Angel, Angel, Down We Go

the review in the "Psychotronic Encyclopedia Of Film" had me looking for this one, for years. Finally found it in 2003, and wouldn't you know, it has ended up on USA cable here a year later. (Showtime Beyond is really exhuming the hard to find AIP stuff regularly) So, what to say. The casting is positively bizarre, with Jennifer Jones, modeling the same outfit she later wore in "Towering Inferno"; Protest singer Holly Near as her troubled fat-girl daughter; Charles Aidman as the rich, secretly gay, father; Jordan Christopher as the freaky rock singer/producer,currently working with his new band "The Rabbit Habit" featuring Lou Rawls (who never sings?), and Roddy McDowell in his freakiest psychedelic film. It starts with Christopher appearing to be a liberating force, but by the end, the drug use/criminal activity leaves no one liberated, and some dead. It's fairly pointless overall, but there are some classic moments to be treasured. Favorite dialogue award goes to Jones, with the classic:"In my heart of hearts, I'm a sexual clam", though Roddy's mini-rant about sexuality, ending with his description of being "turned on" by a carrot comes real close. Hardly classic, but rewarding for the curious! Good companion piece to similar epics from that time, from "LSD, I hate you", on back to "Skidoo", and "Gas-s-s-s, or it may become necessary to destroy the world in order to save it!"

What "THE BIG CUBE" was to Lana Turner, "CULT OF THE DAMNED" (aka "ANGEL, ANGEL, DOWN WE GO") is to Jennifer Jones. Ms Jones, a beautiful actress, usually playing serious roles in respectable films such as "LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING" and "DUEL IN THE SUN", makes her grand entrance into the twilight of her acting career with this extremely tasteless garbage. Here, she is the bored, restless and needy wife of a tycoon who welcomes home her 18-year old daughter who has been raised abroad in a Swiss school. The actress who plays her daughter is pretty bad, but who could have imagined that Jennifer Jones could be worse? I don't think anyone could have imagined as to how bad this movie would turn out. The director must have had liberating visions on the issues of homosexuality, nudity, obesity, drugs, sex and free love. Jumble them all into one movie and headline it with an Oscar-winning actress in the twilight of her career, and you have "CULT OF THE DAMNED". Was it Jennifer Jones who insisted that every 'close up' shot of her face be filmed directly under a spotlight with as much base plastered over it so that it looked like matte? Was it Jennifer Jones who wanted to 'step out of character' by playing a completely unlikeable lush-of-a-woman with a background in stag films? Either Ms Jones was completely into the "LSD-era" if you get my drift, or her agent was. Ms Jones not only steps completely out of character for this movie, but she takes a giant leap into a whole new "Twilight Zone" dimension where most of her fans would be scratching their heads as to how and why she chose to star in this. I remember I got the same feeling when I saw the beautiful Ms Katharine Hepburn dragged out of semi-retirement for a small cameo in Warren Beatty's "LOVE AFFAIR" where she was encouraged to utter the "F" word amidst completely embarrassing dialogue. Watching Ms Jones confess, "I MADE 30 STAG FILMS AND NEVER FAKED AN ORGASM!" while badly acting amid Fellini-inspired scenery filled with smoke and harsh red tones, is just bizarre. How this film became retitled as "CULT OF THE DAMNED" is beyond me. There is no "cult" in this movie. The original title "ANGEL, ANGEL, DOWN WE GO" is more appropriate as it is featured in a rather appalling set at a pool party that is supposed to conjure the likes of Jim Morrison, but instead invokes laughter. Everyone from Lou Rawls to Roddy McDowell look completely stupified as to how they ended up in this film. There are even times where their faces look like deer frozen in a set of headlights. I must say that after watching this movie, I now know where Jennifer Jones got the inspiration for her look that she carried with her to the set of "THE TOWERING INFERNO". There is one scene in this movie where Jennifer is sitting in the back of a limo sharing a conversation with Jordan Christopher. She is wearing the exact same white dress with choker and hairstyle that she had in "THE TOWERING INFERNO"! I honestly thought that she had stepped right out of this scene and into the glass elevator as Lisolette Mueller. Thank God this movie would not be her final film. It would be absolutely depressing if this was credited as her last movie. She redeemed herself in her next and final feature "THE TOWERING INFERNO", and hopefully fired her agent in the meantime. Only watch this movie if you, like me, were dying with curiosity to see Ms Jones spit, "YOU BLOODY SADISTIC DYKE!" to her maid while getting rough-handled during a shoulder massage. Other than that, avoid this dreck at all costs. My Rating - 0 out of 10

