''Half Angel'' is a 1951

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

directed by Richard Sale, starring

Loretta Young Loretta Young (born Gretchen Young; January 6, 1913 – August 12, 2000) was an American actress. Starting as a child, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the fil ...

Joseph Cotten Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of '' The Philadelphia Story'' and '' Sab ...

, and

Cecil Kellaway Cecil Lauriston Kellaway (22 August 1890 – 28 February 1973) was a South African character actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, for '' The Luck of the Irish'' (1948) and '' Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ...

. Nora Gilpin (Young), a prim and proper nurse, is engaged to the stuffy Tim (

John Ridgely John Ridgely (born John Huntington Rea, September 6, 1909 – January 18, 1968) was an American film character actor with over 175 film credits. Early years Ridgely was born in Chicago, Illinois,Katz, Ephraim (1979). ''The Film Encyclopedia: T ...

). Unknown to both, Nora is a sleepwalker; during her nocturnal forays, the less-inhibited side of her personality takes over.

Plot

No-nonsense nurse Nora Gilpin (Young) does not care much for John Raymond Jr. (Cotten), a famous, rich lawyer. Her immediate plans are to marry Tim McCarey (Ridgely), a building contractor, and settle down to a nice, normal life. That night, a sleepwalking Nora slips into a provocative dress and goes to the home of a startled John, behaving seductively. She does not reveal her name and he cannot figure out where they have met. They spend several hours together, but she then gets away before John notices. John spots her on the street one day and excitedly brings up their evening together, but Nora has no idea what he is talking about and is greatly embarrassed, because this happens in front of Tim. She tells John he has misidentified her, and they rush away, leaving John confused. Later, as John is leaving by train on a business trip, Nora pops up again, playfully enticing him and then cavorting with him for hours at an amusement park, until the wee hours of the morning. Dr. Jackson ( Basil Ruysdael) is consulted about sleepwalking and thinks Nora's behavior must stem from something in her past. John realizes that he knew her many years ago as the gardener's daughter, but Nora adamantly denies it, continuing to prepare for her wedding day. She packs a suitcase for her honeymoon, but that night, while John waits outside, sure enough, Nora appears again. He rushes her to a justice of the peace and they are married. She wakes up the next morning (with John in the adjoining bed) in a motel. Surprised, embarrassed, and unnerved, she hurries to her wedding (with Tim), only to have John interrupt the ceremony by claiming she is already married. Nora faints, but comes to and finally realizes whom she truly loves.

Cast

as Nora Gilpin (Singing voice dubbed by Martha Mears) *

as John Raymond Jr. *

as Harry Gilpin * Basil Ruysdael as Dr. Jackson *

Jim Backus James Gilmore Backus (February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989) was an American actor. Among his most famous roles were Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom ''Gilligan's Island,'' the father of James Dean's character in '' Rebel Without a Cause, ...

as Michael 'Mike' Hogan *

Irene Ryan Irene Ryan (born Irene Noblitt, Noblett, or Noblette; October 17, 1902 – April 26, 1973) was an American actress and comedienne who found success in vaudeville, radio, film, television, and Broadway. She is most widely known for her por ...

as Nurse Kay *

as Timothy 'Tim' McCarey

References

External links

* * * * {{AFI film, id=50129, title=Half Angel 1951 films 1951 comedy films American comedy films Films about sexual repression Films directed by Richard Sale 20th Century Fox films Films with screenplays by Robert Riskin Films scored by Cyril J. Mockridge 1950s English-language films 1950s American films