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Actors: John Wayne, Gail Russell
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Angel and the Badman |
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Quirt Evans is injured while fleeing a gun battle and the local marshal is trying to find him, too. His horse throws him near a farm. It happens to be run by a Quaker family, who resolves to care for Evans until he has healed. While recuperating at the Worth home, he falls in love with their beautiful daughter, Penny (Russell). He learns from her that his way of the gun is antithetical to their religious practices. Either Penny or Quirt must change their fast beliefs or forfeit the tentative relationship, which is put to the test when the desperadoes, led by Laredo Stevens (Cabot), eventually catch up with Evans.
There is a horrible colorized version available. The original is in black and white.
--ldpaulson, Resident Scholar
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Unlike many of today's movies, which often glorify anti-social behavior, the westerns of the 1940s and 1950s followed a formula whereby the good guys stuck to their principles, overcame the challenges posed by the bad guys, emerged victorious and won the heart of the heroine in the end.
In "Angel and the Badman" this plot formula is modified somewhat. Quirt Evans (John Wayne) shuns the stable and predictable life of a farmer and prefers action and easy money. He doesn't particularly care which side of the law he operates on having been both a deputy sheriff as well as occasional cattle rustler and gunslinger. It is the heroine, Penelope Worth (played by Gail Russell) who sticks to her principles, overcomes the challenges that Quirt brings into her family's life and wins the heart of Quirt in the end.
Quirt and Penelope meet within the first minute or so of the film when the wounded Quirt, hurrying to town to record a deed on some parcels of land he has swindled another bad guy out of, collapses in front of Penelope's parents' farm. She immediately falls in love with him and nurses him back to health.
Penelope and her parents are Quakers and live by the principles of their faith. But they are neither naive pacifists nor otherworldly zealots. They have a good home, enjoy good food and the company of others. Even though he abhors guns and does not own one, Penelope's father both welcomes Quirt into his home and allows Quirt to keep his gun while there.
On the wall in the bedroom occupied by Quirt as he recovers from his wound is a plaque that reads "A man of integrity cannot be harmed by the actions of another. He can only be harmed by his own actions." Penelope explains the meaning of this to a skeptical Quirt by saying that it is the consequences of our own misguided and violent actions, not the harmful actions of others, that damage us the most in life. As Quirt vacillates in the movie between a life of love and stability with Penelope and the action and excitement of his life before Penelope this theme of one's own actions being the determinant of one's fate is played out repeatedly for both Quirt and his nemesis Laredo Stevens (played by Bruce Cabot).
Both Wayne and Russell give good performances and their characters come across as very believable and likable. There is the usual action expected in westerns – a bar fight, some gun fights, a chase scene, etc. But it also has a good story and plot, both of which result in about an hour and a half or so of enjoyable viewing. I saw the movie on TV but it is also available on video and has been recently released DVD.
--Chuck Nugent, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Angel and the Badman |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 19th century
Crime & Scandal
Yes
Story of
- criminal becomes sensitive
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- cowboy
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Body type
- (man) muscular
Events of movie makes character more...
- sensitive
- caring
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
- hard edged
Sense of humor?
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Body type
- (woman) average
How much in movie?
- 40%
- 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
- gang
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 20%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Southwest
Farm/Ranch?
Yes
Farm/Ranch:
- ranch
- lot of descript of animal care
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Movie makes you feel...
- very happy
- thoughtful
Check here if B&W
Yes
Any profanity?
- None
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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