Scarlet Angel (1952)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Nice effects though.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Roxy McClanahan (Yvonne de Carlo) works as a saloon girl making men drink to steal them afterwards. One day she meets Frank Truscott, alias captain Panama (Rock Hudson) and after stealing him, she runs away with his money and the baby of a Linda Caldwell, a war widow she befriends and who tells her about his husband's family. She pretends to be Linda Caldwell and enter this family to began the wealthy life she has always desired. But unexpectedly capt. Panama appears and things do not happen as she figured out. This is an excellent adventure movie full of action, colorful, with beautiful costumes and set designs and a well written script. All the actors give wonderful performances, De Carlo and Hudson match perfectly and the story itself is interesting and flows by. Cast includes Richard Denning as Malcom Bradley and Amanda Blake as his sister Susan. A must for classical adventure fans and an entertaining movie to watch. It's a pity they don't do it like this anymore.

I've seen a few of Yvonne De Carlo's films, and with the exception of 'Criss Cross' with Burt Lancaster, she is the same in all her films. There is no range or depth in her voice. She sounds the same whether she's happy or sad. She's not particularly good looking even with make-up. She was at her best in 'The Ten Commandments', but she did have a good script and direction by Cecil B. DeMille to guide her. The point is that the films she's appeared in are not well written nor do they have good directors. 'Criss Cross' had a good script which lifted her performance.The film is beautifully shot by Russell Metty who would go on to shoot 'Spartacus'.

By the time Universal made this one, they had the formula down pat -- rough, tough man meets rough, tough gal, they wrangle; she cheats him and runs off with his bankroll. She changes identities and he finds her by accident -- then, blackmail, or love?I won't spoil the ending for you.DeCarlo was gorgeous in this one (as she always was) but the big surprise was her new leading man, one Rock Hudson -- brash and boy-next-door handsome -- he all but steals the movie from her. It's a fun romp in handsome costumes and the supporting cast is top notch -- yes, the jealous "cousin" in San Francisco is Amanda Blake who made a splash as Miss Kitty on Gunsmoke.