Day 37: "Black Angel"

Director: Roy William Neil 1946
My man Dan Duryea (see Day 24: "Winchester '73") in a modest noir based on a novel by Cornell Woolrich ("Rear Window"). For once, Duryea gets to play a decent guy, a boozy songwriter whose estranged wife has been murdered. A blackmail victim is convicted of the crime but his wife enlists Duryea to help her find the real killer. He falls in love with her, of course. Solid supporting cast: Peter Lorre, June Vincent, Broderick Crawford. Duryea's performance is strong, although the film doesn't take advantage of some of its more suspenseful set-ups. Still, it got me thinking about programming a mini-Duryea film festival. He was that good.