We ain’t all Baptists down here, sonny! – Angel Heart (1987)
Hello to all of the classic people that are returning. I am glad you are back. I want to welcome any new visitors. As a technical note, references and citations are listed for each show on the site at classicmovierev.com. Today on the Classic Movie Reviews Podcast, we are taking on Angel Heart (1987).
Angel Heart (1987) is an excellent Neo-Noir film. But it is dark. It is partially set in one of my favorite cities, New Orleans. I picked this film because it bridges the horror of October and moves us into the Noirvember celebration as a Neo-Noir. When I first saw this movie at the theater, most people weren’t as aware of Film Noir and even less knew Neo-Noir well. It was just an excellent movie.
iMDB.com rates this movie at 7.3,[1] which is ridiculously low. Rottentomatoes.com has it at an equally dismal 79 percent on the Tomatometer and only 81 percent audience approval[2].
In a three-and-a-half-star review on March 6, 1987, the great film critic Roger Ebert said of the movie’s tone:
After everything is all over and the dust has settled and the blood has dried, it is possible to unsort the plot of “Angel Heart” and see that it’s really fairly simple. But it doesn’t feel that way at the time. It has the unsettled logic of a nightmare, in which nothing fits and everything seems inevitable and there are a lot of arrows in the air and they are all flying straight at you.
He later said of the lead actor:
Rourke occupies the center of the film like a violent unmade bed. No other actor, with the possible exception of France’s Gerald Depardieu, has made such a career out of being a slob. He looks unshaven, unwashed, hung over and desperate, and that’s at the beginning of the film, before things start to go wrong. By the end, he is a man whose nerves are screaming for help.[3]
New York Times film critic Vincent Canby didn’t care much for the movie, saying in a March 6, 1987, review:
I’ve not read Mr. Parker’s source material, William Hjortsberg’s 1978 novel ”Falling Angel,” which, I’m told, is an affectionate and witty recollection of Sam Spade-Philip Marlowe literature, with the addition of supernatural elements.
Affection of any sort is totally lacking in this film adaptation. The only wit is supplied by Mr. De Niro, who delivers his lines, some of which are genuinely funny, with a comic daintiness that gives firm style to the otherwise murky, pointless narrative. Mr. De Niro’s role, however, is small. He shows up just frequently enough to act as a built-in trailer for the rest of the movie, saying, in effect: ”Stick around. It’s going to get better.” It doesn’t.[4]
Like many films that are not recognized for what they are at the time of releases, this movie has gained quite a cult following. Director of Batman Begins (2005), Interstellar (2014), and Dunkirk (2017), Christopher Nolan said the “interesting editing techniques such as a fractured narrative, were a big influence.” “Wired Magazine” rated it 22 on “The 25 Best Horror Films of All Time.” In an article for Forbes, Mark Hughes said the film was nine on the “Top 10 Best Cult Classic Horror Movies of All Time.”[5]
Actors – Angel Heart (1987)
Mickey Rourke played detective Harry Angel. Rourke was born in upper New York in 1952. When he was 6, his parents divorced. His mother married a police officer, and Rourke moved to Miami Shores, Florida.
In this tough neighborhood, Rourke began studying boxing. Beginning at age 12, he started having amateur bouts. In 1971, during the Florida Golden Gloves, Rourke received a concussion and took a year off. He resumed the following year and stopped amateur boxing in 1973.
Rourke graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School in 1971. He played baseball and acted while he was in school. Shortly after graduation, Rourke moved to New York to look for work acting. After a time, he began getting work.
Rourke’s first movie was the World War II spoof, 1941 (1979). He continued with Heaven’s Gate (1980) and Body Heat (1981), where he was solid. The next three films made his a star; Diner (1982), Rumble Fish (1983), and The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984). He finished the decade with Year of the Dragon (1985), 9½ Weeks (1986), A Prayer for the Dying (1987), Angel Heart (1987), Barfly (1987), Homeboy (1988), and Wild Orchid (1989), becoming a sex symbol.
In 1991, Rourke decided to try professional boxing. He fought eight professional bouts, winning 6 of these before retiring. His boxing led to permanent facial damage that would require corrective surgery.
The next run of movies were not so good with films such as Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991), which is so bad I watch it every year or so to remember, Another Nine & a Half Weeks (1997), The Rainmaker (1997), Point Blank (1998), and Get Carter (2000).
With a surgically enhanced face, Rourke made a series of pretty interesting films, such as Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), Sin City (2005), The Wrestler (2008), where Rourke was terrific as was Marisa Tomei, Iron Man 2 (2010), Black November (2012), and Frank Miller’s Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014). He is still acting.
Robert De Niro played the mysterious Louis Cyphre. De Niro was born in 1943 in New York City. De Niro started acting in plays at the age of 10. At some point, he joined a local gang. At 17, he decided he wanted to be an actor and dropped out of high school.
He began studying at Stella Adler Conservatory and later the American Workshop. This guy has been in a ton of really outstanding movies. These began with Bang the Drum Slowly (1973) and showed he was good at portraying violent characters in Mean Streets (1973).
De Niro earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather: Part II (1974). Of course, Marlon Brando had already won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for playing Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972).
I will group De Niro’s movies into four groups: crazy guys, gangsters, others, and comedies.
He was great as the crazy guy in Taxi Driver (1976), The Deer Hunter (1978), Cape Fear (1991), a very depressing Raging Bull (1980) as boxer Jake LaMotta, and Silver Linings Playbook (2012). He was a little crazy.
De Niro’s best gangster roles include Once Upon a Time in America (1984), The Untouchables (1987), amazing, Goodfellas (1990), best gangsters ever, A Bronx Tale (1993), Casino (1995), American Hustle (2013), and The Irishman (2019) where everyone was too old.
His other category films include The Mission (1986), which is great, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1994), The Good Shepherd (2006), and Joker (2019).
He has done several comedies, the best of which are Midnight Run (1988), Analyze This (1999), Meet the Parents (2000), and The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000), where he played Fearless Leader.
Finally, De Niro, who is perhaps America’s greatest actor, is mentioned in the song “Sexuality,” which Billy Bragg released in 1991.
Lisa Bonet played the mysterious Epiphany Proudfoot. Bonet was born in California in 1967. Her father was an opera singer, and as a result, she spent much of her early life living in New York and Los Angeles. She began working in commercials at the age of 11.
While in high school at Reseda High School, she also attended the Celluloid Actor’s Studio. At the age of 16, she obtained the role for which she is best known. She was cast as Denise Huxtable, the second child of the show’s stars Clair (Phylicia Rashad) and Cliff (Bill Cosby). Bonet continued to appear on “The Cosby Show” 1984–1991. She also continued to play this character on a spin-off, “The Real World,” during season one beginning in 1987.
Bonet married singer Lenny Kravitz in 1987. To shed the wholesomeness image that she had on “The Billy Cosby Show,” she took the role in Angel Heart (1987). In this movie, she appeared nude and was in some graphic sex scenes. In one of the greatest ironies ever, it is alleged that Bill Cosby had her removed from the show for tarnishing their image.
Bonet divorced Kravitz in 1993 and faded into the background. Busy raising her family, Bonet made a few movies, but most were not much to speak about. These films include Enemy of the State (1998), High Fidelity (2000), and Biker Boyz (2003). Bonet married actor Jason Momoa in 2017.
Charlotte Rampling played Margaret Krusemark. Rampling was born in England in 1946. After modeling, she studies at the Royal Court in London. She began making films that include The Knack… and How to Get It (1965), Georgy Girl (1966), and The Damned (1969). Rampling’s most well-known film is The Night Porter (1974). She was in that crazy Sean Connery movie Zardoz (1974), the remake of Farewell, My Lovely (1975), Stardust Memories (1980), and The Verdict (1982).
Story – Angel Heart (1987)
The credits roll over a wintery street. A lone figure with a cane walks the street. A dog barks at a cat. The dog sniffs the blood of an old woman who is dead on the sidewalk. Her throat has been cut.
On January 3, 1955, a poorly dressed, unshaven man walks the street in his over coat while he smokes a cigarette in New York. His neighbors greet the man as a phone rings. He is Harry Angel (Mickey Rourke).
Harry goes to a dirty and small office where he finally answers the phone. He gets a call from attorney Winesap of the firm Winesap and Mackintosh. They are setting up a meeting in Harlem between Harry and a client named Louis Cyphre.
Outside of the Harlem building, a black woman is emotionally distraught, and a group of well-dressed mourners are trying to calm her down. He passes the group and goes inside. The sound of preaching can be heard. The preacher is collecting money in the name of God.
Herman Winesap leads Harry to the back. A lady is cleaning blood off the wall, where a man from the congregation had recently committed suicide. Louis Cyphre (Robert De Niro) is seated on a raised platform. He has long hair pulled into a ponytail and a beard and mustache. His fingernails are long and well maintained. His dress is perfect, being the opposite of Harry. Cyphre makes Harry show his identification. There is a pentagram on Cyphre ring.
Harry asks how they choose him. Cyphre asks Harry if he knows a pre-war crooner named Johnny Favorite. Cyphre says the man’s real name was Liebling. Winesap explains that Cyphre has a contract with Johnny Favorite. Winesap explains that Favorite was drafted in 1943 and wounded in North Africa. He came back from the war without a memory. Harry was also in the war and had mental issues. Cyphre says he was kept away from Favorite and cannot collect.
Harry drives to Poughkeepsie to find out of Favorite is still alive. Harry pretends to be from the National Institute of Health. The nurse won’t let him see the patient, but she agrees to check the files. The file says that says Favorite was transferred on December 31, 1943. Harry catches that it is written with a post-war type ballpoint pen. The doctor that signed was Dr. Albert Fowler. The nurse says Fowler is part-time.
Harry goes to a diner where he uses a phone book to find the address of Dr. Albert Fowler. Harry goes at night and breaks into the padlocked house. The house is a total mess. Harry finds syringes in an autoclave, a pistol and a Bible in a drawer, and morphine in the refrigerator.
Dr. Fowler comes in, and Harry surprises him in the dark. The doctor can’t call the police because of his morphine addiction. Harry starts asking about Favorite. The doctor admits he faked the information in the file because Favorite recently had a visitor.
Finally, the doctor says that Favorite recovered from his wounds but still had amnesia. The doctor says Favorite was taken away by Edward Kelly and a young woman. The doctor got $25,000 to keep sending in the paperwork that says Favorite was still in the hospital. Harry wants more information, so he locks the doctor in the room without any morphine. He says he will be back in a few hours to get the correct information.
Harry walks down the snowy streets, passing a church with salvation on the sign. Harry hears a heartbeat and other information. He sees two black nuns sitting in a hallway. They are replaced by the vision of the pan of blood from earlier.
Harry kills time in a diner while he waits to return to the doctors’ house. When he gets back to the house, he finds the doctor shot through the eye. The pistol was unloaded when Harry first saw it. Harry lights a match off the dead man’s shoe. He finds the bullets inside of the Bible. Harry wipes down everything he has touched before leaving.
Harry is back in his New York neighborhood. He goes to meet Cyphre in one of those restaurants similar to where they kill mobsters in The Godfather (1974). Cyphre is the only customer in the place. He seems upset with Harry. Harry tells Cyphre that Favorite left the asylum 12 years prior.
Cyphre cracks a hardboiled egg in the most sinister manner possible. Harry is worried about being accused of killing the doctor. Harry wants out. Cyphre says he will pay $5,000. Cyphre tells that some religions think the egg is the symbol of the soul. He then offers an egg to Harry. Harry superstitiously throws salt over his left shoulder and says, no, he has a thing about chickens.
Harry returns to the church where he met Cyphre. The blood is all gone from the wall. He enters the room where he met Cyphre. He opens a closet and finds a complete demonic shrine. It is intercut with what looks like a second line funeral from New Orleans. But in this case, it is in New York, and the preacher is being carried.
The mysterious, black-veiled woman that cleaned the blood is sitting in the sanctuary. As Harry approaches the woman, a heartbeat is heard. Two black men suddenly jump him. Harry fights his way free and runs up the stairs to the light. The two men chase Harry into the alley.
Harry crosses the street and runs through the second line. During the commotion, the preacher is knocked to the ground. Harry escapes.
Later, Harry goes to a bar to meet Connie, a New York Times worker who has some photos of Favorite. Back at an apartment, as they are getting undressed, Connie tells that Favorite was very big, and only one member of his old band is still alive and in town. The man Spider, is in an old folk’s home in Harlem. Favorite was also seen with Toots Sweet. Favorite was engaged to a rich woman from Louisiana named Margaret Krusemark. Toots and Margaret were into spells. Margaret was called “the Witch of Wellesley.” As the couple continues, Harry sees visions of the 1943 New Year’s Eve celebration, a spiral stairway, a heart beating, a man screaming, and the woman who cleaned the church’s blood.
