Fallen Angel

1945

1h 37m

Crime

Drama

List

85%

Tomatometer

13 Reviews

61%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

An unemployed drifter, Eric Stanton (Dana Andrews) wanders into a small California town and begins hanging around the local diner. While Eric falls for the lovely waitress Stella (Linda Darnell), he also begins romancing a quiet and well-to-do woman named June Mills (Alice Faye). Since Stella isn't interested in Eric unless he has money, the lovelorn guy comes up with a scheme to win her over, and it involves June. Before long, murder works its way into this passionate love triangle.

Richard Brody

New Yorker

Preminger builds suspense along with emotion, tension along with the passions that threaten to deform the drama and wrench it apart at its hinges.

May 8, 2020

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

The portrait of small-town loneliness and desperation is well and sharply drawn.

Oct 23, 2007

Full Review

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

For all of its acting wealth, Fallen Angel falls short of being a top flight whodunit.

Rated: 2.5/5

Mar 25, 2006

Full Review

Bianca Garner

In Their Own League

Fallen Angel isn't the strongest or the most thrilling noir film out there, it does have it's good points. It's well worth watching for Faye's and Darnell's performances alone and is ripe for a remake.

Nov 24, 2021

Full Review

Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

The setting, the tone, the romances (all of the whirlwind kind), the characters, and the dialogue work to establish looming, inevitable tragedy.

Rated: 7/10

Aug 5, 2020

Full Review

Christopher Machell

CineVue

Fallen Angel plays with the well-worn trope of the virgin / whore dichotomy, inverting to a certain degree the audience's expectations of female agency.

Rated: 5/5

Jan 17, 2017

Full Review

Read all reviews

acsdoug D

Pros: Preminger's flawless direction - this is one of the noiriest noirs I've ever seen - and a chance to see the stunningly beautiful Linda Darnell. Cons: the story drags a bit and Dana Andrews' wooden acting. This one is 50/50, but I'd say the pros have a slight edge.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/15/24

Full Review

nick s

Fairly good noir movie, though not really stellar. The story took a while to find it's footing with the first half being mostly scene setting and character development. When it finally got going it lurched somewhat. At least the ending wasn't telegraphed. The acting was good too - everything Dana Andrews is in seems to be of a high standard.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/04/24

Full Review

Daniel E

Hard boiled. Anachronistic to a point of discomfort. Only interesting in a historical sense.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

gary d

Good cast and story. Well thought out whodunnit.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Dana Andrews was horribly mis-cast as the jobless tramp. It's like the only real effort put into this film was all towards Linda Darnell regarding her role in this movie. The film does include some creative opening titles.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Fabulous film noir with complex character motivations. One of director Otto Preminger's best.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Otto Preminger

Director

Alice Faye

June Mills

Dana Andrews

Eric Stanton

Linda Darnell

Stella

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Kiss of Death

69%

38%

Kiss of Death

Miller's Crossing

93%

90%

Miller's Crossing

Thieves' Highway

100%

79%

Thieves' Highway

Whirlpool

92%

63%

Whirlpool

House of Bamboo

85%

57%

House of Bamboo

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

An unemployed drifter, Eric Stanton (Dana Andrews) wanders into a small California town and begins hanging around the local diner. While Eric falls for the lovely waitress Stella (Linda Darnell), he also begins romancing a quiet and well-to-do woman named June Mills (Alice Faye). Since Stella isn't interested in Eric unless he has money, the lovelorn guy comes up with a scheme to win her over, and it involves June. Before long, murder works its way into this passionate love triangle.

Director: Otto Preminger
Production Co: 20th Century Fox
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Jan 25, 2005
Runtime: 1h 37m