Angel Face

(Otto Preminger, US 1952, 91 min., 16mm)

The Noir Effect. Preminger’s final film noir may be his most potent, as ambulance driver Robert Mitchum is taken in by a young Jean Simmons after a near-death scare at her home. She convinces him to quit his job and leave his girlfriend to become the house chauffeur and move in with her, all for the opportunity to race cars and open a garage. Preminger was never better than when directing noir, as the enduring legacy of Laura and Where the Sidewalk Ends can attest, but there may be no femme more fatale than in this film.