George Raft, Claire Trevor and Signe Hasso starred in the film-noir thriller Johnny Angel. Released on October 25, 1945, it was a significant hit for RKO, a studio known for film-noir.
This film revolves around George’s quest to find his father’s killer. The supporting cast is first-rate, the script absorbing, and the filming appropriately moody.
The film featured Hoagy Carmichael who wrote and performed “Memphis in June”, a tune that has since been covered by many artists including Nina Simone and Annie Lennox.
From the emotional moments to the action sequences to the romantic scenes, this was a spot-on performance from George. In all respects, he was the right man for the role and the box office net reflected audience agreement.
Johnny Angel is a solid entry in the film-noir genre as well as a memorable role for George. Many of his films have been lost to contemporary audiences, but you can view dozens of them from the movies section of this site. The DVD is available at Amazon and on occasion Johnny Angel can be seen on TCM.