One night in his office, Harry is recording his notes about tracking down Spider. Spider tells that Toots returned to Louisiana. He thinks Margaret and Favorite may be there as well. He also reveals that Favorite was dating a black woman named Evangeline Proudfoot in Harlem. Proudfoot ran a “spooky store” in Harlem called Mammy Carter’s. Favorite regularly saw a palm reader named Madame Zorra.
Harry goes to Coney Island and talks to a man named Izzy. Izzy says that Zorra was a real witch but good friends with his Baptist wife. Finally, Izzy says that his wife is standing in the ocean, and he could ask her.
The wife tells about Zorra. She says that Zorra was really a debutant and was messing with some nasty stuff. She says that Favorite came around all of the time. Harry asks about Margaret Krusemark, and the lady says Margaret is Zorra. She thinks she went back home. Harry says he is heading to Louisiana.
Harry arrives in Louisiana via train. It is hot and sticky. Harry checks into his hotel and then tries to find Toots Suite and Zorra. He tracks a very shapely woman onto the streetcar. Harry rings the buzzer for M. Krusemark (Charlotte Rampling). Harry is early for the appointment he has made. Margert is under the impression that Harry is having his horoscope read by her.
Margaret has many strange objects in her house, including a curved knife that Harry examines. She offers tea, and Harry accepts. The black maid asks in French if she should use the fancy cups, and Margaret tells her no. Harry asks about a picture of Margaret’s father.
Harry gives his birthday as that of Favorite. Margaret says she used to know a fellow with that birthdate. Harry mentions the name Johnny Favorite. Margaret asks who Harry is, and he finally confesses that he is searching for Favorite. Margaret tells him to leave, and that Favorite died 12 years before. Harry asks about getting his palm read. Margaret looks at his hand and says I don’t think you would like what I see. Finally, Harry notices that Margaret has a pentagram necklace that is the same as Cyphre’s ring.
In a rainstorm, Harry goes to Mammy Carter’s Herb Store. It really has newts and stuff like that. He asks if anybody knew Evangeline Proudfoot. The store owner says Evangeline went home to the Holy Shelter Swamp and died waiting on some fellow to come back, just like in the poem.
Harry rents a car and heads for the Almondville and the swamp. Harry finds the grave of Evangeline. There is a mix of religious practices around the grave. A beautiful young black woman with a baby comes to see her mother. Harry hides as the young lady changes food and rubs some oil. He follows her back to her home and comes upon her while she is washing her hair.
The baby starts crying when he sees Harry. The young lady is Epiphany Proudfoot (Lisa Bonet). Harry says that he is a private investigator looking for a friend of her mother’s. Epiphany says she has never heard of Favorite. Harry has an interaction with some of the chickens. Harry leaves his local number. He flirts a little before wading through the chickens.
Harry goes to a joint named The Red Rooster in Algiers. Toots Sweets (Brownie McGhee) is playing guitar and leading the band. Toots is drinking Two Sisters Cocktail. Harry says he heard Toots play in New York with Favorite. Toots won’t give any information. He follows Toots into the bathroom. Toots is shocked when he sees a chicken foot on the sink. Just then, a huge guy grabs Harry and tells him to clear out. The man throws Harry out the door.
Harry waits in his car and follows Toots out into the country. In the swamps, men are playing congo drums while women dance holding chickens. Epiphany is in the middle wearing a white dress. She slits the chicken’s throat and pours blood all over herself. Harry sneaks away.
Almost at dawn, Toots returns to his apartment. Harry jumps him, and Toots defends himself with a straight razor. The young man finally wins. Harry holds the razor on Toots and demands the truth. Toots tells that Epiphany has been a voodoo mambo priestess since she was 13, and her mother was a priestess also. Toots has a gold tooth with a pentagram on it. Harry leaves his number. Harry drops the straight razor on the steps.
The grate on an elevator opens. Harry opens the door, and the veiled woman is sitting in front of an electric chair. Harry has blood all down his front. He finds the razor again, and his wounded hand starts pumping blood. He touches the woman and wakes to find two New Orleans policemen searching his room.
The cops want to know why Harry’s number was in the hand of Toots’ dead body. Toots’ genitalia was cut off and stuffed down his throat. Blood was scattered all over the apartment. They ask about the case he is investigating and if he really knows the famous baseball player Ted Williams.
