Angel on My Shoulder (1946)

. . . that everyone has an evil twin (unless they're evil, in which case they have an honest double) in his film, ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER. One of the most famous proofs of this notion came in the 1900s during World War II, when Doppelgangsters Adolf Hitler and Charles Chaplin dominated the Big Screen (as Hitler starred in TRIUMPH OF THE WILL, and Chaplin actually subbed for Hitler in THE GREAT DICTATOR, just as evil Paul Muni subs for honest Paul Muni in ANGEL). Of course, things do not always work out as neatly in Real Life as they do in ANGEL. In cases such as O.J. Simpson, Robert Blake, or Mel Gibson, the Yang seems to permanently replace the Yin. On the other hand, there are opposite examples, such as the youth scout genocide participant from a distant land whose double got a Nobel Peace Prize as soon as he became the Leader of the Free World. Good or evil, Paul Muni looks particularly creepy in ANGEL, which may dissuade many viewers from looking into mirrors for awhile.

For many years I avoided films with Paul Muni because I identified him too much with a film genre I generally don't enjoy -- gangster pics. Then I recently caught a couple of non-gangster pics ("The Last Angry Man" and "The Story of Louis Pasteur"), and decided I needed to give Muni another chance.But, you can't win them all. This film was a good idea, but never succeeded in fulfilling its potential. The first problem, which is very obvious, is the very poor and cheap special effects in the beginning of the picture. I'm not talking about poor special effects in comparison to Toyoda's films, but poor special effects even for the late 1940s.Second is Muni's role itself, particularly in the first half of the film. They pretty much pull out every stereotype about old-fashioned gangsters they could think of. Very stereotypical. Later in the film, when Muni's character begins to go straight, Muni makes the character a little more three-dimensional. It's almost too much of a change to tolerate in a 100 minute film. First half, traditional gangster. Second half a performance good enough to make me want to see much more of Paul Muni.There are some things that work here. First off, Claude Rains is great as the Devil. He doesn't overplay the role, just a very nice conservative performance...that works.Anne Baxter is pretty good here as the female lead. Everyone else is very secondary, but they all do their jobs.In terms of the plot -- good idea. But for the first half of the film it just sort of muddles through until the transformation of the main character begins. Some will be disappointed in the conclusion of the film, but it's a logical ending.I do have one gripe. Why do many people describe this as comedy. It's not. Period.The first half of this film is a "D" for me, while the second half is a good solid "B". So, I'll give it a C...a "7".

Archie Mayo's curio "Angel on my Shoulder" is virtually unknown despite a cast headed by Paul Muni, Claude Rains and Anne Baxter. It's a fantasy along the same lines as "Here Comes Mr Jordan" and "It's a Wonderful Life". It came out in the same year as "It's a Wonderful Life" which may be one reason it's gotten lost in that movie's grander shadow or perhaps it's simply because it's not really that good. Muni seems totally lost in the role of a dead gangster fuelling the fires of Hell before he's brought back to inhabit the body of a 'good' judge the Devil is trying to get his hands on, (watching this you would never think Muni was once considered a great actor). Rains, on the other hand, looks like he's enjoying this nonsense though it's hardly what you would call acting; more like smirking as he goes through the motions. The ridiculous plot has Muni and Rains returning from Hell so that Rains' Devil can get the righteous judge down below, (and give Muni's gangster the chance to get revenge on the guy who plugged him). Of course, considering he's the Devil, Rains seems singularly unprepared for Anne Baxter's sweetness-and-light fiancée whose goodness messes up his plans somewhat. Naturally, it's a comedy and it's not unamusing in a daft kind of way but it's hardly memorable. Par for the Archie Mayo course, in fact.

Eddie Kagle (Paul Muni) is shot dead by Smiley (Hardie Albright) but is given a second chance at life by Nick (Claude Rains). Nick is Satan and is concerned that he's not getting enough followers these days. Eddie's task is to take over the body of Judge Parker and start misbehaving and corrupting a few people. In return, Nick promises that Eddie can avenge his death by killing Smiley. With the deal struck, Nick and Eddie set about their business. However, circumstances don't go as planned and Nick hadn't counted on the influence that Judge Parker's fiancée, Barbara (Anne Baxter) exerts over Eddie......This film is a comedy that is very funny due to Eddie's out-of-character behaviour as Judge Parker. The 3 main characters are all very good in their parts. Claude Rains is a stylish devil while Anne Baxter is a strong-minded woman who holds her own in the face of her husband's character transformation. We are carried along with the story of incidents that go wrong and witness the growing bond that develops between the characters of Barbara and Eddie Kagle, posing as the Judge. Alongside the humour, we have emotional moments as we realize that Eddie and Barbara's love is a love that can never be. It's sad and it made me cry. Paul Muni and Anne Baxter express their separate heartbreaks very convincingly, while Claude Rains is always amusing in his role.It's a fun story. What a shame that the quality of the picture isn't very good. Oh, and by the way, hell isn't actually like that at all.....