John WayneAngel and the Badman

As new generations of film fans discover “Angel And The Badman”, this little gem of a movie becomes more and more treasured as one of John Wayne’s best. I discovered the film only a few months ago, and after several viewings, “Angel And The Badman” has replaced “The Quiet Man” as my favorite movie with Wayne. AATB is not an epic masterpiece like “The Searchers”, but this little “B” western has the heart, soul and sweetness to be a sentimental favorite, even among John Ford masterpiece movies.The main reason for the power of this little modest “B” western is Gail Russell. Her adorable presence, and the amazing chemistry she has with John Wayne move AATB many levels above the expectations for a “B” western. Minus Gail Russell, AATB is just another minor 40’s western. With Gail, AATB becomes a minor masterpiece. I had heard of Gail Russell and had read of her described as a “troubled, moderately good actress”. I saw her for the first time in AATB, and was absolutely bowled over by her presence and acting. Gail had star presence without even trying; the camera loved her and you cannot take your eyes off her, even with John Wayne on screen! And I saw an accomplished actress who could command a scene wordlessly with just her amazing gorgeous eyes and expressive, sensitive, delicately beautiful face. I could not believe that there were critics who could describe the Gail I saw in AATB as a “moderate actress”.Of course, I soon began to understand the contradiction as I read the bits and pieces I could find about Gail’s troubled life.The key to Gail’s superb and moving performance as “Penny” in AATB is that she was comfortable, happy, and healthy which boosted her self-confidence, enabling her wonderful turn as “Penny”. It was John Wayne himself who ensured that Gail was well taken care of. Warned by Paramount of Gail’s shyness and drinking to boost her self-confidence, Wayne went to extraordinary measures to ensure that there was no alcohol available to Gail, that she ate healthy, and was not isolated and reclusive and in the course of such care, Wayne spent a lot of time with Gail. Unaccustomed to being treated so special and well, 21-year-old Gail soon developed a big crush on the then-39-year-old John Wayne. Initially just protecting his big investment borrowing Gail from Paramount, Wayne himself soon grew very attached to his young female co-star, although his affections for her were very fatherly rather than romantic. Wayne understood Gail’s anxiety problems as he had overcome anxiety as a young boy himself.The playful, fun, affectionate interaction on screen between John Wayne and Gail Russell is what makes AATB such a special movie. By making film production, playful, fun, and unstressful, Wayne kept Gail’s anxiety away and her acting was superb as a result. (A terrible shame that other directors and producers could not have been so understanding of Gail as John Wayne was.)This Olive Films Blu-Ray edition of “Angel And The Badman" is as superbly produced as the firm’s Blu-Ray production of “Wake Of The Red Witch” reviewed earlier. Sound is excellent and video clear; pausing the video and stepping frame-by-frame reveals an astonishing clarity for this 1947 released film. Again, just as in the firm’s Blu-Ray production of “Wake Of The Red Witch”, absolutely excellent technical work by the Olive FIlms crew on this Blu-Ray Disc of “Angel And The Badman”.“Angel And The Badman” is a special film worth buying in Blu-Ray for several reasons:(A) It was the very first film produced by John Wayne’s newly established production company which existed as “John Wayne Productions” 1946-1951, became “Wayne/Fellows Productions 1952-1955, and “Batjac Productions” 1956-1974.(B)It was one of the final film performances of pioneer Hollywood actor Harry Carey. He had arrived in 1913 in Hollywood, often working with legendary director D.W. Griffith, at the beginning of the Hollywood film industry. Harry Carey died of lung cancer in September, 1947, seven months after the movie’s release. Harry Carey was highly respected, and along with William S. Hart was the most influential star to the following generations of western movie actors including John Wayne. Like Hart, Carey strived for gritty realism and a genuine look in his westerns, avoiding the flashy clothes and gear of the likes of Tom Mix, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers.(C)The movie is regarded as one of the finest performances in Gail Russell’s short career. Not satisfied with the Republic actresses available at the time, out of his small budget, Wayne paid Paramount $125,000 to borrow Gail Russell. Wayne's film editor Harry Keller said, “She was just so beautiful. No one, not even Elizabeth Taylor, was as beautiful as Gail”.

James Edward Grant wrote, John Wayne produced but Grant misdirected this messy combination of romance, religious preaching and gunplay. A great cast, fine writing but poor score and amateurish direction make for an odd experience. Worth your while, but you'll have a hard time avoiding the fast forward button occasionally.

This is by far and away the finest print I have ever seen of this film. This Blu-ray disc is virtually pristine. The black-and-white is crisp and sharp with beautiful contrast throughout. Although I would not quite put this film in the same category as one of the John Ford classic westerns he made with Mr. Wayne, it is a very good movie with a few different twists to it. The female lead, Gail Patrick is astoundingly beautiful. The way she looks of John Wayne throughout this film makes one feel there’s more going on here than just acting.There are a few of the character actors one comes to expect when watching a John Wayne film and they’re all terrific. Olin Howard is the telegraph operator gives a great performance and is really enjoyable and quite humorous in every scene he appears in. The disc does not come with any extra features, but that’s OK. The beautiful quality of this black and white film is plenty good enough. I’d score this 8 out of 10.

This movie, though considered a "B" class western typical of the studio that made it, is one of six (6) contract movies (including "The Quiet Man") for Republic Pictures. It was made in 1947 by a young John Wayne as he moves to star and "A" class movie westerns and dramas.A strong cast with just a bit of some hammy acting supports this movie. You will notice early and consistent perennial casting for Bruce Cabot (star of original 1930s movie "King Kong") in John Wayne western and drama movies. Here he is a "bad" guy and protagonist of Wayne. Also the father of Harry Carey, Jr. (who also frequents Wayne movies), Harry Carey, Sr. stars as a Marshal who is skeptical of Wayne's reform potential. Doe eyed Gail Russell is the Quaker lady love interest for Wayne. Here she lobbies for (bad guy -"gray hat") Wayne to put aside his guns and not shoot it out with Cabot as she both nurses him back to health from a gun shot wound and falls for Wayne.A generally good western and a definite must have in your Wayne movie collection next to your 1939 Ford directed and Wayne premiered "Stagecoach" western DVD.

Buena edición en disco prensado buena calidad de imagen con mínimos detalles que no afectan el conjunto del film. Gaill Russel estupenda en su mejor momento Titulo imprescindible y poco valorado para los amantes del género clásico

and a must for every collector.The story goes like this: An outlaw - J.W. - is shot up badly and gets nursed by a Quaker family. The innocent daughter falls in love with this extraordinary man who uses his reputation as a gunman to ease the settlers problems with some not so nice neighbors.The showdown is spectacular and not heroic at all.

Considering this film is about 70 years old this blu-ray is GREAT,English Audio without fixed subtitles,beautiful picture quality,and great sound,all in all this is a MUST-BUY for western fans,HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.Davy Cairns,Scotland.ps,The Customer Service from Amazon Spain was excellent!!!

Good quality picture and sound transfer to Blu Ray, plays perfectly for the UK in English and it is easy to select the original English soundtrack and turn off subtitles.

pues nada mas que eso, simplemente no se ve , ni en bluray, ni en ninguna de otra forma, nada