''We're No Angels'' is a 1955 American

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz (; born Manó Kaminer; from 1905 Mihály Kertész; ; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed classic films from the silen ...

, starring

Humphrey Bogart Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( ; December 25, 1899 – January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart ...

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, director and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received #Awa ...

Aldo Ray Aldo Ray (born Aldo Da Re; September 25, 1926 – March 27, 1991) was an American actor of film and television. He began his career as a contract player for Columbia Pictures before achieving stardom through his roles in '' The Marrying Kind, P ...

Joan Bennett Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress, one of three acting sisters from a show-business family. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more than 70 fil ...

Basil Rathbone Philip St. John Basil Rathbone MC (13 June 1892 – 21 July 1967) was an Anglo-South African actor. He rose to prominence in the United Kingdom as a Shakespearean stage actor and went on to appear in more than 70 films, primarily costume drama ...

, Leo G. Carroll, and

Gloria Talbott Gloria Maude Talbott (February 7, 1931 – September 19, 2000) was an American film and television actress. Early life and career Gloria Talbott was born in Glendale, California. Her great-grandfather Benjamin F. Patterson arrived from Ohi ...

. Shot in both

VistaVision VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35 mm motion picture film format that was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954. Paramount did not use anamorphic processes such as CinemaScope but refined the ...

and

Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...

, the film was a

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

release. The screenplay was written by Ranald MacDougall, based on the French play ''La Cuisine Des Anges'' by Albert Husson. Husson's play had been adapted into the successful Broadway play '' My Three Angels'' by Samuel and Bella Spewack, but the film purported to be based on the Husson original rather than the Spewacks' adaptation. The Spewacks sued Paramount four months after the film was released. As "H.H.T." wrote in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' review of the Curtiz film, "Oddly enough, the new Paramount comedy, ''We're No Angels'', gives sole credit to the Gallic original, then stalks the Spewacks almost scene by scene, without, alas, most of the fun." Mary Grant designed the film's costumes. The film is set on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, 1895.

Plot

Three convicts – Joseph, Albert and Jules – escape from prison on

Devil's Island The penal colony of Cayenne ( French: ''Bagne de Cayenne''), commonly known as Devil's Island (''Île du Diable''), was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953, in the Salvation Islan ...

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

just before Christmas and arrive at the nearby French colonial town of

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Caye ...

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

. Joseph is a thief; the other two are murderers. They go to a store managed by Felix Ducotel. The store is in a very poor financial position as it is the only one to give supplies on credit. While there, they notice its roof is leaking, and offer to fix it for nothing. They get involved in selling things in the shop and have a knack for it, selling a brush set to a bald man, and getting the first cash income in a long time. They offer to make Christmas dinner for the family and the meal is very successful. They do not actually intend to, but decide to remain there until nightfall, when they will steal clothes and supplies and escape on a ship waiting in the harbor. As they wait, they find that the small family of Felix, Amelie, and daughter Isabelle, is in financial distress and offer their services to hide the trio's all-too-sinister ruse. Joseph even gets to work conning people and falsifying records to make the store prosperous. However, the three felons begin to have a change of heart after they fix a delicious Christmas dinner for the Ducotels made mostly of stolen items. Tensions heighten after store owner Andre Trochard arrives from Paris with his nephew Paul, with a set of crocodile skin luggage. The Trochards plan on taking over the store, which they perceive is unprofitable due to its use of credit. Isabelle had planned to wed Paul but it turns out that Paul is betrothed to another woman, to Isabelle's dismay. Before any action can be taken, Andre gets bitten by Albert's pet

viper Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipe ...

, Adolphe, and dies. Adolphe disappears and the three have to search for him. Eventually Adolphe is found: Paul is fatally bitten by the snake which was hiding in Andre's pocket, which Paul was searching through. Isabelle finds another love, and the family is happy as the convicts finally ready for their postponed escape. However, while waiting on the docks for their boat to arrive, the three reconsider. Judging that the outside world is likely to be worse than that of the prison, they decide to turn themselves back in. As they walk toward the boat at film's end, halos appear over their heads...followed by one over Adolphe's cage.