**Spoiler Alert** I've been watching Jennifer Jones since I was in grade school. I clearly remember the Saturday night I watched "The Song of Bernadette" with my grandmother on television. As a kid in Catholic school, taught by nuns, it left quite an impact. I mention this mostly cause I've had a life-long respect for Jennifer Jones and have made every effort possible to see as many movies of hers as possible. To say I was curious about "Angel, Angel Down We Go" would be the understatement of the year. I appreciate trash as much as the next movie-lover..but this one really tested my patience. Its mean-spirited, its long-winded, its cinematic nonsense. I can't imagine what in the world possessed Jennifer to do this movie cause its, by light years, the worse movie she's ever been involved in. I have a feeling she was having one of her parties and Roddy McDowall and maybe even Lou Rawls was there and someone spiked the punch with acid and they all made a pact to do this movie as a lark. Either that or she lost a bet or owed on the landscaper but there had to have been some unexplicable reason why this movie...maybe Lana Turner was there was said that doing the "The Big Cube" wasn't worse than some of her marriages and so Jennifer figured what the hell, no one will ever see it. A biography I have of hers said she clearly did it for the movie, since AIP was paying stars like Vincent Price a lot for doing the movies he was making for them, and let's face it, you gotta eat.. I got a laugh or two. She mentions "Gone with the Wind" and it IS one of the only movies I can think of where the hairdresser, Sydney Guillaroff, is mentioned. But her death scene was just as unpleasant as her death scene in "The Towering Inferno", and its just not bad enough to be good. I forgive you, and I think Showtime Beyond for unearthing it, and I am very glad I got to see it, but obviously it was not a lot of fun for me. Speaking of "The Big Cube"..hey Showtime, how about it?

There were so many hippie movies being churned out during those years and most of them were awful but a few of them attained cult status. Unfortunately this film is just one of the worst pieces of nonsense ever made and watching the actors wallow about in this made me feel sad for them. Story (such as it is) is about a very wealthy couple who have an overweight daughter who's completely miserable. Jennifer Jones is the mother Astrid Steele and her past includes making stag films. Charles Aidman is the father Willy Steele who is bi-sexual and he tries to make his daughter Tara Nicole (Holly Near) happy by giving her expensive gifts. One night after a party Tara runs into Bogart Peter Stuyvesant (Jordan Christopher) who is the lead singer of a rock band and he seduces her. Tara meets the other members of his band which include Joe (Lou Rawls), Anna Livia (Davey Davison) and Santoro (Roddy McDowall). *****SPOILER ALERT***** The four members of this band/cult start playing games with Tara and fill her gullible head with all sorts of psychedelic mish-mash and finally she brings them back to meet her parents. Bogart puts the heavy moves on Astrid and eventually he seduces her as well. They talk her into going sky diving and play keep away in mid-air with one of her expensive necklaces until she plummets to her death. The film ends with Willy being killed by Bogart and Tara completely brainwashed. This film was directed by Robert Thom who is primarily known as a pretty decent writer of low budget films and he never directed another film again after this. I don't mind hippie films if they're done with some sort of tongue in cheek approach like my favorite "Candy" but this film is just a mess and one with a totally narcissistic attitude. With all of the "Groovy" editing going on it was very difficult at times to figure out what exactly was real and what was just another fantasy sequence. The casting is the most interesting thing about this effort and you had to wonder what Jones was thinking. Did she need the money that bad? Did she think she was going to cash in on the new young and trendy way films were being made? She spouts lines such as "I made 30 stag films and never faked an *". I will say one positive thing, though. Jones looks great! I'm not sure how old she was when she made this but she still maintained her sex appeal and looked very beautiful. But this brings me to McDowall and Rawls who have at best secondary roles and have practically nothing to say. Every once in a while Rawls would mutter something about "Afro-American Negroes" and shoot that big grin on his face. McDowall doesn't come across much better and at one point he stares upward with a glazed look on his face and warbles about being turned on by a carrot! Someone hand him a chimpanzee mask and let him really act! This film was doomed right from the start as it came out fairly close to the time when Sharon Tate was murdered. A shame the script for this wasn't destroyed instead.

