Synopsis
THE SINNER who became a DEVIL SMASHER!!!
A woman who believes she has been chosen by God to heal people is taken in by a greedy promoter and his shrewish wife to make the rounds of the rural South.
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Angel Baby
Cast
George Hamilton Mercedes McCambridge Joan Blondell Henry Jones Burt Reynolds Salome Jens Roger Clark Dudley Remus R. L. Armstrong Harry Swoger Eddie Firestone Barbara Biggart Bert Williams Victoria Adams Theodore Lehmann Marty Ryan Jimmy Beecham Flora Lane Alan Aric Ruth Martin Davy Biladeau Victor Adamson Jack Berle Willie Bloom Joe Brooks Russell Custer Dyke Davis Duke Fishman Richard George Show All…
Directors
Producers
Writers
Original Writer
Editor
Cinematography
Assistant Director
Additional Photography
Art Direction
Set Decoration
Composer
Sound
Costume Design
Makeup
Hairstyling
Studio
Country
Language
Alternative Titles
Anonima peccati, bébé ange
Genre
Releases by Date
Theatrical
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USANR
Releases by Country
USA
14 May 1961
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Popular reviews
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Angel Baby wants to be both a sleazy exploitation flick and a righteous movie about honest religious faith. It's an uneasy combination, made particularly so by the fact that about half the cast (Burt Reynolds, Joan Blondell at times, and Mercedes McCambridge) are acting in the former, while everyone else is sedately making the latter, particularly George Hamilton and Salome Jens (as preachers Paul Strand and Angel Baby), who appear to be making a nice romance about two good kids who super love God.
The wildly divergent tones and approaches make the movie difficult to digest, and all the more challenging to figure out what, exactly, we're meant to take away from it. Ultimately, the nice, faithful girl is loved…
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HEALING
WATER
HEALING
WATER
TOUCHED THE SOUL TOUCHED THE SOUL TOUCHED THE SOUL!!!!????
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Lurid southern evangelism and faith healing. It might be George Hamilton's best film. The entire cast does exceedingly well. Salome Jens as "Angel Baby", a faith healer, will reach out and touch your soul even today. Mercedes McCambridge exceeds in intensity and weirdness what she accomplished in "Johnny Guitar". When Salome Jens emerges on stage as Delilah as Hamilton is delivering a sermon on lust, it becomes one of the the greatest moments in cinematic history. Seriously. McCambridge's eyes practically leave her head when Salome brushes her skimpily dressed body against that of McCambridge's "husband" the young, handsome George Hamilton. Released by Allied Artists in 1961 the mix of sex and spiritual awakening was the template for Russ Meyers and others to expand on. It really is a masterpiece.
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Director Paul Wendkos & Hubert Cornfield go full tilt bible-thump evangelical, with a heavenly cast that raises its faith to the heavens, and brings it down to earth to cleanse out the devil-doubt from any non-believer, freeing their pain & sorrow through that miracle that the lord provides, to those who truly believe.
It is a religious fanatical romp in decadent doses and its B-grade magnifies what consists a squallid affair, where Satan seems to loom over more than the hand of God, yet presented with a genuine feel for the congregation thru their sincere expressions, showing a desperate need for something more beyond a miracle.
Haskell Wexler photography is to die for, with celestial clarity and an expressive & illuminating density, that… -
The concept of Angel Baby is really fascinating, and I generally like stories showcasing the manipulation of religion. Unfortunately I feel this film doesn't go deeply enough into the horrible behavior of evangelists. The opening of this movie even gives this long disclaimer of "not all evangelists" which made me roll my eyes.
With all that said, there is a lot of set up and story basis that works here. I only wish the film had explored everything more--the three stars is because I was pretty engaged the whole time even if Angel Baby didn't fully work for me.
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A interesting drama about evangelism and faith healing, "Angel Baby" is similar to and different from "Elmer Gantry", released the prior year. Both films were from Columbia, which apparently held off on relesasing "Angel Baby" in order to cash in on the success of "Elmer Gantry". Although Gantry is a much more powerful film and anchored by the great performance of Burt Lancaster, "Angel Baby" is quite good on its own.
A young mute woman Angel Baby (Salome Jens in her first serious film role) is cured of her muteness by faith healer George Hamilton. She eventually goes off to tour on her own but gets mixed up with a crooked manager who stages her revival meetings with people paid…
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It's rare to see a film that takes its subject matter as seriously as this one seems to take evangelical tent preachers. I'm wondering if it was made on the heals of "Elmer Gantry? "Angel Baby" is an oddity that claims to be the real-life story of a lady evangelical preacher who worked across the south in the middle of the last century, one Jenny Angel.
Jenny (Salomé Jens) starts out as a mute young Georgia woman from a broken home. Her dad was abusive and since an incident involving his cruelty left her without a voice to speak, she has felt abandoned and unloved. A hunky young tough named Hoke Adams (Burt Reynolds) is trying to take her womanhood,…
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I thought this was gonna be a lot more along the lines of "Leap of Faith" but it's much more serious and heavy-handed. The performances were good though and there was some really artsy cinematography in spots which felt out of place but was still pretty.
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Although Angel Baby stars "Miss" Salome Jens (as Angel Baby) and George Hamilton (as preacher Paul, who 'heals' her muteness), I found the supporting cast to be of more interest. This was Burt Reynolds' film debut - he plays a beau of Angel Baby who grows jealous of her association with preacher Paul, and accosts her with over-ripe dialog like "You look so nice and sweet, I swear you give me the torments". Joan Blondell and Henry Jones play a pair of genial drunks who help Angel Baby gain renown as an evangelist. They're a crafty pair of scene stealers.
In a curious bit of casting, Mercedes McCambridge plays Paul's wife Sarah (I can't recall an odder screen couple than…
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Angel Baby (Paul Wendkos & Hubert Cornfield, 1961) 5/10
Biting indictment of religion and in particular of evangelical ministers who use their preaching as a flamboyant stage production often with fake attempts at performing miracles. Naive mute woman (Salomé Jens) is "healed" by a young revivalist (George Hamilton) who then discovers God and is guided by an alcoholic couple (Henry Jones and Joan Blondell) to become a faith healer herself. Urged on by a crooked promoter she "heals" a fake blind man and when she is exposed all hell breaks loose. Adding to all the trauma is an extra marital affair between the preacher and the healer. B-film came on the heels of the award winning Elmer Gantry (1960) with an…
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Mercedes McCambridge shouting "Lust!"
Y'all she married a young man to keep him pure?Henry Jones's fake southern accent is tragic.
George Hamilton doesn't get enough credit for being a good actor.Wild movie.
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You know it’s a bad movie when you are embarrassed for the actors.