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Good story, Not enough for a whole film

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

I absolutely love this movie. I like how it's different because we see a deceased gangster who was trapped in a polite judge's body in order to kill his killer.Paul Muni's attitude and accent was just so spot. I was even glad that Claude Rains from the "Invisible Man" movie was Satan on this. Yea I know hes known as Nick in the movie, but you know well he's playing as the lord of the fire underground! I definitely give this a 9/10, it's brilliant and like you would wish they didn't have to do an 80's version of this! This is better, watch this instead please!

For many years I avoided films with Paul Muni because I identified him too much with a film genre I generally don't enjoy -- gangster pics. Then I recently caught a couple of non-gangster pics ("The Last Angry Man" and "The Story of Louis Pasteur"), and decided I needed to give Muni another chance.But, you can't win them all. This film was a good idea, but never succeeded in fulfilling its potential. The first problem, which is very obvious, is the very poor and cheap special effects in the beginning of the picture. I'm not talking about poor special effects in comparison to Toyoda's films, but poor special effects even for the late 1940s.Second is Muni's role itself, particularly in the first half of the film. They pretty much pull out every stereotype about old-fashioned gangsters they could think of. Very stereotypical. Later in the film, when Muni's character begins to go straight, Muni makes the character a little more three-dimensional. It's almost too much of a change to tolerate in a 100 minute film. First half, traditional gangster. Second half a performance good enough to make me want to see much more of Paul Muni.There are some things that work here. First off, Claude Rains is great as the Devil. He doesn't overplay the role, just a very nice conservative performance...that works.Anne Baxter is pretty good here as the female lead. Everyone else is very secondary, but they all do their jobs.In terms of the plot -- good idea. But for the first half of the film it just sort of muddles through until the transformation of the main character begins. Some will be disappointed in the conclusion of the film, but it's a logical ending.I do have one gripe. Why do many people describe this as comedy. It's not. Period.The first half of this film is a "D" for me, while the second half is a good solid "B". So, I'll give it a C...a "7".

Paul Muni is intense and dumb as the gangster Eddie Kagle. Claude Rains is gleeful and wicked as the Devil. They're the main reasons to watch this classic and enjoyable film. This was Archie Mayo's last film. He had directed some very good ones in the 1920's through the 1940's, including "the Petrified Forest." It is not a bad film to end a career on. Basically, this is a medieval morality tale brought up to date by putting it squarely in the Gangster Film genre of the golden age of Hollywood. For the most part evil/sin/hell is equated with gangster/violence/ignorance. The post theological, scientific view that crime is a function of social and economic conditions in a society is abandoned for the more primitive religious view that evil souls are placed in material bodies at birth. Salvation comes through love, sacrifice and the good fortune of hearing religious anti-devil preaching. While communist/socialist writers and actors did influence many movies of the period, we should remember that the rigid Catholic Morality Hays code was king at this time, and quasi religious films involving angels and devils were quite common. In one way these films are so absurd they subvert the conceptual paradigm of angels and devils. On the other hand, they lend support to and reinforce this type of primitive thinking. Anne Baxter (All About Eve) is delightful in the small role of Muni's fiancé. The sets, cinematography and sound are all top notch for the period. This is a good companion film to "Here Comes Mr. Jordan."

Paul Muni leads a talented cast in Archie Mayo's dark comedy about a wise-guy (Eddie Kagle/Muni) who, murdered, finds himself entangled in one of Satan's (Claude Rains) schemes to outwit his arch-rival and steal the soul of a righteous judge who happens to look exactly like Kagle. Kagle is willing to do the devil's handiwork as long as he can get revenge upon his murderer. But living vicariously in the life of a good man (Judge Parker), loved by an even better woman (Barbara/Anne Baxter) Kagle begins to question the evils of his life.While Angel on my Shoulder is not quite a redemption story, it endows its characters with just enough conscience to make them sympathetic. The characterizations are strong - especially for the three leads - Muni, Rains and Baxter. All three are excellent, and help to make the film worth watching. The script is good, and occasionally very clever, but also slips once in a while. The pace is steady though not brisk. The cinematography is, at times, a bit hokey, but this fits the occasional lapses into silliness which the story indulges.Recommended for young adults and older adults. Aspects of the film may frighten younger viewers and some of the key humor may not be appropriate for kids.