The main reason to savor this deliciously decadent dress rehearsal for the entire career of John Waters is the very guilty pleasure of watching Jennifer Jones not only perform an homage to Gloria Swanson in "Sunset Boulevard" but apparently actually LIVE the role. Ms. Jones (nee Phylis Isley when she began her career as John Wayne's leading lady 30 years before this cuckoo classic was release)may NOT have been certifiable when she agreed to appear...but I for one can't think of any other logical explanation. The widow of David O'Selznic plays "The richest woman in the world" who is also "the most beautiful woman in the world" (personal quotes from the character...read with complete conviction by the actress...as is the admission to being "45"...Jones was 50...)... The character has an pudgy daughter named "Tara" (another quote from Jone's character "I LIKED 'Gone With The Wind'")...could the whirring sound I hear be The sound of Selznic rotating and revolving in his grave?? Why this grotesque but utterly fascinating slash at "Hollywood Royalty" is not known better under either of it's titles ("Cult of the Damned" was on the print I saw) is beyond me...it should have been a spookily prescient harbinger of the collapse of "old Hollywood" especially since it was released only ten days after the town (and the world) went reeling in the Horror of the murder of Sharon Tate...a crime it is impossible to avoid thinking of while watching this study of L.A. high society brutally invaded upon by a group of sadistic drug addled musicians. If you need more reasons to watch how about sweet little Roddy Mcdwell bearing his behind and playing gay (his lines about being rejected by the draft board aren't skating on this ice...they are more like dancing on it in toe shoes!!). All in all...a film so amazing and appalling...that it might be a masterpiece of schlock!

These IMDb comments intrigued me enough to order this, but the film as a whole is a mess that left me tired. A few scenes stand out--I actually sort of dug the music, and Jordan Christopher shirtless and in leather pants as Bogart is easy on the eyes. Despite her top billing, Jennifer Jones simply isn't in the film much at all, and while she seems attractively well preserved, her closeups are filmed through Vaseline and she wears yards of billowing fabric in most of her costumes, so it's hard to say. I thought it was funny that when she finally hooks up with Bogart she cries out "I'm 50!" (her actual age when this was filmed). The references to Tara, "Gone with the Wind," and Jones' reaction to it all are interesting but muted. For all the drama of the advertising, this film was surprisingly plain and underwhelming. The trippy cutaways to hallucinations are overdone, but worth watching at least once.

In her next to last film Jennifer Jones plays once again a decadent over sexed sultry figure in Angel Angel Down We Go. In the film she did a few years back The Idol Jones plays an older woman who flips for her son's friend who just looks at her as someone he wants to nail. But The Idol was classic next to this one. Jennifer Jones and Charles Aidman play a rich power couple who have a daughter Holly Near who's no Miss Junior Miss. Still her status requires she be given a coming out as any débutante must have. At that party she meets Jordan Christopher who is a second hand version of Christopher Jones's character Max Frost from Wild In The Streets. He hangs out with a group of Manson like followers that include Davey Davison, Roddy McDowall, and Lou Rawls. With her millions they welcome Holly into their group all the while Christopher takes aim on Jones. We learned here that Jeanne Crain showed uncommon good judgment in turning this film down. Watching Charles Aidman I thought he was imitating Jason Robards and maybe Jason was who was originally thought of to play the father. I guess that Aidman was having his own little joke knowing he was in a Thanksgiving Day special. The Idol and Angel Angel Down We Go were both made after the death of David O. Selznick, Jennifer Jones's second husband and career Svengali. Selznick sure had his faults but there ain't no way he would have let his wife appear in those two films, especially Angel Angel Down We Go. Jones was apparently no good at charting her own career, but her final film was The Towering Inferno where she played the part of a respectable widow who stays respectable. Jordan Christopher was imitating Jim Morrison in his role and I can't believe that they didn't give the genuine talent of Lou Rawls a song to sing. Fans of Jennifer Jones will not like Angel Angel Down We Go.

