*Minor spoilers*
The first half of this picture is actually extremely good. One doesn't expect John Wayne to do romantic comedy, let alone to shine in it; but the romance of the title - in which a Quaker family shelter and accept a wounded man living on the edge of the law - proves to be strangely convincing and very tender. The comedy is of the most gentle and affectionate nature, and many of the early scenes had me smiling from ear to ear in delight.
As the simple, direct heroine Penelope Worth, Gail Russell confounds both the outlaw's and the audience's stereotyped expectations of a 'religious' girl, and as in all the best culture-clash romances, both sides end up learning from each other. It takes Quirt Evans' menacing reputation and not the prayers of the Worths to convince their miserly old neighbour initially to release the water the farm so desperately needs - but it is the genuine and uncritical welcome the old man subsequently receives from the Quakers that converts him from enemy into friend.
As far as the moment when Quirt, unable to bear the Quakers' gratitude, breaks free and reverts to his old life, the film never puts a foot wrong. But in the more conventionally 'Western' scenes that follow, it proves less effective.
The Laredo Stevens sub-plot never really catches fire, despite being part of the story from the beginning, and while the Marshal's role in the denouement, with hindsight, is clearly set up in a number of early scenes, it still somehow feels rather contrived. The total lack of bloodshed in the one criminal act we see Quirt commit on-screen, while it can be explained away as a sign of Penelope's continuing influence, seems rather forced for the convenience of the plot.
In general I felt the whole structure of the finale felt rushed - and the 'miracle' very much a deus ex machina device which wasn't even really necessary to the plot. Penelope is suddenly in danger, then as suddenly out of it, all within the span of about five minutes, with neither situation really given a chance to sink in. And one would expect Quirt to demonstrate at least a subconscious sense of responsibility for the situation, since without his presence none of it would have happened.
Instead, the whole thing gives the impression of having been engineered as an excuse to push us suddenly into a traditional-style showdown, without any real emotional weight. Admittedly, the result of the showdown is totally unexpected. Admittedly, it has been skilfully set up beforehand. But somehow, for me at least, the second half of the film failed to involve me as closely with its characters as the first. 'The Angel and the Badman' is half-romance, half-Western - but half a Western isn't really enough to sustain the climax, though the basic structure is all there.
As the depiction of the development of an unlikely romance, this is exquisitely done. Unfortunately, it is the would-be-dramatic elements that let the tension down, and prevent me from giving it a whole-hearted recommendation. It could have been an offbeat classic - but instead I was ultimately left slightly disappointed.
The first half of this picture is actually extremely good. One doesn't expect John Wayne to do romantic comedy, let alone to shine in it; but the romance of the title - in which a Quaker family shelter and accept a wounded man living on the edge of the law - proves to be strangely convincing and very tender. The comedy is of the most gentle and affectionate nature, and many of the early scenes had me smiling from ear to ear in delight.
As the simple, direct heroine Penelope Worth, Gail Russell confounds both the outlaw's and the audience's stereotyped expectations of a 'religious' girl, and as in all the best culture-clash romances, both sides end up learning from each other. It takes Quirt Evans' menacing reputation and not the prayers of the Worths to convince their miserly old neighbour initially to release the water the farm so desperately needs - but it is the genuine and uncritical welcome the old man subsequently receives from the Quakers that converts him from enemy into friend.
As far as the moment when Quirt, unable to bear the Quakers' gratitude, breaks free and reverts to his old life, the film never puts a foot wrong. But in the more conventionally 'Western' scenes that follow, it proves less effective.
The Laredo Stevens sub-plot never really catches fire, despite being part of the story from the beginning, and while the Marshal's role in the denouement, with hindsight, is clearly set up in a number of early scenes, it still somehow feels rather contrived. The total lack of bloodshed in the one criminal act we see Quirt commit on-screen, while it can be explained away as a sign of Penelope's continuing influence, seems rather forced for the convenience of the plot.
In general I felt the whole structure of the finale felt rushed - and the 'miracle' very much a deus ex machina device which wasn't even really necessary to the plot. Penelope is suddenly in danger, then as suddenly out of it, all within the span of about five minutes, with neither situation really given a chance to sink in. And one would expect Quirt to demonstrate at least a subconscious sense of responsibility for the situation, since without his presence none of it would have happened.
Instead, the whole thing gives the impression of having been engineered as an excuse to push us suddenly into a traditional-style showdown, without any real emotional weight. Admittedly, the result of the showdown is totally unexpected. Admittedly, it has been skilfully set up beforehand. But somehow, for me at least, the second half of the film failed to involve me as closely with its characters as the first. 'The Angel and the Badman' is half-romance, half-Western - but half a Western isn't really enough to sustain the climax, though the basic structure is all there.
As the depiction of the development of an unlikely romance, this is exquisitely done. Unfortunately, it is the would-be-dramatic elements that let the tension down, and prevent me from giving it a whole-hearted recommendation. It could have been an offbeat classic - but instead I was ultimately left slightly disappointed.