The Angel Levine

The Angel Levine is a 1970 American drama film directed by Ján Kadár and starring Zero Mostel, Harry Belafonte, Ida Kamińska, Milo O'Shea, and Gloria Foster. It is based on a short story by Bernard Malamud about Morris Mishkin, an elderly, impoverished New York City tailor who becomes unable to work due to health problems. His wife has also been seriously ill for two years, and their situation is now desperate. The tailor's Jewish faith, or lack of it, is challenged when a man calling himself Alexander Levine enters his life, claiming to be his guardian angel. Levine says that he must make the tailor believe in his mission, or fail to earn his angelic wings.[1][2]

The Angel Levine
Directed byJán Kadár
Produced byHarry Belafonte
Screenplay byBill Gunn
Ronald Ribman
Story byBernard Malamud
StarringZero Mostel
Harry Belafonte
Ida Kamińska
Milo O'Shea
Gloria Foster
Music byZdeněk Liška
CinematographyRichard C. Kratina
Edited byCarl Lerner
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
1970
Running time
106 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Production

The Angel Levine was brought to the screen by Belafonte, who produced the film as his own return to movies after more than 10 years. The story was adapted by Emmy-nominated writer Ronald Ribman and Bill Gunn, who had written the satire The Landlord (1970), "a well-received and complex examination of American race relations".[3] Hal Erickson remarks that while "Bernard Malamud seldom saw his works faithfully transferred to the screen...he issued no complaints over the cinemazation of his Angel Levine."[4]

Reception

The Angel Levine was poorly received when it was first released, with Roger Greenspun of the New York Times stating that "given the reputations of the talents involved, [the film is] a failure of major proportions. I have seen worse movies. But I cannot remember having seen a movie so nervously at odds with itself, so timid in its impulses, and so mistaken in its choices."[5]

When the film was released on DVD in 2002, Glenn Erickson of DVD Talk commented: "The Angel Levine is one of dozens of interesting movies in the United Artists library that seem to have been created for the purpose of being obscure.”[1]

Tana Hobart considers the film poorly served by its writing but saved by the actors: "With a hackneyed plotline almost lifted intact from It's a Wonderful Life, this is still a worthwhile movie due to the appeal and acting ability of the cast."[6]

See also

References
  1. "DVD Savant, Glenn Erickson's Review Column at DVD Talk". DVDtalk.com. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  2. "The Angel Levine". TV Guide. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  3. Nixon, Rob. "The Angel Levine". TCM.com. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  4. "The Angel Levine (1970)". All Movie. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  5. "Movie Review - The Angel Levine - Screen: Kadar's 'The Angel Levine':Belafonte Is the Angel of Malamud's Tale Zero Mostel Portrays a Troubled Tailor - NYTimes.com". Movies.nytimes.com. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  6. "The Angel Levine (1970)". All Movie. Retrieved 7 May 2018.


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