Harry goes to a bar and drinks. He calls Margaret Krusemark. Harry sees an elevator descending in the booth mirror and a New Year’s Eve celebration in 1943. He touches the coat of a soldier in the crowd and then is snapped back to the present. The singer has asked him a question. Margaret doesn’t answer the phone.
Harry goes back to Margaret’s apartment. The door is unlocked, and he goes inside. She is dead, and her chest is cut wide open. Harry is sick and sees that the curved knife was used. His revulsion doesn’t stop him from searching her place. He finds a mummified had. He removed the evidence that he had an appointment with her. He hears the heartbeat louder until he sees her severed heart on his astrology chart.
Harry walks past St. Louis Cathedral and goes to a bar. The scene switches to some inbreeds being baptized in a river. Harry’s car crosses a bridge. He sees that he is being followed by a red pickup truck. Harry stops his car and crosses a footbridge. He talks to a couple of French-speaking men about buying oysters. The two men from the truck release a dog across the bridge. The dog latches on to Harry’s leg and doesn’t let go until one of the men hits Harry in the back with an ax handle. Harry lands in a tray of crawfish, and the man tells him that Margaret Krusemark’s father Ethan wants him gone.
An old bus drops Epiphany and some other women. The broken-down Harry is waiting by the road. He follows her and tells her about him seeing the voodoo ceremony. Harry accuses her of setting up Toots, which she denies. She does accept that she sent the chicken’s foot because Toots had a big mouth.
At last, Epiphany says Johnny Favorite was her father. She says he never came back from the war, and her mother died. When Epiphany says she is single, Harry flirts again.
Harry goes back to his hotel room, and the clerk says she has a message for him. There is a small girl with a doll sitting on the stairs.
A choir is singing inside of St. Louis Cathedral. Harry enters, and sitting in the last row is Cyphre. Cyphre wants a progress report. Harry tells about all of the murders and says it’s connected with a lot of religion. Harry tries to get out of the deal. He thinks Favorite is committing the murders. Cyphre cautions Harry a couple of times about his language inside of the church.
Harry goes back to his room, and it is raining again. A soaking Epiphany is waiting outside. They have a drink. The roof of the room starts leaking. Harry says that Favorite was a bad guy. Epiphany tells that her mother said he was as close to pure evil as she ever wanted to come, and he was a great lover.
Harry finds out that Epiphany is 17. She says she never knew the father of her child. She says she was mounted by the gods in a voodoo ceremony to become pregnant. The couple starts dancing and then kissing.
They begin making love as the rain drips down. Suddenly the rain turns to blood. A pistol is shown on the nightstand. The scene becomes intercut with people at the Harlem church and the veiled lady cleaning blood. Everything becomes more frantic. Lawyer Winesap is shown being killed, as are scenes of orgies. The blood explodes, and Epiphany screams. Harry gets up and punches the mirror.
The cops bang on Harry’s door. They can see Epiphany inside. The cops say they don’t care about Toots’ murder, but Margaret Krusemark is from white money. They want to know if she is connected to Harry’s search. The cop says Krusemark was into black magic, and he leaves mad.
When Harry gets back in the room, Epiphany is in the tub singing a Johnny Favorite tune that has been heard several times during the movie, including Harry tapping it out on the piano. Harry stares at himself in the broken mirror.
Harry goes to his car and the red pickup truck, and the dog is there. Harry gets the jump and his one of the men and chases the other. He follows the man into a horse stable. The man begins shooting at Harry as the other man in the truck arrives. The asshole shoots a horse, and it falls on Harry’s leg. They release the dog to attack. Before the dog can reach Harry, a horse kicks and kills it. Harry escapes and has to run through a large chicken coop.
Harry shows up at a farm where there are horse races, chicken fights, and dead animals. Harry is shown to Ethan Krusemark. Ethan says that as far as he is concerned, Favorite is dead. Ethan wants to know who is paying Harry, but he won’t tell. Harry runs the tale down about Ethan and Margaret taking Favorite out of the asylum in Poughkeepsie and paying off the doctor.
Ethan and Harry go to the shed where the gumbo is being cooked. Ethan admits to paying off the doctor. Then Margaret and Ethan dropped Favorite off in Times Square on New Year’s Eve 1943.
Ethan says his daughter was into some strange stuff. Harry mentions the mummified hand in her house. Ethan says it is called “the hand of glory” and can open any lock. The father says Margaret was just going through a phase.
