Angel and the Badman

NR 6.8
1947 1 hr 40 min Adventure , Action , Western , Romance

Notorious shootist and womanizer Quirt Evans' horse collapses as he passes a Quaker family's home. Quirt has been wounded, and the kindly family takes him in to nurse him back to health against the advice of others. The handsome Evans quickly attracts the affections of their beautiful daughter, Penelope. He develops an affection for the family and their faith, but his troubled past follows him.

  • Cast:
    John Wayne , Gail Russell , Harry Carey , Bruce Cabot , Irene Rich , Lee Dixon , Tom Powers

Similar titles

The Quick and the Dead
The Quick and the Dead
A mysterious woman comes to compete in a quick-draw elimination tournament, in a town taken over by a notorious gunman.
The Quick and the Dead 1995
White Fang
White Fang
Jack London's classic adventure story about the friendship developed between a Yukon gold hunter and the mixed dog-wolf he rescues from the hands of a man who mistreats him.
White Fang 1991
The Thief of Bagdad
The Thief of Bagdad
When Prince Ahmad is blinded and cast out of Bagdad by the nefarious Jaffar, he joins forces with the scrappy thief Abu to win back his royal place, as well as the heart of a beautiful princess.
The Thief of Bagdad 1940
Enter the Ninja
Enter the Ninja
After completing his training of ninjutsu within Japan, an American Angolan Bush War veteran by the name of Cole visits his war buddy Frank Landers and his newly wed wife Mary Ann, who are the owners of a large piece of farming land in the Philippines. Cole soon finds that the Landers are being repeatedly harassed by a CEO named Charles Venarius.
Enter the Ninja 1981
Black Dog
Black Dog
An ex-con takes a job driving a truck cross country. What he doesn't know is that the truck is filled with illegal weapons and now he must fight to survive and save his family.
Black Dog 1998
Assault on Precinct 13
Assault on Precinct 13
The lone inhabitants of an abandoned police station are under attack by the overwhelming numbers of a seemingly unstoppable street gang.
Assault on Precinct 13 1976
Clear and Present Danger
Clear and Present Danger
Agent Jack Ryan becomes acting Deputy Director of Intelligence for the CIA when Admiral Greer is diagnosed with cancer. When an American businessman, and friend of the president, is murdered on his yacht, Ryan starts discovering links between the man and drug dealers. As former CIA agent John Clark is sent to Colombia to kill drug cartel kingpins in retaliation, Ryan must fight through multiple cover-ups to figure out what happened and who's responsible.
Clear and Present Danger 1994
The Gauntlet
The Gauntlet
Phoenix cop Ben Shockley is well on his way to becoming a derelict when he is assigned to transport a witness from Las Vegas. The witness turns out to be a belligerent prostitute with mob ties—and incriminating information regarding a high-ranking figure.
The Gauntlet 1977
Midnight Special
Midnight Special
A father and son go on the run after the dad learns his child possesses special powers.
Midnight Special 2016
The Gunfighter
The Gunfighter
The fastest gun in the West tries to escape his reputation.
The Gunfighter 1950

