We're No Angels

Premiered July 7, 1955.

Joseph:As soon as it gets dark, we'll help ourselves.  

Albert:The old man might object.

Joseph:If he gets in our way, it'll be just too bad for him.  We'll climb down off his roof and cut his throat for a Christmas present.

Albert:That's the kind of thing that could make you stop believing in Santa Claus.

This year's series of "Oscar Takes A Holiday" reviews begins with We're No Angels, which features multiple Academy Award winners.

Film legend Humphrey Bogart won Best Actor for playing Charlie Allnut in The African Queen. 

Humphrey Bogart, accompanied by his wife Lauren Bacall, celebrates his Oscar win.

It was directed by Michael Curtiz, who won a Best Director Oscar for Casablanca, which of course also featured Bogart.

Michael Curtiz poses with the Oscar he won for directing Casablanca.

Peter Ustinov won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor, the first for Spartacus and another for Topkapi.

Peter Ustinov celebrates his Spartacus Oscar with fellow-winner Shirley Jones at the 1961 ceremony.

On to today's review:

On Christmas Eve, 1895, a trio of convicts named Joseph (Humphrey Bogart)...

 Albert (Peter Ustinov)...

and Jules (Aldo Ray), escape from Devil's Island prison.  

They're accompanied by Jules' pet viper snake Adolphe, who spends most of his time in a carry-case. It's easy for them to hide in plain sight on the island, since lots of convicts are out working on parole.

They visit a store owned by Felix Ducotel (Leo G. Carroll) and offer to repair his damaged roof.  They're true intent is to kill Felix, his wife Amelie (Joan Bennett) and their daughter Isabelle (Gloria Talbott) and rob them, then flee Devil's Island on the next boat out.

Felix and his store have been going through a rough patch.  The store has been losing money and Felix is dreading a Christmas visit from Andre Tochard (Basil Rathbone), his cousin and financial benefactor.  Andre knows about Felix's problems and plans to remove Felix from the business.

Isabelle is excited about Andre's visit because he's bringing along his son and sole heir Paul (John Baer).  She's in love with Paul but doesn't know if the feeling is mutual.

As part of their "murder plot," the convicts decide to help Felix.  Joseph, whose criminal specialty was falsifying documents, offers to "adjust" the financial records and save the Ducotel's family business.  Joseph also impresses the Ducotels with his "business acumen" when he manages to sell a hairbrush and comb set to a bald man!

In exchange for their help, Amelie invites the convicts to Christmas Eve dinner.  Albert, Jules and Joseph decorate the house... 

...and prepare a turkey for Christmas dinner. 

The trio even serenades the Ducotels with a Christmas song.  The family invites them to spend the night, not knowing that the convicts have planned to kill them and take their money.

The holiday celebrations are interrupted when Felix's cousin Andre arrives and immediately throws his weight around and belittles everyone in the house.  Andre demands to see the financial records before Joseph has a chance to "fix" them.  

The convicts also learn that Paul is not in love with Isabelle and he plans to tell her so. 

The scenario gets even more complicated when Adolphe the snake goes missing!  

Will Joseph, Jules and Albert go through with their plans to rob and murder the Ducotels?  Can they prevent Andre from learning the financial conditions of Felix's store?  What will happen between Paul and Isabelle? 

J.A. Morris says:

When I was a kid, I was a huge fan of Humphrey Bogart and made every effort to watch every one of his films.  However, We're No Angels was not a movie that was readily available on TV or home video.  That's changed in the last decade and this movie is now part of TCM's annual Christmas programming.  

And that's a good thing, because We're No Angels is lots of fun!  Bogart, Peter Ustinov and Aldo Ray make a great trio and Basil Rathbone is delightfully sleazy as Andre.  Jules' pet snake Adolphe also plays an important role in the film, but to say more about Adolphe would spoil jokes and plot points. 

Bogart didn't appear in many comedies, and he shows off some nice, subtle comic timing here.  It's a shame he didn't squeeze in a few more humorous roles during his career.  Leo G. Carroll, Joan Bennett and Gloria Talbott provide solid support as the Ducotels.   

Some viewers may have a problem with some of the darker jokes.  The "angels" don't express much sympathy for a guard they "tried to kill" during their escape from Devil's Island.  Albert makes multiple jokes about killing his wife (which is one reason he's in prison), not something you usually hear in Christmas movies!  However, 30 minutes into the movie, it's obvious that (SPOILER ALERT), this is a trio of "whimsical" criminals who will commit no violent crimes during the film's running time.  

We're No Angels is based on a stage play called My Three Angels, which was adapted from French play titled La Cuisine Des Anges by Albert Husson.  

We're No Angels has a great ensemble cast and is filled with funny moments and is recommended to all fans of holiday films, especially film fans who enjoy a side of dark humor with their eggnog.  It's a nice excuse to spend time watching "Bogie" every December.  

