Black Angel

A singer is murdered and Kirk Bennett is convicted of the killing. His wife Catherine believes he is innocent and sets out to find the real murderer. She needs help and finds Martin Blair, the dead woman's ex-husband, an alcoholic composer. The two go after the club owner Marko, take work together at a nightclub, and as Martin stays sober both his music and what he remembers begin to change. Roy William Neill's film adapts a novel by Cornell Woolrich. The narrative uses the familiar structure of 1940s noir but puts at its centre not the investigation but the unreliability of memory. The explanation at the end retroactively changes the whole logic of the film. Dan Duryea plays Martin, June Vincent plays Catherine, and Peter Lorre plays the club owner. It was Neill's last film. Who it's for: Viewers who like 1940s noir, Woolrich adaptations, and Peter Lorre. Who it's not for: The budget is low and some passages feel rushed. The woman's place in the narrative also narrows by the end.