Harry gets rough with Ethan and says he knows that Ethan is a Satanist, and he was the one that introduced his daughter to Favorite. Ethan admits he was and that Favorite could conjure the Devil and had sold his soul.
Harry is yelling and hitting blocks of ice with various weapons. Ethan continues that Favorite sold his soul for stardom and tried to use an obscure rite to duck out of the deal. To make it work, he needed a human sacrifice that was his own age. Toots and Favorite picked up a random soldier from Times Square. They took the soldier back to Favorite’s apartment and conducted the ceremony. The sacrifice was tied up and branded with a pentagram. Margaret presented Favorite with a virgin knife, and Favorite cut the soldier’s heart out. It was still beating when Favorite ate the heart. Favorite was going to come back as the dead soldier. However, he got drafted and lost his memory in the war.
Favorite was the only one who knew who the name of the dead soldier. The soldier’s dog tags were sealed in a vase that was given to Margaret. As Ethan continues with details, Harry screams for the name. He looks in the mirror and sees scenes of the Harlem church and the veiled lady washing blood. Harry continues to scream for the name of the soldier. Harry screams and finds Ethan dead with his face in the giant, boiling gumbo pots. Harry runs away.
Harry drives quickly to Margaret’s apartment. He searches until he finds the vase with the dog tags. When he finds the vase, he smashes it, revealing the dog tags. The name on the tags is Angel, Harrold, born February 2, 1918. Harry screams like a wounded animal and says, I know who I am.
Cyphre is sitting in the living room with his hair down. Harry now gets the joke that Louis Cyphre is Lucifer. Harry says he is not scared. He thinks Cyphre killed the people, and Harry is setup. Cyphre starts calling him Johnny and says he was doomed from the moment he slit open the young soldier. Cyphre says that Favorite was living on borrowed time for 12-years. Cyphre eyes turn Devil yellow, and he says Favorite’s soul belongs to him.
Cyphre puts on a Favorite record, and Harry remembers the murders. First, shooting the doctor in the eye, then cutting open Margaret, followed by cutting up Toots, and most recently boiling Ethan. He then remembers Epiphany screaming as he chokes her. Cyphre is gone.
Harry runs through the rain to get back to his hotel. The black-veiled woman is outside. The face is shown as Harry passes, and it is Cyphre. Inside the room, the police are investigating. Epiphany has been shot in the genitalia and is lying dead on the bed. She is wearing Harry Angels dog tags. The cop asks him why he came back, and Harry replies that he lives here. The cop then asks who the girl is, and Harry says she is my daughter.
The other cop brings Epiphany baby into the room. The first cop says Harry is going to burn for the crime. Harry says yes, in Hell. The baby gets those Devil yellow eyes and points at Harry.
The credits roll and cut in are scenes of Harry riding the elevator to Hell. When he gets to the bottom, the heartbeat stops.
I’ll be right back with conclusions and the World-Famous Short Summary following a word from our sponsors.
Summary – Angel Heart (1987)
Holy cow. That was a lot. I have just a few tidbits about Angel Heart (1987) before I finish.
Johnny Favorite’s real name was Liebling. In German, this name means sweetheart or angel.
The name of the law firm was Winesap and Mackintosh. These are two types of apples and reference the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
When Cyphre eats eggs at his meeting with Harry, Cyphre says that some religions consider the egg the symbol of the soul. The Devil offers Harry an egg. Was this a chance for Harry/Favorite to get his soul back?
In the same scene, Harry throws some salt that was spilled over his left shoulder. The Morton Salt people say that this was a French custom that was done to hit the Devil in the eye and ward off bad events[6].
In Poughkeepsie, Harry tells the nurse that ballpoint pens were not invented before World War II. In fact, they were patented in 1938[7].
Finally, the recipe for the Two Sisters Cocktail:
1/2 oz. light rum
1/2 oz. spiced rum
1 dash of lime juice
1 dash Coca-Cola
Shake vigorously with ice and strain into a shot glass.
World-Famous Short Summary – You dance with the Devil, the Devil don’t change
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Beware the moors
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092563/
[2] https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1000959-angel_heart
[3] https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/angel-heart-1987
[4] https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/06/movies/film-mickey-rourke-stars-in-angel-heart.html
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel_Heart
[6] https://www.mortonsalt.com/article/salt-history/
[7] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/the-story-of-laszlo-biro-the-man-who-invented-the-ballpoint-pen-30631082/
