (actor)Robert Blake is an American actor who starred in the film In Cold Blood and the U.S. television series Baretta. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted for the 2001 murder of his wife, but on November 18, 2005, Blake was found liable in a California civil court for her wrongful death.-Early...
as Jerry (as Bobby Blake), a young boy Alpha befriends
Adaptations
Lost Angel was adapted as a radio play on the June 19, 1944 and October 22, 1945 broadcasts of Lux Radio TheaterLux Radio Theater
Lux Radio Theater, a long-run classic radio anthology series, was broadcast on the NBC Blue Network ; CBS and NBC . Initially, the series adapted Broadway plays during its first two seasons before it began adapting films. These hour-long radio programs were performed live before studio audiences...
and the December 18, 1946 broadcast of Academy Award Theater
Academy Award Theater
Academy Award was a CBS radio anthology series which presented 30-minute adaptations of plays, novels or films.Rather than adaptations of Oscar-winning films, as the title implied, the series offered "Hollywood's finest, the great picture plays, the great actors and actresses, techniques and...
, each starring Margaret O'Brien.