Angel on My Shoulder

Angel on My Shoulder (1946)

Genres - Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Drama, Action, Adventure, Science Fiction, Crime  |   Sub-Genres - Heavenly Comedy, Heaven-Can-Wait Fantasies  |   Release Date - Sep 20, 1946 (USA - Unknown)  |   Run Time - 101 min.  |   Countries - United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Review by Craig Butler

The flip side of Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Angel on My Shoulder is an amusing and engaging fantasy comedy that suffers a bit from its structural similarities to the earlier "repossessed body" picture. The gimmick in Angel, of course, is that it is the Devil that is offering a soul a second chance at life, and for nefarious reasons; but the basic throughline is much the same as in the Jordan. Still, Angel has its own style of humor, with its fish-out-of-water premise given a few nice twists, and the screenplay in general bubbling along with snappy dialogue and nifty little turns. Angel works, however, because of it gives its two male leads the chance to shine. Paul Muni over-the-top performance is a load of fun, made the more so when one realizes that it's over the top in a remarkably controlled way. This fine actor knows that there are ways to underplay one's overplaying, and he demonstrates this time and again throughout. As the Devil, Claude Rains makes "sinister" seem like a heavenly compliment. He rages, he thrashes, he insinuates, he cajoles, and it's all as appealing as one might wish. Add in Anne Baxter, doing quite well with a "reactive' part, and some swiftly paced direction by Archie Mayo and the result is a spiffy way to pass some time.