Angel on My Shoulder Reviews

A witty, caustic, and exciting film, this is a reverse from the script Segall wrote for HERE COMES MR. JORDAN. Here it is not heavenly messengers trading off bodies for a misappropriated soul; the action comes the other way, from the fiery depths, where the flamboyant Rains, as a calculating and often funny Devil, makes a deal with lost soul Muni, a former gangster killed by a henchman, Albright. He will help Muni take his revenge on Albright if the gangster will occupy the body of a saintly judge who has prevented too many souls from slipping into Hell. Muni occupies the judge's body but brings with him his gangster persona, and has great difficulty in adjusting to his new, high-class surroundings. His crude manners, speech habits, and decidedly homicidal attitude alarm the judge's friends, but it is thought that he is suffering from a breakdown due to his workload, so he is humored and pampered, which makes Muni all the more irritable. Some hilarious scenes are produced by this marvelous actor as he slowly makes the transition from gutter thug to polished jurist, with a love interest provided in the person of Baxter. Muni, whose film career was slipping a bit, had high hopes for ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER but was dissatisfied with Mayo's direction, demanding perfection in every scene from a man who was used to producing fast-paced commercial films. The two argued over almost every line which made the entire company uneasy. The film is nevertheless marvelous entertainment, with a great actor giving his usual riveting performance. Rains, who played an angel in HERE COMES MR. JORDAN, is superbly sinister as the man from below.