Half Angel (1951)

Bachelor lawyer John Raymond(Joseph Cotton)suddenly is a very confused and frustrated man, thanks to a strange gorgeous woman(Loretta Young)who appears at his home one dark evening, claiming she is Princess Felicity: the girl with the magic lips, kissing his forehead to eradicate some imaginary warts(she calls him Frog!). She tends to the scrapes and bruises he suffered when tripping(twice!) over the low handle of a mower in the dark of his yard. She plays his piano and sings. Then, she says she has to go home before the witch she lives with awakens.The next day, John sees the Princess (or Jug Head as he sometimes calls her) on the street and greets her, but she doesn't seem to recognize him, and tells him to buzz off. This drives him nuts. That evening, he is getting on a train for Washington. She appears in the train boarding area, again, dressed in an evening dress and acting flirtaceous. He gets off the train and she encourages him to kiss her. They go to an evening amusement park and have fun on the roller coaster, even giving the operator a ride. The next day, John goes to the hospital(where she is a nurse), but she acts very hostile, and slaps him for being fresh. She talks to a doctor , who suggests perhaps her subconscious mind is telling her she actually loves John, although she thinks she hates him. She takes him to court, presumably, for stalking. Nobody can believe his tale, and he loses the case.That evening, she is preparing for her wedding to Tim the next morning. She falls asleep, but soon gets dressed seductively, and goes outside, where John is waiting. They kiss and John suggests they get married that night. They find a minister and a couple of witnesses, and go through the marriage ceremony. They go to a motel(why not his house?), with separate beds(as required by the then production code!) for the night. Princess awakens first, and is shocked that John is in a bed next to hers. She gets dressed and climbs out the window(why?), taking John's pants with her, which she throws over a fence(and which probably contain their marriage license, judging by a later comment by John!). She goes home and gets ready for her next wedding. I leave the conclusion for you to discover. At present, it's available at You Tube.Yes, Princess Felicity is one dizzy dame. It appears that a case of split personality has been fused with a propensity for sleepwalking. On the surface, there might be just enough plausibility for such a combination to tease our imaginations. But, basically, this is a fairy tale. That's OK as long as we recognize it as such. The plot is then seen as very simple, with a few holes, reasonably interesting, and well executed.

Misshapen piece of fluff, a capricious bit of harmless whimsy that may go down easier at three in the morning when one is apt to be less demanding. Loretta Young is a starchy, spinsterish nurse, about to marry the cloddish man she's been putting off for five years, when suddenly her repressed desire to flirt with a strictly-business attorney takes over her body while she's sleepwalking, leading to a series of romantic confusions. Robert Riskin is responsible for the script, which he adapted from a story by George Carleton Brown; both men are strictly behind-the-times in terms of a saucy bedroom comedy (although Young is certainly attractive dressed in a very sheer negligee!). Joseph Cotten looks rather incredulous at being caught in such a juvenile scenario, and the tone of the picture is wobbly right from the start. Colorful supporting players (Jim Backus, Irene Ryan, and the always-reliable Cecil Kellaway) add some sparkle, however the movie hinges on Young's performance and she's much more annoying than seductive. ** from ****

Loretta Young is a "Half Angel" in this 1951 comedy starring Joseph Cotten, Cecil Kellaway, Jim Backus and Irene Ryan. The beautiful Miss Young plays Nora, who by day is a very professional-looking nurse and by night a glamorous seductress. Apparently she has a split personality, and when her conscious mind goes to sleep, Nora's other personality wakes up and drops in on an old school chum who is now an important attorney (Cotten). Her mystique, her allure, her seductiveness make him crazy. Every time he spots the daytime starched nurse Nora, he happily approaches her and throws his arms around her - only to get slapped in the face. Nora is engaged to be married to someone else and besides, she has no memory of these nighttime escapades.One of the reviewers on this site complained about the holes in the plot. This is the kind of film that doesn't hold up well under much - or any - scrutiny. It's a fantasy and has to be enjoyed as such. Nitpicking about how fast a trial is docketed and why someone receives a subpoena is like saying that tapping red rhinestone shoes together will never take you back home.At 38, Loretta Young is absolutely gorgeous, as she always was and remained for the rest of her life. Huge eyes, a face the shape of a cameo, beautiful hair, slim figure - as if any of it is really hidden by a nurse's cap and uniform. For Nora the wild one, she wears her hair down and a flashy seafoam-colored dress. Which brings me to the film's color. It's very reminiscent of a Better Homes and Garden book from the '50s that I used to look at as a child - very bright colors and lots of them. I found the use of color in the film quite unusual.A light comedy is strange casting for Joseph Cotten, but for my money, he pulls it off. This isn't a wildly funny movie, but it is an amusing one, and the psychiatric plot is in line with the post-war interest in the subconscious so prevalent in films of that era. This film takes the fluff approach, which movies like "The Snake Pit," "The Dark Past" and "Spellbound" did not. Loretta fans will love it.

I really like Loretta Young films. I think she was a great actress in her time. I would like to see more of her films such as Paula, Half Angel, etc. I really hope that some of her rarely seemed films such as Paula and Half Angel...is available on video tapes.