Reviews

Hellen
1947/02/15

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

... more
Claysaba
1947/02/16

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

... more
Taraparain
1947/02/17

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

... more
Brainsbell
1947/02/18

The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

... more
disinterested_spectator
1947/02/19

The "badman" in this movie is Quirt Evans. Since he is played by John Wayne, we wonder, "Just how bad can he be?" I mean, has John Wayne ever played a badman in the movies? It turns out, much as we suspected, that for all the talk about his being a badman, it seems to be just that, talk. Apparently, he once worked as a lawman for Wyatt Earp. Then he became a cattleman for a while. But one day, Wall Ennis, the man who raised Quirt like a father, was shot down by Laredo Stevens (Bruce Cabot) while another man grabbed his hand as he was going for his gun. That's when Quirt sold his herd and began plaguing Laredo, hoping to goad him into a gunfight in front of witnesses. For example, when Laredo and his gang rustle some cattle, killing all the cowboys who were herding them, Quirt and his boys bonk Laredo's gang over the head, knocking them off their horses. Then Quirt's gang takes off with the cattle and presumably sells them. I guess the idea is that the cattle were already stolen, so what Quirt did was not really so bad.Before that however, at the beginning of the movie, Quirt beats Laredo to some land he wanted. Laredo's gang chases him until he collapses from exhaustion and a gunshot wound. A couple of Quakers help him get to a telegraph station to make the claim and then take him in so that he can convalesce. One Quaker in particular, Penny (Gail Russell), is the "angel" in this movie.Dr. Mangram (Tom Powers) comes over to take the bullet out. He makes a snide remark about the way the wicked always seem to be able to survive gunshot wounds while the godly succumb to infection, and Penny's father chastises him, saying, "You so-called atheists. You always feel so compelled to stretch your godlessness." With this brief exchange, the movie expresses its attitude toward atheists. First, the atheist is rude and churlish, entering the house of a family he knows to be devout and mocking their religion. For a long time in the movies, atheists were never allowed to be congenial and easygoing, as in reality, many of them are. Movie atheists had to let everyone know just how much they despised religion. Second, this movie was made at a time when a lot of people believed that there really was no such thing as an atheist, that their denial of God's existence was a self-deluding pretense. Hence the use of the term "so-called."Another feature of the stereotypical movie atheist is the emphasis on reality and logic, at the expense of sentiment and feeling. Mangram says to Penny's mother, "You can carry this head-in-sand attitude just so far in the world of reality." She replies, "We assure you that you will finally realize that realism untempered by sentiments of humanity is really just a mean, hard, cold outlook on life." She is right, of course. But that is precisely the sort of thing David Hume might have said. In reality, atheists have as much sentiment as anyone else, but movie atheists tend to lack these feelings.Anyway, Quirt and Penny fall in love. She is willing to follow him anywhere, but he is not sure he wants to be tied down. So this struggle goes on throughout the movie, while she acquaints him with the views of the Society of Friends, such as that a person can harm only himself, even if he appears to harm someone else. One day, she gets him to leave his gun behind while they go for a ride. As this is shortly after the cattle rustling incident, Laredo and his boys show up and give chase until the wagon goes over a cliff and into the water. Penny almost drowns. Quirt gets her back to the house and Dr. Mangram is sent for. When it looks as though Penny is likely to die, Quirt decides to kill Laredo.Right after he rides off, Penny comes to. She seems to be completely well. Mangram is stunned. "I can't understand it," he says. "I can't understand it at all. There must be some logical, scientific explanation. I am too old to start believing in miracles." And thus does the movie refute the atheist.A common feature of the Western is the gunslinger with a guilty past. He wants to hang up his guns, but there is one last thing he must do. Another recurring feature involves revenge. The hero relentlessly pursues his goal of getting his revenge against a man who killed someone he loved. But when the moment arrives, he renounces his revenge. However, the man he was pursuing somehow gets what is coming to him anyway.And so it is with "Angel and the Badman." Quirt rides into town and calls out Laredo, who is in the saloon with the sidekick who helped him gun down Wall Ennis. Suddenly, Penny's parents ride into town in a wagon with Penny in the back. She gets Quirt to hand her his gun. Just then, Laredo and his companion step out into the street. Quirt turns around unarmed. And then Marshall McClintock (Harry Carey), who has been threatening to hang Quirt and Laredo throughout the movie, shoots Laredo and his friend, killing them both. Quirt tells McClintock that from now on he is a farmer.It is worth noting that, although Penny and her family would have been disappointed with Quirt if he had killed Laredo, they are just fine with the way McClintock killed Laredo instead. In other words, pacifists manage survive in a violent world, because someone else is willing to do the killing for them.