J.A. Morris's rating: 

4 candy canes!

RigbyMel says:

We're No Angels was unknown to me until a couple of years ago, when we watched it on TCM, which is a shame because it is a delight.   This comedy features excellent performances by Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov and Aldo Ray as criminals who turn out to have hearts of gold.    

The holiday setting helps to keep the viewer off balance initially.  Then Christmas works its transformative power on our criminals who have a change of heart thanks to the warmth and kindness of their erstwhile victims, the Ducotel family.   

From thence, our non-angelic trio tries to fix the Ducotel's financial and familial difficulties...by any means necessary.   We even get an unexpectedly heroic turn from Adolphe the Viper! 

I really love the dry wit of the dialogue throughout this script, as well as Basil Rathbone's obvious enjoyment at playing cousin Andre, the REAL villain of the piece. 

Another unexpected treat in this film is that the audience gets to hear Bogart, Ustinov, and Ray SING during the family Christmas party scene.   The words concerning angels were written for the movie, but the tune is an old hymn tune called "St. Athanasius" which has had many different lyrics set to it over time.    The singing is far from gorgeous, but is utterly appropriate for the characters and charming in that appropriateness.  

Moreover, I agree with J.A. Morris that it would have been nice to see Bogie in other comedic roles since he handles this one so well. 

Interestingly, Joan Bennett who plays Amelie Ducotel had been caught up in a tabloid scandal a few years prior to this movie -- her husband shot her manager!  Although it was not her fault,  she was tainted by association and was not getting much work.   Humphrey Bogart actually went to bat for her to be cast in this movie as he thought she was treated unfairly -- an example of real-life kindness underpinning a holiday film -- and Bennett's performance is lovely.  

If dry and dark wit is not your thing, We're No Angels is probably not going to resonate with you, but for those that appreciate the humor, this is a non-treacly holiday film that is well worth adding to your seasonal rotation! 

RigbyMel's' rating: 

4 candy canes! 

Looney Tunes: "The Wearing of the Grin"

Premiered July 28, 1951

It is a dark and stormy night and 12 miles to Dublin.   

Porky Pig (Mel Blanc) spies a "quaint old" castle in the distance and decides to see they can give him a place to stay for the night. 

On the way to the castle, he sees a sign that says "Beware the Leprechauns" and scoffs at the idea. 

Upon arrival, Porky is greeted by a "picturesque caretaker of the auld sod" who introduces himself as Seamus O'Toole  (an uncredited John T. Smith).  O'Toole informs him that nobody lives in the castle - apart from himself and the leprechauns. 

Porky scoffs at this again and demands to be taken to a room, slamming the front door.  This causes a mace above the door to fall, knocking Porky out cold. 

The caretaker is revealed to be a couple of leprechauns (calling themselves O'Pat and O'Mike) who, in true fairy fashion, decide to mess with Porky's head after concluding that he has come to steal their pot of gold. 

When Porky comes to, he is escorted to a room by HALF of the caretaker and doesn't notice at first. When he does notice, Porky is terrified and hides in the bed, which turns out to be a trap door! 

Porky drops down a shaft, landing in a leprechaun courtroom.  There the leprechauns charge and convict him of attempting to steal their pot of gold and sentence him to the "wearing of the green shoes." 

At first Porky admires the nice shoes, but soon comes to realize that they are cursed, as his feet begin a frantic Irish jig that dances him through a nightmarish landscape full of Irish symbols while O'Pat and O'Mike laugh at him. 

Will Porky be able to escape the leprechaun's trickery?  Or is he doomed to the "wearing of the green shoes" for all eternity? 

RigbyMel says: 

This Chuck Jones-directed short is the last solo appearance of Porky Pig in the classic era of Looney Tunes.  Porky was Warner Brothers' breakout star when he debuted, but had since been eclipsed by Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny.  

"The Wearing of the Grin" also stands out since there are not all that many St. Patrick's Day themed cartoons out there.   Some might argue that the short doesn't explicitly take place on March 17th, but with all the leprechaun mischief and Irish symbols (like harps and shamrocks), I think it has enough Irish detail to qualify as a "holiday" short.  

The green shoes plot point in this short borrows heavily from Hans Christian Andersen's 1845 fairy tale "The Red Shoes," which concerns a pair of ballet slippers that never let their wearer stop dancing.  His jig through an amazing surrealist Salvador Dali-inspired landscape is quite memorable.  

It's also interesting to note that the title of this short is a reference to "The Wearing of the Green," an old Irish street ballad. 

The animation is a lot of fun to watch and the voice work is - as always - great.  If there's a complaint to be made about this short, it's that the "Irishness" is a bit overly broad and stereotypical, but as this is a cartoon, broad and stereotypical work reasonably well for comedic purposes.  

"The Wearing of the Grin" is a silly and enjoyable short and is worth including in your holiday viewing this March.  

RigbyMel's rating: 

3 shamrocks