The Dark Angel [VHS]
Taped in Britain, The Dark Angel is an extra-long entry of PBS' Mystery series. Peter O'Toole heads a cast of dissipated, decadent 19th century aristocratic types. The script is based on a novel by Sheridan LeFanu, whose fascination with vampirism and "the undead" precipitated Bram Stoker by nearly thirty years. As in most gothic novels, the characters are motivated by greed, lust and the desire to hide Deep Dark Family Secrets from the outside world. The Dark Angel was originally presented in several weekly installments, here boiled down to 150 minutes for videocassette convenience. The film bears absolutely no relation to the 1935 Hollywood period drama of the same name. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi