The Diner in Film Noir (Part 3)

The Final installment in a Three Part Noirvember look at some of the iconic Diners of film noir.

Obsession and Deception: Fallen Angel (1945)

Fallen Angel (1945) reunites many of the key collaborators behind the 1944 film noir classic Laura, including director Otto Preminger, star Dana Andrews, composer David Raksin, and cinematographer Joseph LaShelle. While Laura explored themes of obsession and idealized love within the glamorous world of high society, Fallen Angel brings those same preoccupations down to earth, setting its story in a gritty, small-town environment where ambition and desperation collide.

The story begins with Eric Stanton (Dana Andrews), a cynical, down-on-his-luck drifter who is tossed off a San Francisco-bound bus for not having the full fare. He finds himself stranded in Walton, California, a small, unremarkable town, and heads to Pop’s Diner in search of a hamburger and a cup of coffee. What he discovers instead is Stella (Linda Darnell), the diner’s alluring yet aloof waitress, who quickly becomes the object of his obsessive desire.