ANGEL ON WHEELS (1959)
aka Angel on Earth, Ein Engel auf Erden
Article 2449 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 12-16-2007
Posting Date: 4-26-2008
Directed by Geza von Radvanyi
Featuring Romy Schneider, Henri Vidal, Michele Mercier
A race car driver encounters a woman who claims to be his guardian angel. The angel, trying to prevent his marriage to a self-serving socialite, takes the form of an airline hostess who is in love with the race car driver.

ANGEL ON WHEELS? I don’t know where they concocted that title for this slight romantic comedy; the race car driver isn’t the angel, and though the angel does ride in wheeled vehicles on occasion, it’s hardly a significant plot element. As for the movie itself, it’s cute but rather dull, and the most interesting thing about it is the presence of Jean-Paul Belmondo one year before BREATHLESS was a hit of the French New Wave. He plays the hero’s sidekick, and he’s really not given much to do. Easily stealing the movie is Margarete Haagen as the chief angel; dressed as one of those nuns that you don’t want to mess with, she has the best parts of the movie, such as when she takes over the other angel’s duties at an auto race. Other than that, this is a fairly forgettable angel-on-earth story.