"Angel on my Shoulder" isn't a great movie; it's a B movie, with low production values and muddled logic and theology. But it's great fun to watch. I laughed out loud and did cry.
Paul Muni plays Eddie Kagel, a crime boss, who is exceptionally troublesome once he arrives in Hell. Satan, aka Claude Rains, decides that he can use Kagel to cause trouble for a judge on earth. For some reason the movie never explains, Satan has been waiting for a damned soul who looks exactly like the judge on earth, even though, as the movie explains, no one in hell has a body. Given that no one in hell has a body, why did Satan have to wait for a body double for Judge Parker? Well, as I said, this is a B movie, and its logic and its theology are kind of muddled. That doesn't mean you "shouldn't think too much." Au contraire. This is the kind of movie that makes you think, because it addresses issues like Heaven and Hell and the afterlife and what constitutes virtue and what constitutes vice. So, even though the theology is muddled, it still manages to be provocative. As you're watching this B movie Hell set, you're wondering how this Hell differs from what you think of as Hell.
"Angel's" Hell is one of the most interesting afterlife sets I've seen in any movie. It's very low budget, and yet I found it convincing and creepy.
Paul Muni is incredible fun to watch. Some call his acting "stagey" or "over the top," but neither word really works for me. I think he's just incredibly expressive. For example, in the first scene, after Kagel is released from prison, Kagel / Muni gestures toward the prison house and his gesture tells you everything you need to know about his experience in prison.
It's too bad that Muni gets so little attention these days. I wonder how many people realize that Al Pacino's "Scarface" was inspired by Muni? On earth, in the judge's body, Kagel has an epiphany or two, and ... well, I don't want to tell you the end, but I wish the movie hadn't ended that way.
In any case, this movie is a lot of fun, and I recommend it for some Halloween night when you want a little bit of Satan but not too much, and just enough Muni.
Paul Muni plays Eddie Kagel, a crime boss, who is exceptionally troublesome once he arrives in Hell. Satan, aka Claude Rains, decides that he can use Kagel to cause trouble for a judge on earth. For some reason the movie never explains, Satan has been waiting for a damned soul who looks exactly like the judge on earth, even though, as the movie explains, no one in hell has a body. Given that no one in hell has a body, why did Satan have to wait for a body double for Judge Parker? Well, as I said, this is a B movie, and its logic and its theology are kind of muddled. That doesn't mean you "shouldn't think too much." Au contraire. This is the kind of movie that makes you think, because it addresses issues like Heaven and Hell and the afterlife and what constitutes virtue and what constitutes vice. So, even though the theology is muddled, it still manages to be provocative. As you're watching this B movie Hell set, you're wondering how this Hell differs from what you think of as Hell.
"Angel's" Hell is one of the most interesting afterlife sets I've seen in any movie. It's very low budget, and yet I found it convincing and creepy.
Paul Muni is incredible fun to watch. Some call his acting "stagey" or "over the top," but neither word really works for me. I think he's just incredibly expressive. For example, in the first scene, after Kagel is released from prison, Kagel / Muni gestures toward the prison house and his gesture tells you everything you need to know about his experience in prison.
It's too bad that Muni gets so little attention these days. I wonder how many people realize that Al Pacino's "Scarface" was inspired by Muni? On earth, in the judge's body, Kagel has an epiphany or two, and ... well, I don't want to tell you the end, but I wish the movie hadn't ended that way.
In any case, this movie is a lot of fun, and I recommend it for some Halloween night when you want a little bit of Satan but not too much, and just enough Muni.