The Tarnished Angels

Released Jan 11, 1958

1h 27m

Drama

List

100%

Tomatometer

11 Reviews

69%

Audience Score

250+ Ratings

Heroic World War I pilot Roger Shumann (Robert Stack) is all but forgotten by the 1930s, but flying is all he knows, so he takes work as an air show stuntman. Roger's job is demeaning, low-paying and dangerous. Perpetually frustrated, he takes his anger out on his gorgeous wife, LaVerne (Dorothy Malone). Journalist Burke Devlin (Rock Hudson) chances upon the once-great pilot at one of his shows and becomes fascinated by Roger's undying devotion to flight -- and by the alluring LaVerne.

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Mark Kermode

Observer (UK)

One of Douglas Sirk's masterworks.

Sep 15, 2013

Full Review

Richard Brody

New Yorker

An enduring philosophical strain of proto-feminist endurance in a land that's both made and menaced by its intrepid warriors.

Jan 21, 2013

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Sirk's film is easily one of the earlier examples of a film that committed itself to such a stark and authentic presentation.

Rated: 3.5/4.0

Sep 25, 2020

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

The Tarnished Angels also retains its Faulkneresque signature of three damaged souls who feed off one another's misery, and it's an interesting leap from his more famous barn burning for the archaic sport of barnstorming.

Rated: 3.5/5

Aug 14, 2020

Full Review

Michael Barrett

PopMatters

As a purely physical spectacle, the movie is worth anyone's time... that style was substance, or rather that style was philosophy, and he conveys emotions through this mise-en-scène as substantially as through acting, dialogue or plot.

Apr 1, 2019

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Sirk, known for his rich use of colors, opted to employ black-and-white for The Tarnished Angels -- it was a sound and strategic choice, further amplifying the overcast quality that permeates these characters' lives.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 30, 2019

Full Review

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Audience Member

Well, in my opinion, Dorothy Malone and Jack Carson were the winners in this movie? They both did an outstanding job highly recommend it, James Welch, Henderson, Arkansas, October 10, 2023.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/10/23

Full Review

Zazoo909 C

"The Tarnished Angels" sets us up for an interesting ride and the stakes are suitably high. But the overblown dialogue steals us away from experiencing the story, and instead forces our focus on the writers' stilted poesy, apt for "Julius Caesar," but pretentious for a few crusty gypsies with circus dreams. The tension in the love quadangle, though - three men starving for beautiful Dorothy Malone - spells magic.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Terrific Douglas Sirk melodrama from the William Faulkner novel "Pylon." I have not read the Faulker book, but I'm guessing it was nowhere as soapy as the film, but as soapy melodrama's go, no one does them better than Douglas Sirk. Robert Stack plays a boozy disillusioned WWI flying ace who now spends his days as a barnstorming pilot at rural carnivals with his neglected parachutist wife, Dorothy Malone, who he only married as a result of a literal roll of the dice. Rock Hudson plays a reporter doing a story on this dysfunctional traveling family of flyers that also includes Jack Carson, Troy Donahue, and William Schallert. Sirk's perchance for over-the-top drama is probably not going to look great to modern viewers, but for fans of classic Hollywood and fans of Sirk in particular, this film is a must see!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

s r

Somber and tragic, but well made.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Hudson is mesmerising as newspaper reporter Burke Devlin who is besotted by fly-by-night characters, especially sultry daredevil parachutist LaVerne Schumann (Malone). His character is worth all of the others put together. In the acting stakes too he shines brightly, adding nuance to his performance. Unfortunately the script is tarnished, especially if we are to believe Hudson's infatuation for LaVerne who proves herself to be mostly unloveable. If you like Depression era dramas, that will help you enjoy this more. And if you like the early world of flying, that will help too. But mostly watch it for Rock Hudson's intelligent performance. Based on a story by William Faulker.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

one of melodrama master douglas sirk's best efforts

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

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Douglas Sirk

Director

Rock Hudson

Burke Devlin

Robert Stack

Roger Shumann

Dorothy Malone

LaVerne Shumann

Jack Carson

Jiggs

Robert Middleton

Matt Ord

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Synopsis

Heroic World War I pilot Roger Shumann (Robert Stack) is all but forgotten by the 1930s, but flying is all he knows, so he takes work as an air show stuntman. Roger's job is demeaning, low-paying and dangerous. Perpetually frustrated, he takes his anger out on his gorgeous wife, LaVerne (Dorothy Malone). Journalist Burke Devlin (Rock Hudson) chances upon the once-great pilot at one of his shows and becomes fascinated by Roger's undying devotion to flight -- and by the alluring LaVerne.

Director: Douglas Sirk
Screenwriter: William Faulkner, George Zuckerman
Distributor: MCA/Universal Pictures [us], Universal International Pictures
Production Co: Universal International Pictures
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 11, 1958, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 4, 2021
Runtime: 1h 27m

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