The late 1960s brought the world a lot of trippy psychedelic films, though one of the trippiest and strangest must be "Angel, Angel Down We Go". To say it's bizarre, amateurish and silly would be a great understatement. I would go so far as to wonder if anyone NOT intoxicated has even enjoyed this film.
Despite being immensely wealthy, the Steele family is hopelessly screwed up and hypocritical. Dad is a wimp, mom an ex-porn actress and their chunky daughter is pretty much on her own--and seems to ease her pain and emptiness with food. The family announces to the daughter that they're having a coming-out party for her, but it's really just an excuse for the mother (Jennifer Jones) to prance about and hope that everyone admires her beauty. While she looks her 50 years in some ways, I must admit that Jones' figure was amazing in the film--and you end up seeing more of it than you'd expect considering she ONCE was a star. As for the daughter, she's miserable at the party but connects up with the musical act that performed for the party. The leader is named 'Bogey' and is a charismatic and devilish guy--and he has four little disciples who follow him everywhere--even though NOTHING Bogey says makes any sense at all. She joins this little cult and they hang about saying profound things that make no sense, go skydiving and have sex. Later, to scare the girl's parents, the gang drops in and behaves like they are strung out on LSD--which I assume they were. If you think all this is headed somewhere and there is significance to it, don't bother. It all just goes on and on and on--and never makes any sense.
Aside from an incomprehensible story, the film features some really weird artsy camera-work with random pictures inserted throughout the film, a sprinkling of nudity, homosexual references, dialog that seldom makes sense, comments about the sexual prowess of black men, child sexual abuse, a lady sleeping on the ceiling and MANY actors who later must have regretted doing this film. Aside from Jones, Roddy McDowall and Lou Rawls (yes THAT Lou Rawls) star in the film.
By the way, if you are wondering why a star like Jennifer Jones did such as god-awful film, my guess is because she and her husband (the recently deceased David O. Selznick) went through bankruptcy when his films started losing money. I can only assume she had to take ANY work she could find--and this would definitely fall into the category of ANY. In fact, it might just be the most embarrassing film by a once-great Hollywood star. Mae West's necrophilic performance in "Myra Breckenridge" and Burgess Meredith's nude scenes in "Such Good Friends" might possibly be a bit worse, but neither ever were respected A-list stars like Jones. And, neither could boast that they had once won an Oscar.
As one of the reviewers said, when this film debuted, David O. Selznick must have been rolling in his grave!
Despite being immensely wealthy, the Steele family is hopelessly screwed up and hypocritical. Dad is a wimp, mom an ex-porn actress and their chunky daughter is pretty much on her own--and seems to ease her pain and emptiness with food. The family announces to the daughter that they're having a coming-out party for her, but it's really just an excuse for the mother (Jennifer Jones) to prance about and hope that everyone admires her beauty. While she looks her 50 years in some ways, I must admit that Jones' figure was amazing in the film--and you end up seeing more of it than you'd expect considering she ONCE was a star. As for the daughter, she's miserable at the party but connects up with the musical act that performed for the party. The leader is named 'Bogey' and is a charismatic and devilish guy--and he has four little disciples who follow him everywhere--even though NOTHING Bogey says makes any sense at all. She joins this little cult and they hang about saying profound things that make no sense, go skydiving and have sex. Later, to scare the girl's parents, the gang drops in and behaves like they are strung out on LSD--which I assume they were. If you think all this is headed somewhere and there is significance to it, don't bother. It all just goes on and on and on--and never makes any sense.
Aside from an incomprehensible story, the film features some really weird artsy camera-work with random pictures inserted throughout the film, a sprinkling of nudity, homosexual references, dialog that seldom makes sense, comments about the sexual prowess of black men, child sexual abuse, a lady sleeping on the ceiling and MANY actors who later must have regretted doing this film. Aside from Jones, Roddy McDowall and Lou Rawls (yes THAT Lou Rawls) star in the film.
By the way, if you are wondering why a star like Jennifer Jones did such as god-awful film, my guess is because she and her husband (the recently deceased David O. Selznick) went through bankruptcy when his films started losing money. I can only assume she had to take ANY work she could find--and this would definitely fall into the category of ANY. In fact, it might just be the most embarrassing film by a once-great Hollywood star. Mae West's necrophilic performance in "Myra Breckenridge" and Burgess Meredith's nude scenes in "Such Good Friends" might possibly be a bit worse, but neither ever were respected A-list stars like Jones. And, neither could boast that they had once won an Oscar.
As one of the reviewers said, when this film debuted, David O. Selznick must have been rolling in his grave!