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We're
No Angels
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Ustinov, Bogart and Ray play three convicts who have escaped from Devil's Island on Christmas
Eve, 1895. Needing to hide from the police in town until they can get to a
Paris-bound ship in the harbor, they volunteer to fix the roof of Mr.
Ducotel's shop. They also intend to steal from the shop and the family after dark and make their getaway. Mr.
Ducatel naively tells his wife, "I'll say one thing for crooks --
they'll give you an honest day's work."| Albert: | "If only they didn't trust us!" |
| Jules: | "It isn't fair. Here we are, three desperate criminals, who will stop at nothing to escape from Devil's Island, and we have to fall in with NICE people." |
| Joseph: | "You guys act like you don't want to cut their throats." |
| Jules: | "Well, speaking for myself I'd just as soon not." |
| Albert: | "After all, it might spoil their Christmas." |
| Joseph: | "I don't care how nice they are, they're not going to soften me up. We're escaping, and this is our only chance. We came here to rob them and that's what we're gonna do -- beat their heads in, gouge their eyes out, cut their throats -- as soon as we wash the dishes." |
Fortunately, Andre Trochard (Rathbone) arrives from France -- a thoroughly unlikeable Ducotel
cousin who not only has money, but also a passport and return boat ticket!
Trochard is accompanied by his nephew Paul, the young man who jilted Isabelle.
Paul turns out to be as greedy and selfish as his uncle. The three convicts
gleefully anticipate robbing the Trochards.
Andre
Trochard owns the shop run by the Ducotels and, suspecting his relatives of
embezzlement or incompetence, he insists on inspecting the financial records immediately. The three convicts
want to help the Ducotels, so Joseph plans to "doctor" the books
to show Trochard that the business makes a profit. But cousin Andre takes
the books before Joseph has a chance to fix them.
Trochard tells Isabelle to forget about Paul, since she is not good enough for him. When Isabelle calls Trochard "wicked," he replies "Your opinion of me has no cash value."
Albert, one of the three convicts, has with him his poisonous pet snake Adolf, which he keeps in a small basket with a handle. When Trochard sees the basket, he thinks that the convicts are stealing something from the shop, so he takes the basket. They warn Trochard not to open the basket, but he pays no attention to them and takes the basket to his room. A few minutes later, the convicts find that Adolf has bitten Trochard and he is dead. But Adolf has disappeared, and the three convicts cannot leave a poisonous snake in the house. Jules quips, "He's probably recuperating somewhere. After all, he bit Trochard -- he'll die without the antidote." Mr. Ducotel is not sorry about his cousin's death. "He had a number of good points, I'm sure. I just can't think of any."
Joseph forges Andre Trochard's signature to a will leaving
everything to the Ducotels. Discovering the will, Paul destroys it so that
he can inherit all. "Sentiment has no cash value." As Paul is
going through his uncle's pockets, he finds Adolf, with deadly
consequences.
The doctor who comes to the house to sign the death certificate is perfect for Isabelle, so all ends well for the Ducotel family and the three convicts say goodbye. Instead of making their escape, however, the convicts decide to return to prison!
Rathbone plays the villain to perfection, but his appearance is brief and the role is not very challenging to Rathbone's talents. The other actors also contributed fine performances, making this a very enjoyable film. We don't see any of the swashbuckling sword fights which Michael Curtiz handles so well, yet his expert direction is evident in the pace of this film. It never lingers too long in one scene, but moves along swiftly to the next.
Facts about Devil's Island:
Devil's Island was a French penal colony in Guyana, in use from 1852 to
1946. It is the infamous disease-infested hell-hole
from which Papillon* escaped, and definitely not the kind of place anyone
would voluntarily return to, having once escaped. At least a dozen films
have been made in which the plot takes place on Devil's Island, and most
of those depict the horrors of the prison, horrors which included
starvation and torture. Some criminals were permitted
to work in the colony, which would explain why, in "We're No
Angels," neither the Ducotel
family nor customers that come to the shop seem surprised that three
convicts are working there. Paroled convicts would also work to earn their
passage home.
*"Papillon" was the nickname of Henri Charriere, whose story was
told in the 1973 film "Papillon" starring Steve McQueen.
The 1989 movie "We're No Angels" starring Robert DeNiro and Sean Penn seems to be only loosely based on the 1955 film. The plot is very different, and the film does not advertise itself as either a remake of the 1955 film or a film based on a play by Albert Husson.
Aldo Ray, Peter Ustinov, and Basil Rathbone
See Page Two for more pictures from "We're No Angels"
Cast |
Credits |
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| Humphrey
Bogart........................Joseph Aldo Ray........................................Albert Peter Ustinov...................................Jules Basil Rathbone.............Andre Trochard Joan Bennett..................Amelie Ducotel Leo G. Carroll......................Felix Ducotel John Baer..........................Paul Trochard Gloria Talbott................Isabelle Ducotel Lea Penman.........................Mme. Parole John Smith...................................Arnaud Louis Mercier..............................Celeste George Dee.............................Coachman Torben Meyer..................Butterfly Man Paul "Tiny" Newlan...........Port Captain Ross Gould................................Foreman Victor Romito..........................Gendarme Jack Del Rio.............................Gendarme Joe Ploski.................Customs Inspector |
Production
Co. ....................Paramount Producer..............................Pat Duggan Director...........................Michael Curtiz Screenplay............Ranald MacDougall (based on a play by Albert Husson) Cinematographer..............Loyal Griggs Editor.............................Arthur Schmidt Music Composer...Frederick Hollander Art Directors.........................Hal Pereira ....................................Roland Anderson Set Decorators.....................Sam Comer .........................................Grace Gregory Special Effects...............John P. Fulton Costume Design.................Mary Grant Make Up.....................Wally Westmore |
Images on this page and page two are from the film "We're No Angels", copyright 1955 by Paramount.
