The Tarnished Angels
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The Tarnished Angels is a 1958 American drama film.
George Zuckerman's screenplay, adapted from William Faulkner's novel Pylon, focuses on disillusioned World War I flying ace Roger Shumann, who spends his days during the Great Depression making appearances as a barnstorming pilot at rural airshows with his parachutist wife LaVerne, worshipful son Jack, and mechanic Jiggs in tow.
New Orleans reporter Burke Devlin, assigned to write a profile about the former war hero, is dismayed by his cavalier treatment of his family and finds himself attracted to the lovelorn LaVerne. Tragedy ensues when Jiggs' anger about his employer's refusal to face family responsibilities causes him to make a rash and fatal decision.
The Universal-International film reunited director Douglas Sirk with Robert Stack (Shumann), Dorothy Malone (LaVerne), and Rock Hudson (Devlin), with whom he had collaborated on Written on the Wind two years earlier. Jack Carson was cast as Jiggs, and supporting roles went to Troy Donahue and William Schallert.
Sirk, known for such melodramas as Magnificent Obsession and All That Heaven Allows filmed in vivid Technicolor, shot Angels in black-and-white to help capture the despondent mood of the era in which it is set. Faulkner considered the film to be the best screen adaptation of his work [1].
