''The Angel Levine'' is a 1970 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Ján Kadár and starring Zero Mostel,

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

, Ida Kamińska,

Milo O'Shea Milo Donal O'Shea (2 June 1926 – 2 April 2013) was an Irish actor. He was twice nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his performances in '' Staircase'' (1968) and '' Mass Appeal'' (1982). Early life O'Shea was born and ...

, and

Gloria Foster Gloria Foster (November 15, 1933 – September 29, 2001) was an American actress. She had acclaimed roles in plays ''In White America'' and '' Having Our Say,'' winning three Obie Awards during her career. Foster played the Oracle in ''The Matrix ...

. It is based on a short story by Bernard Malamud about Morris Mishkin, an elderly, impoverished New York City tailor who becomes unable to work due to health problems. His wife has also been seriously ill for two years, and their situation is now desperate. The tailor's Jewish faith, or lack of it, is challenged when a man calling himself Alexander Levine enters his life, claiming to be his guardian angel. Levine says that he must make the tailor believe in his mission, or fail to earn his angelic wings.

Plot

Morris Mishkin is a poor Jewish tailor struggling through a difficult life. The pain in his back keeps him from holding down a job, his daughter has run away, and his wife, Fanny, suffers from heart disease. While still waiting on relief from a backlogged welfare system, Mishkin takes his last bit of savings to the grocery store for necessities. During his trek to the store he witnesses a robbery in which a black man steals a fur coat. Mishkin yells for the police, which alerts the thief, who then attempts a getaway but is struck and killed by a passing car while dashing across the street. When Mishkin gets back to his home he finds his wife growing continually worse, and he curses the Lord for his troubles. As Mishkin turns to his kitchen, he sees the black thief who was killed in the street, standing there. The mysterious man claims to be a Jewish angel in training going by the name of Alexander Levine. Levine says that he must perform a miracle within 24 hours to be promoted to accepted status as an angel. Mishkin does not believe Levine, but Fanny's health suddenly improves. Mishkin still disbelieves it is a miracle, or that God is showing mercy. When Levine's 24 hours have expired, he leaves the Mishkin household, only for Fanny's condition to revert and worsen. Mishkin has a change of heart, and rushes to the streets of Harlem in search of Levine. He finally enters a local synagogue, but finds only a single black feather.

Cast

* Zero Mostel as Morris Mishkin *

as Alexander Levine *

Ida Kaminska Ida or IDA may refer to: Astronomy *Ida Facula, a mountain on Amalthea, a moon of Jupiter *243 Ida, an asteroid *International Docking Adapter, a docking adapter for the International Space Station Computing * Intel Dynamic Acceleration, a techn ...

as Fanny Mishkin *

as Dr. Arnold Berg *

as Sally *

Barbara Ann Teer Barbara Ann Teer (June 18, 1937 – July 21, 2008) was an American writer, producer, teacher, actress and social visionary. In 1968, she founded Harlem's National Black Theatre, the first revenue-generating black theater arts complex in the U.S. ...

as Welfare Lady *

Eli Wallach Eli Herschel Wallach (; December 7, 1915 – June 24, 2014) was an American film, television, and stage actor from New York City. From his 1945 Broadway debut to his last film appearance, Wallach's entertainment career spanned 65 years. Origina ...

as Delicatessen Clerk *

Anne Jackson Anne Jackson (September 3, 1925 – April 12, 2016); retrieved April 16, 2016Archivedfrom the original on April 16, 2016. was an American actress of stage, screen, and television. She was the wife of actor Eli Wallach, with whom she often co-sta ...

as Woman in Delicatessen * Stephen Strimpell as Drugstore Clerk * Sam Raskyn as Druggist * Kathy Shawn as Woman in Drugstore

Production

''The Angel Levine'' was brought to the screen by Belafonte, who produced the film as his own return to movies after more than 10 years. The story was adapted by Emmy-nominated writer Ronald Ribman and Bill Gunn, who had written the satire ''

The Landlord ''The Landlord'' is a 1970 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby, adapted by Bill Gunn from the 1966 novel by Kristin Hunter. The film stars Beau Bridges in the lead role of a privileged and ignorant white man who selfishly becomes ...

'' (1970), "a well-received and complex examination of American race relations". Hal Erickson remarks that while "Bernard Malamud seldom saw his works faithfully transferred to the screen...he issued no complaints over the cinemazation of his Angel Levine."

Reception

''The Angel Levine'' was poorly received when it was first released, with Roger Greenspun of the ''New York Times'' stating that "given the reputations of the talents involved, he film isa failure of major proportions. I have seen worse movies. But I cannot remember having seen a movie so nervously at odds with itself, so timid in its impulses, and so mistaken in its choices." When the film was released on DVD in 2002, Glenn Erickson of ''DVD Talk'' commented: "''The Angel Levine'' is one of dozens of interesting movies in the

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

library that seem to have been created for the purpose of being obscure.” Tana Hobart considers the film poorly served by its writing but saved by the actors: "With a hackneyed plotline almost lifted intact from ''It's a Wonderful Life'', this is still a worthwhile movie due to the appeal and acting ability of the cast."

References

External links