''Angel, Angel, Down We Go'', also known as ''Cult of the Damned'', is a 1969 American film directed by playwright and screenwriter Robert Thom, his sole directorial credit. Thom based his screenplay on an unproduced stage play of the same title that he had written several years earlier as a vehicle for his wife, actress Janice Rule. The film was produced by Sam Katzman's Four Leaf Productions and distributed by

American International Pictures American International Pictures, LLC (AIP or American International Productions) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution c ...

Plot

The overweight, emotionally troubled daughter of an affluent but brittle Hollywood couple becomes involved with a charismatic rock singer and his friends. The singer proceeds to seduce and manipulate her entire family.

Cast

Jennifer Jones Jennifer Jones (born Phylis Lee Isley; March 2, 1919 – December 17, 2009), also known as Jennifer Jones Simon, was an American actress and mental-health advocate. Over the course of her career that spanned more than five decades, she was nomin ...

as Astrid Steele * Jordan Christopher as Bogart Peter Stuyvesant * Holly Near as Tara Steele * Lou Rawls as Joe * Charles Aidman as Willy Steele * Davey Davison as Anna Livia *

Roddy McDowall Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude McDowall (17 September 1928 – 3 October 1998) was a British-American actor whose career spanned over 270 screen and stage roles across over 60 years. Born in London, he began his acting career as a child in his n ...

as Santoro

Production

In August 1960, Thom, best known for writing the film '' Compulsion'', announced he would direct a play titled ''Angel Angel Down We Go'' starring his wife, Janice Rule. It would be presented by Leland Hayward in December and was about a group of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

students in Greenwich Village. By November, Hayward halted production because he had been unable to find a director and a theater. In August 1961, the play was acquired by Theatrical Interests Plan. In September 1962, Shirley Knight was announced as the star. The Broadway production did not occur but Thom transformed his play into a film script. Film rights were bought by Sam Katzman, who procured financing from AIP.

signed in December 1968 and filming began on February 18, 1969. The part of the daughter was played by Holly Near, who had not planned to be a film actress but was invited to audition after appearing at an awards event. "I got the part because I was beautiful and because I was fat," recalled Near in her memoir, adding that Thom had asked her to gain weight for the role. Near said that Jones "was the grand dame that she deserved to be. I watched her struggle with her part, with her role, with her fear. I felt like an ugly duckling next to an aging swan."Near p 44 Near felt that Thom "didn't have much compassion for my character ... I struggled to give her dignity where there was none ... I always wondered why Robert wanted to make this film."

Songs

The songs in the film, "Angel Angel Down We Go", "The Fat Song", "Hey Hey Hey and a Hi Ho", "Lady Lady", "Mother Lover" and "Revelation," were written by

Barry Mann Barry Mann (born Barry Imberman; February 9, 1939) is an American songwriter and musician, and was part of a successful songwriting partnership with his wife, Cynthia Weil. He has written or co-written 53 hits in the UK and 98 in the US. Early ...

and

Cynthia Weil Cynthia Weil (October 18, 1940 – June 1, 2023) was an American songwriter who wrote many songs together with her husband Barry Mann. Weil and Mann were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1987, and in 2011, they jointly received the ...

and were sung by Jordan Christopher.

Reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' called the film "a pretentious mess" although "it can never be said to bore." ''

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 ...

'' described the film as "an unmitigated financial disaster." AIP rereleased the film as ''Cult of the Damned'' in 1970. It was issued on a double bill with '' The Vampire Lovers''. The ''Los Angeles Times'' called it "a terrible piece of trash."

In popular culture

The fifth track on

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...

's 1988 debut solo album '' Viva Hate'' is titled "Angel, Angel Down We Go Together."

References

Notes

External links

* *
Trailer
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

''Angel, Angel Down We Go''
at Jennifer Jones Tribute Site {{Sam Katzman 1969 films 1969 drama films American drama films 1960s English-language films 1960s American films English-language drama films