Reflections on “We’re No
Angels” (1955)
Directed by Michael
Curtiz
Screenplay by Ranald
MacDougall,
based on the play “My
Three Angels” by Samuel and Bella Spewack,
which was based on “La
Cuisine des Anges” by Albert Hussan,
starring Humphrey Bogart,
Aldo Ray and Peter Ustinov
Just as I enjoy “traditional”
angel films, I also appreciate
those in which men act in much the same way as angels, perhaps having been “sent”
by some omnipotent string-puller who can organise the crossing of paths of people
in need and those who can help them.
This is a comedy Christmas
film like no other as three “wise men” arrive at a family home in the French
penal colony on Devil’s Island on Christmas Eve 1895 and set about helping the
family to resolve a variety of issues.
However, this is no
morally secure, reassuring and treacly Christmas fare, for our three “angels”
are, in fact, escaped prisoners (a thief and two murderers) obliged to spend
Christmas taking refuge with a kindly family of shopkeepers (the Ducotels) as
they await the opportunity to board a ship bound for freedom. Not only are our
three angels escaped convicts, but they are unrepentant, steeped in (largely
criminal) wisdom and experience, good-hearted and utterly charming to boot.
In terms of plot and
character development, there is no question of rehabilitation – our three
heroes do good by plying their criminal skills. The villains of the piece
(businessman André Trochard and his nephew Paul) deserve their comeuppance
though their deaths may be considered a trifle extreme, but that issue is
deftly avoided as the whole is treated with dark humour and a lightness of
touch shared with the audience from the very start. Our angels are defiantly
humorous and single-minded in their desire to see the villains disposed of and
the family benefit from their nefarious actions, but very cleverly they do not
actually cause the deaths, though they do nothing to prevent them and are very
happy to see the Ducotels profit from them.
They make moral judgments
but are willing to take direct and potentially amoral action to enforce these
judgments. The whole is a consciously playful and amusing (as opposed to
broadly comic) mix of genres as our three angels maintain a moral distance from
the family (skewed in this case toward criminal simplicity and inferiority
rather than principled and complex superiority) and they act to resolve
financial, familial and romantic issues using amoral methods more in keeping
with those seen in a film noir.
Comedy stems from their
unremorseful acceptance of their own criminal natures which they put to good
purpose while protecting the “good” who remain blameless, their almost gleeful
inflicting of punishment on the villains, and then there is their complicity
with the audience. There are numerous asides, the full import of which only the
audience will understand while other characters cannot, thus creating collusion
while developing empathy and sympathy.
It could be suggested
that the three combine to form the perfect angelic unit of assistance (spirit,
heart and action) sent from Heaven to help this good-natured family in their
time of need. Indeed, this is vaguely implied at one stage as our trio literally
look down from above (while repairing the roof) as they assess the situation
and decide on the appropriate action, but their unconventional methods rather
deliciously call in to question the whole nature of morality and justice.
In the end, our three heroes
are so disappointed and traumatised by this encounter with “civilisation” with
its underhand ways and complexities that they decide to return to prison where
they will feel more secure! Our angels are open, genuine and sincere – they are
what they are, accept it and act on their instincts, while some of the “honest”
folk they have met are duplicitous and downright cold-hearted, characteristics
they find unpalatable and unacceptable.
Humphrey Bogart (whose
film noir credentials are essential to both the amoral and comic elements of
the film), Aldo Ray and Peter Ustinov play off one another beautifully and in
determined good humour as the well-intentioned criminals willing to put their
dark natures to good use, especially opposite Basil Rathbone who plays the
law-abiding but black-hearted villain with dismissive and superior gusto.
The script is sharp and
fast-paced and plays in an almost farce-like style which contributes to the
lightness of the atmosphere and makes good use of audience complicity and understanding
to achieve its unique effect.
The whole is carried off
with such verve and knowing playfulness that the rather confined staging and
sets which betray the theatrical origins of the piece go virtually unnoticed.
There are frequent
references to the angelic nature and worthiness of our heroes and there is even
a clear suggestion from Jules at the end of the film that they may, indeed,
have been Heaven-sent (confirmed by the appearance of halos above their heads
as they saunter off to prison), so what we have is a comical angelic
Christmas-themed film noir which reinforces the old adage that God works in
mysterious ways – who would have thought it possible?
My thanks for taking the
time to read this article. I hope you found it of some value.
Stuart Fernie
HOME (blog)
www.stuartfernie.org
for discussions of other films, some books and other topics.