ALL over the map. Silly. Fun. Kind of a John Waters film, but it's not one of his. Tara Steele (Holly Near) is an overweight daughter of Astrid (Jennifer Jones) and Willy (Charles Aidman) going through the typical issues of girl who doesn't feel accepted by her age group. Jennifer Jones is probably best known for her 1940s' roles in Portrait of Jennie, with Joseph Cotten, and Song of Bernadette (won the Oscar). Lots of slow motion. Jordan Christopher, lead singer of the real rock group "Wild Ones", has a pretty major role here, playing a Jim Morrison type, shirtless, shoeless, and tripping out, singing at the party. Lou Rawls as Joe.... Roddy McDowell as Santoro. Some big names in this obscure, wacky film. Fortunately, this IS now available on Blu Ray! Lots of Humphrey Bogart references. Odd connection, but Jennifer Jones DID make Beat the Devil with Bogart in 1953. Holly Near also has a REALLY interesting Bio on wikipedia at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holly_Near .. also an interesting collections of stills shown here and there through-out the film. Lots of blood dripping from famous photos of movie stars, politicians and generals. Skydiving, for some reason. Spooky organ music. If you like weird, offbeat cult films, you will LOVE this! There's almost a plot, but just barely. First, Stuyvesant (Christopher) falls for Tara, then he falls for her mother. Then he sings a song about it. "Mother Lover". This was the first film role for a LOT of the cast, and that's part of its charm. Why is it rated so low??? Some nudity. Written and directed by Robert Thom, who accomplished a lot of in his short life. Died at 49. No details.

The this is a disgraceful movie, embarrassing to watch and the only reason I and am sure many others did was to see a great star Jennifer Jones return to work. Puzzling as Jennifer Jones the great star of 'Song of Bernadette', 'Love Is A Many Splendored Thing', 'Madame Bovary', 'Tender Is The Night', was reduced to appearing in this film. Why Jennifer Why? Anyone who follows Jennifer Jones' career notes that David Selznick micro managed Jennifer's career making some wise choices Song of Bernadatte and then some poor one's turning down 'Laura'. Mr.Selznick regarded Jennifer Jones as a star of the stature of Garbo. To see this fine talented actress in a mess like this is explainable only by the fact perhaps in the editing some un wise choices were made. and I am sure the only reason some have seen it is to see Ms. Jones who was a superb actress appear in a dreadful film. I am not sure but I believe this film was shot at the old Selznick studio in Culver City which makes the embarrassment all the more to the point. Jennifer Jones would go on to make one more movie 'Towering Inferno' with Steve McQueen, and Paul Newman and William Holden, and where Jennifer Jones got some very good notices and a Golden Globe Nomination, and then retired. David Barra

Strange as it may seem, the '60s didn't end in the '70s, as is evident with "Angel, Angel, Down We Go" and neither did empty symbolism nor whacked-out stories. Seems poor little rich girl Tara (Near) is bored with her poor little rich life and spices it up after meeting decadent rock star Bogart Peter Stuyvesant (Christopher) and his equally decadent pals, who make it their mission in life to teach all a downbeat, yet mod, lesson in life. That lesson? I wasn't tripping out while watching this, so I missed it. Too bad they had to involve names like Jones, McDowell and Rawls (!!) in this insipid, drugged-up mess. Maybe they figured that would draw attention away from such story points as Jones jumping out of a plane (sans parachute) to save her thrown-out jewelry or Tara's daddy (Aidman) being whipped on a pool table or "rock sensation" Stuyvesant singing that all-time hit "She's Fat" to Tara or everyone taking time out from the story to stare blankly into space and mouth dialogue that probably sounded good to the writers when they were dropping whatever they dropped to write this or.... Forget it, baby. I'm Austin Power-less to be further incensed and peppermint-ed at this psychedelic shack of uncool aura. No stars. Not even good for laughing at. This "Angel" will make you feel like the devil. Un-groovy, baby.