Rock Hudson gave some very good performances in Douglas Sirk-directed movies. "The Tarnished Angels" is no exception, but the movie is heavy going. The "Written on the Wind" crowd is back - Robert Stack, Rock Hudson, and Dorothy Malone. This time, Stack and Malone, who plays his gorgeous wife, are barnstormers - she does exhibition jumps and he, an ex-World War I hero pilot, flies in races around pylons. Everyone is in love with Malone, except, it seems, her husband. I say seems because what is she supposed to think - he married her after throwing a high roll of the dice (she was pregnant with his child at the time, but Jack Carson offered to marry her), and then he pimps her out so that a businessman will let him fly his plane in a race. Hudson, a reporter, falls for Malone along with all the other men. She's miserable enough to let him make out with her.
There are some wonderful flight sequences that are very exciting. On the ground, though, the actors get weighted down with lots of dialogue, most of it melodramatic.
There are some wonderful flight sequences that are very exciting. On the ground, though, the actors get weighted down with lots of dialogue, most of it melodramatic.