JOHNNY ANGEL: masterclass in the ABC of acting - Anything But Competent

Any aspiring actor frustrated at constant rejection and bitter in the belief they're not getting the breaks their talent deserves needs look no further than JOHNNY ANGEL for confirmation that life - for thespians at least - is absolutely not fair.

This obscure 1945 B-movie thriller from RKO is worth investing 79 minutes of your time in simply to savour the impressive lack of talent displayed by the film's two stars - the always reliably wooden George Raft and bland-featured Signe Hasso.  
Their reactions are so rudimentary and cliched you can almost hear director Edwin L.Marin grinding his teeth in frustration as he coaches them from behind the camera in a futile effort to get them to emote convincingly.
"Ok, George. In this scene you're thinking about some information you've just received. I need you to do your thinking face. Can you think for me?"
George wrinkles his forehead slightly and moves his eyes from side to side in a vain attempt to indicate there is some brain activity occurring.
"Now in this scene George you are filled with powerful masculine desire for the young lady you've just seen for the first time across a crowded bar. I want you to show me your deep well of desire, and really focus on this because we're shooting you in close up."
George stares straight ahead, narrowing his eyes slightly. Otherwise his facial muscles remain immobile and totally unexpressive. It could be lust or trapped gas.
Raft was never one of Hollywood's most gifted leading men but JOHNNY ANGEL cruelly highlights his limited range. His hair is more expressive than his face. At least that moves when he gets into a fight. And he gets into a lot of fights. Perhaps the hope was we'd be so impressed by his physical prowess we'd overlook his struggle with the more nuanced elements of acting.
"Ok, Signe darling. George is looking at you with lust in his heart. You're frightened. Very frightened. This man is an animal and you know he wants you and you know he's not going to be gentle about it. You know this from the look on his face. I want you to react. You're frightened, you're terrified, but you're in a crowded bar. You can't just scream and run out of there. Give me frightened, darling."

Hasso proffers a look that is more bemused than terrified, raises her hands a little and clenches her fists. It's a stance that was hackneyed back in 1921 when silent stars used it to pantomime fear, and it hasn't improved with age. Hasso is inordinately fond of the clenched fists gesture to demonstrate terror. Sometimes she holds them just above waist height, while in other scenes she'll raise one to her mouth, as if to stifle a scream. In all instances it's reminiscent of a marginally talented teenager trying out for a part in the village amateur dramatic society's production of 'The Old Dark House.'
Both stars are blown clear off screen by Claire Trevor who acts as if she's in a completely different, more professional production. She gives the material and her co-stars considerably more credibility than they deserve although even she can't convince us that her character, Lilah, would really have married the effete, simpering George Gustafson. As played by Marvin Miller, 'Gusty' is a dime store Liberace minus the jewels, furs, candelabra and musical talent.
The only cast member who escapes completely unscathed is Hoagy Carmichael. In only his second dramatic role he essentially reprises the part of 'Cricket' that he'd played so effectively in his first film 'To Have and Have Not' the previous year. It helps that his character, the ridiculously named Celestial O'Brien, is an observer to the action and mostly stays on the outside of events.
In the hands of a more balanced cast JOHNNY ANGEL could have been a tight and absorbing film noir, but the the 3 stars are so mismatched in terms of talent and ability that the glaring disparity distracts from the storytelling. I found myself more eagerly awaiting Raft's next close-up or Hasso's next reaction than the next plot twist. And I couldn't help but wonder just how bad Raft must have smelt. His character spends the entire film in the same uniform, and all those fights had to have worked up quite a sweat!
JOHNNY ANGEL was a tipping point for Raft. It was the moment at which he ceased to be an A-list leading man and began his descent into his B-movie career. Never again would he headline a prestigious Hollywood production, and it's in this context that I encourage you to consume this particular, otherwise eminently forgettable, cinematic footnote.