With an angel on his shoulder...and the devil in his heart!
Director: Archie Mayo
Producer: Charles R. Rogers
The Devil arranges for a deceased gangster to return to Earth as a well-respected judge to make up for his previous life.
100 min
Rating: 6.4/10
Released
Watch Trailer
Top Cast
Paul Muni
Eddie Kagle/Judge Fredrick Parker
Anne Baxter
Barbara Foster
Claude Rains
Nick
Onslow Stevens
Dr. Matt Higgins
George Cleveland
Albert
Erskine Sanford
Minister
Movie Info
Director: Archie Mayo
Producer: Charles R. Rogers
Production Companies: Premier Productions
Countries: United States of America
Now Streaming On
fuboTV
MGM+ Amazon Channel
MGM Plus
Philo
Pure Flix
IndieFlix
Similar Movies
Summer Catch
2001-08-22
Carry On Cowboy
1965-11-26
The Broken Jug
1937-10-18
2 States
2014-04-17
Get Shorty
1995-10-20
A Life Less Ordinary
1997-10-24
Gothkill
2009-05-12
Broken Embraces
2009-03-18
Let the Sunshine In
2017-09-27
Forbidden Love
1990-04-19
The Edukators
2004-10-25
The Science of Sleep
2006-06-25
True Romance
1993-09-09
Head-On
2004-03-11
Abarten der körperlichen Liebe
1970-05-29
Wild at Heart
1990-08-17
Children of Paradise
1945-03-15
Earth
1996-05-20
Belle Époque
1992-12-04User Reviews
What Others Said
John Chard:
Above average tale of heaven and hell shenanigans.
I have to say that my rating for this film is somewhat clouded because that is exactly what the film's copy was, very cloudy. I can't believe there is not a restoration in line for this film from 1946, it is barely watchable and the sound mix is nigh on impossible to hear.
The film is standard fare as regards the tale of the bad man gets a shot at life again, only here it's with a kicker, and watching this film unfold is never less than interesting without actually pulling up any trees. Paul Muni is fine and plays our main protagonists dual personality with credible verve, and Claude Rains is clearly enjoying himself as the devil of the piece, and I heartily applaud the dark shift the film took for the final reel, yet it is a hard film to recommend unless you can see and hear it properly.
I have no hesitation in watching this film again if a restoration comes to pass, but until then I say approach with caution. 6/10
CinemaSerf:
Claude Rains is at his mischievous best in this fantasy drama as the Devil who decides that he can use a recent arrival in his domain - gangster "Eddie" (Paul Muni) to thwart the goody-goody antics of "Judge Parker", a jurist who has aspirations to run for governor. Now "Eddie" is more than happy with his Satanic proposal and relishes the fun he can have as he takes over the body of the judge and has a whale of a time. Thing is, though, his actions actually start to enhance the reputation of the man he was sent to tarnish, and when he meets Anne Baxter ("Barbara") who is now his new-found fiancée, he rapidly starts to look like he might not be such a great choice for Old Nick after all... Both are on good form, the characters are engaging and as the worm turns, I felt a slight degree of satisfaction as his puppet master has to look on, powerless... The ending isn't great, but I suppose desserts were just all round, and I enjoyed the whole thing.