Cast

as Joseph *

as Albert *

as Jules *

as Amelie Ducotel *

as Andre Trochard * Leo G. Carroll as Felix Ducotel *

as Isabelle Ducotel * John Baer as Paul Trochard *Lea Penman as Madame Parole, customer * John Smith as Medical Officer Arnaud *

Torben Meyer Torben Emil Meyer (1 December 1884 – 22 May 1975) was a Danish-American character actor who appeared in more than 190 films in a 55-year career. He began his acting career in Europe before moving to the United States. Early life Meyer was ...

as Butterfly Man (uncredited) *

Paul Newlan Paul Emory "Tiny" Newlan (June 29, 1903 – November 23, 1973) was an American film and TV character actor from Plattsmouth, Nebraska. He was best known for his role as Captain Grey on the NBC police series '' M Squad'' and for his roles ...

as Port Captain (uncredited)

Reception

The film gained mixed reviews. Howard Thompson, critic for the ''

'', was underwhelmed, calling it a "shrill, misguided picture" and writing that the filmic version was not on par with the Broadway version. ''Variety'' found few faults in the "breezy comedy" but claimed that among its faults was its inability to utilize a more cinematic blocking: "At times proceedings are too consciously cute and stage origin of material still clings since virtually all scenes are interiors with characters constantly entering and exiting." The ''

Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' critic, who had seen the 1953 stage production, was most critical of Humphrey Bogart’s performance: "To say that Humphrey Bogart rattles around in the capacious comedy clothes of Walter Slezak, and that Michael Curtiz misses the outrageous humor of Jose Ferrer’s tagedirection is putting it gently….Even slowed down to a walk, with Ranald MacDougall’s script no match for the breezy Sam and Bella Spewack adaptation…a certain amount of humor inevitably seeps through as three escaped Devil’s Island convicts play unorthordox guardian angels to the French shopkeeper’s family they originally came to rob. Once the trio comes down from M. Ducotel’s roof and gets to work booming business, plotting the demise of the shop’s nasty actual owner and doctoring the books, things improve noticeably. But there are still long stretches of arid conversation mixed with the genuinely funny moments. And there is still the uneasy spectacle of Bogart desperately trying to be cute as the sole member of the trio without blood on his hands….without a stalwart in this key role, the whole comedy totters. The secondary ‘angels’ are, however, much better, with Peter Ustinov stealing the show…and Aldo Ray doing nicely….Joan Bennett is far from ideal as Madame Ducotel, and Gloria Tabott woefully lacking in the appeal presumably possessed by the lovelorn daughter." Jack Moffit of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' had a favorable review of the film, calling it "a glamorous comedy" full of performances which "are uniformly excellent" and a screenplay which "is worthy of study." Likewise, Lionel Collier of

Picturegoer ''Picturegoer'' was a fan magazine published in the United Kingdom between 1911 and 23 April 1960. Background The magazine was started in 1911 under the name ''The Pictures'' and in 1914 it merged with ''Picturegoer''. Following the merge it was ...

praised it as "a real breakaway comedy – ghoulish humor with a neat sardonic kick." ''We're No Angels'' grossed $3 million in the box office. In 1955, it was the 34th highest-grossing film in the U.S./Canada market.

Legacy

The opening sequence contains the song "Ma France Bien-Aimée" which borrows the music of "

Plaisir d'amour "" (, "Pleasure of love") is a classical French love song written in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini (1741–1816); it took its text from a poem by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (1755–1794), which appears in his novel ''Célestine''. The so ...

". The familiar-sounding tune was also used as the melody in

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

's hit "

Can't Help Falling in Love "Can't Help Falling in Love" is a song written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss and published by Gladys Music, Inc. The melody is based on " Plaisir d'amour", a popular French love song composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-� ...

" (1961). The song "Sentimental Moments" by Friedrich Hollander and

Ralph Freed Ralph Freed (1 May 1907, Vancouver - February 13, 1973) was a Canadian born American lyricist and television producer. Early life Born May 1, 1907 to Max Freed and Rosie (Rosza) Grossman who met in Charleston, SC. Ralph married Grace H. Berchma ...

was recorded and released by

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

for his 2018 Christmas album, "Happy Xmas". In 1989,

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish filmmaker and writer. He first achieved recognition for his short story collection, ''Night in Tunisia (short story collection), Night in Tunisia,'' which won the Guardian Fiction Prize in ...

directed a remake of ''We're No Angels'' starring

Robert De Niro Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...

Sean Penn Sean Justin Penn (born August 17, 1960) is an American actor and film director. He is known for his intense leading man roles in film. List of awards and nominations received by Sean Penn, His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Gl ...

, and

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After rising to prominence in the early 1980s, she became the world's highest-paid actress by 1995. List of awards and nominations received by Demi Moore, Her acc ...

where the escaped convicts are mistaken for a pair of priests at a local monastery in

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

References

External links