User:Katbel1/Half Angel

Half Angel is a 1951 comedy film directed by Richard Sale, starring Loretta Young, Joseph Cotten, and Cecil Kellaway. Nora Gilpin (Young) works as a nurse and is newly engaged to Tim McCarey (John Ridgely). Nora begins to unconsciously sleep walk which leads to romantic nights with successful attorney John Raymond (Cotten).

Summary
Nora Gilpin works as a nurse and is newly engaged to Tim McCarey. Her old love affair John Raymond, a successful attorney, re-enters her life causing Nora to display complete disdain for him based on their past relationship in their youth. Although Nora is constantly fighting against her internal thoughts about John during the day, once she is asleep she awakens in a sleep-walker state and gives in to her feelings of affection for him. She engages in lustful romantic evenings with him, leaving her day life and thoughts behind her. However, in the morning she has no memory of the night before. Her friends and family begin to piece together Nora’s odd behavior and make the decision that she is truly in love with Raymond, despite her negative commentary, and should marry him instead of Tim. The next night when Nora is sleep-walking to John, they quickly get married. The next morning, Nora is supposed to be marrying Tim and has no recollection of being wed to John the night before. Nora rushes to her wedding with Tim where John barges in to get his new wife back. Nora faints during all of the commotion and when she awakes, she expresses the love and happiness she feels for John.

Cast

 * Loretta Young as Nora Gilpin


 * Joseph Cotten as John Raymond


 * Cecil Kellaway as Harry Gilpin


 * Basil Ruysdael as Dr. Jackson
 * Jim Backus as Michael 'Mike' Hogan
 * Irene Ryan as Nurse Kay


 * John Ridgely as Tim McCarey

Reception
The overall reviews stated that the film contained lackluster content that lacked needed information for the audience.

In a film review from Variety, posted on April 11, 1951, critics claimed that the film tries to be whimsical but achieved "scant success until it turns to broad farcing." The review points out that the film does not give enough time to connect with the characters nor fully understand the past relationship between Young and Raymond. Critics called Young's performance "competent", but maintained a negative undertone of the film by implementing that the other actors in the film could have been more convincing.

Another article by Picturegoer expressed similar views calling the script "flat-footed".