... more
Edgar Allan Pooh
1947/02/20

. . . in the Election Year of 2016, though ANGEL AND THE BADMAN is so ancient that not only is most of the cast deceased, but the vast majority of its original movie theater audiences, as well. While some Presidential Primary voters may misread this title as ANGEL VERSUS BADMAN (predicting a Hillary vs. Trump contest), this John Wayne flick actually is eerily accurate in outlining the main features of the on-going Water Crisis in Flint, MI. Playing the part of businessman-turned-governor is "Frederick Carson," who shuts off the Poor People's access to Fresh Mountain Stream Water, forcing them to drink from lead-contaminated wells. Rather than backing Carson as his long-standing adherence to Rich People Party Principles in Real Life would require, John Wayne's "Quirt" (rhymes with "squirt") talks Carson into a less lucrative policy of sharing Unpoisoned Water with the normal people. As if this weren't far-fetched enough for one flick, Quirt then gives up his six-shooter (like Montgomery Clift at the end of RED RIVER). Probably the vast majority of folks seeing this in the theaters expected Wayne to shout out "Just kidding, folks!" before the lights came up. It's as if Darth Vader has resigned his position to open a Petting Zoo.

... more
utgard14
1947/02/21

Very different John Wayne film. A romantic western, if you will. Wayne plays notorious gunslinger Quirt Evans, who is wounded and nursed back to health by a Quaker family. The sweet and innocent daughter, Penelope (Gail Russell), falls in love with Quirt. But the gunfighter's got some bad guys to deal with, chiefly an hombre named Laredo (Bruce Cabot). Quirt will have to choose between his way and the Quaker way, which means choosing Penelope or the gun.John Wayne is really good in this one. He's a very underrated actor that is often slighted by people that don't like the man, usually because they don't like his politics or something along those lines. But he was actually a very good actor who brought depth to most of the characters he played. Here he gets to show his softer side and it's one of his best performances from the '40s. Gail Russell is young and very pretty here. She does a great job in one of her two best-known films (the other being The Uninvited). Russell and Wayne have terrific chemistry. It's sad how her life turned out as she had the potential to be one of the greats. Harry Carey, Sr. plays a grizzled old marshal dubious of whether Quirt can change. As was often the case, he stands out above the pack. An excellent actor who could say more with a smile or a look than most could with a page of dialogue. Amusingly there are characters in this movie named Hondo and McClintock, both names for future Wayne characters. It's a charming and enjoyable western that fans of the Duke will love but also I think people who don't normally like westerns can enjoy.

... more
Spikeopath
1947/02/22

Angel and the Badman is written and directed by James Edward Grant. It stars John Wayne, Gail Russell, Harry Carey, Bruce Cabot, Irene Rich, Lee Dixon and Stephen Grant. Music is by Richard Hageman and cinematography by Archie J. Stout.Quirt Evans (Wayne), a notorious gunman is hurt and on the run. Taken in by The Worth's, a Quaker family, Quirt forms a "special" bond with daughter Penelope (Russell). With the law and other badmen on his tail, will Quirt change his ways before it's too late? John Wayne's first film as a producer and star is also his most romantic. That's not to say it lacks action or Wayne's fine tuning of his macho image is halted, because that's not the case, but this carries a dreamy like old fashioned value that has helped the film endear over the years. It's a touch too slow at times for its own good and runs for ten minutes longer than was needed, things that no doubt stunted its financial growth at the 1947 box office, but there is much to enjoy here.Technical values are high, from Stout's photography that beautifully realises locations in Sedona, Arizona (Monument Valley standing out, naturally!), to cast performances from Carey, Wayne and the gorgeous Miss Russell (chemistry unbound between the three actors), film never lacks for quality. Memorable scenes are plenty, such as The Duke sitting in a chair facing down three henchmen led by Cabot's Laredo Stevens; his gun empty, a free-for-all punch up in a saloon, and some very tender moments between Wayne and Russell. While narratively there's the deft pitching of Quaker values into a wild west setting.A lovely film which also manages to pump the adrenaline as well. 7.5/10DVD version viewed was Region 2 taken out of the John Wayne Out West 6 film Box Set. A good quality black and white print.

... more