planktonrules Review of Angel and the Badman

Angel and the Badman (1947)

A nice little change of pace for John Wayne

[7/10 · 7 March 2007]

While this is far from John Wayne's best film, it is a nice little change of pace that tries to be a bit different from his typical Western. While Wayne plays a character VERY MUCH like the usual Western hero, the situation he finds himself in is very unique. The film begins with Wayne being discovered by some Quakers. He's been shot and he is unconscious, so these nice people take him home and nurse him back to health--even though he has a reputation as a "mean hombre". Not surprisingly, young Gail Russell (the daughter in the Quaker family) falls for Wayne. Despite Wayne's "badness" and desire for revenge on those who hurt him, with Ms. Russell's love and attention, Wayne slowly starts to see the light and think twice about his violent ways. Despite being pretty predictable (which knocks off a point or two), the plot is handled nicely--with a lot of feeling and with excellent acting (by the leads plus Harry Carey in one of his last films) . Well worth seeing and more than just another "time-passer".