The Dark Angels (film)

The Dark Angels is a 1930 American pre-Code war romance film directed by Sidney Franklin, starring Ronald Colman, Vilma Bánky, and Wyndham Standing. It is based on the 1925 play The Dark Angel by Guy Bolton, which itself was adapted from a novel of the same name by Melchior Lengyel. The film tells the story of two British men, childhood friends, who are both in love with the same woman, and whose lives are irrevocably changed by World War I.

The film follows Alan Trent (Colman) and Gerald Shannon (Standing), close friends vying for the affections of Helen (Bánky). Helen chooses Alan, but their happiness is short-lived as World War I breaks out. Alan enlists and is reported missing and presumed dead after a daring mission. However, Alan survives but is blinded and suffers from amnesia. To spare Helen the burden of his condition, he hides his survival and pretends to be dead. Helen, heartbroken, eventually finds comfort in Gerald's company, leading to a complex emotional triangle as Alan secretly watches their lives.

The Dark Angels was a remake of the 1925 silent film of the same name, also produced by Samuel Goldwyn and based on the same source material. The 1930 version was notable for being an early talkie and for Ronald Colman's performance, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. While commercially successful, it is considered a melodramatic portrayal of love and war, typical of its era. The film's themes explore sacrifice, duty, love, and the devastating impact of war.