Fallen Angels is an American neo-noir anthology television series that ran from 1993 to 1995 on the Showtime pay cable station and was produced by Propaganda Films. No first-run episodes were shown in 1994.

The series was executive produced by Sydney Pollack and produced by Steve Golin and others. The theme song was written by Elmer Bernstein and the original music was written by Peter Bernstein.

Period torch songs by performers like Patti Page and Billie Holiday were used periodically.

In Europe, the show was known as Perfect Crimes and shown in France on Canal +, and in England.

Series overview

The series was set in somber Los Angeles right after World War II and before the election of American president John F. Kennedy.

The episodes had a gorgeous look and, although filmed in color, mimicked what had been done by Hollywood filmmakers during the film noir era of the 1940s and 1950s in terms of tone, look, and story content.

The television program was produced using top-notch directors, well-known hard-boiled fiction writers, experienced screenplay writers, inventive cinematographers (who recreated the film noir images), and actors. The art direction gave the series the ambiance and historical look required of a show devoted to noir set in Los Angeles.

A few known actors went behind the camera to direct a few episodes. They include: Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, and Kiefer Sutherland.

The ensemble group of craftswomen and men took a turn at the helm each week to produce episodes that produced a visually interesting series.

Each episode began with a cool and restrained jazz score as the sultry character Fay Friendly (Lynette Walden) explained to the audience what would develop in the episode.

Her words were wistful, melancholic and foreshadowed the pain to come.

Neo-noir novelist James Ellroy said of the show:

It's a role call of tormented souls confronting their monsters within; it's a picaresque look at Los Angeles back in the forties. It's the world of pulp on celluloid, pure translations that augment the stark power of great short fiction.

See also

• List of Fallen Angels episodes and original story sources

Directors

Some of the directors in the series were:

• Tom Cruise
• Alfonso Cuarón
• Peter Bogdanovich
• John Dahl
• Agnieska Holland
• Steven Soderbergh

Guest stars

Among the many guest stars on the show were:

First Season (1993)

• Gary Oldman, Gabrielle Anwar, Dan Hedaya, Wayne Knight and Meg Tilly
• Tom Hanks, Marg Helgenberger and Bruno Kirby
• Joe Mantegna and Bonnie Bedelia
• Peter Gallagher, Nancy Travis and Isabella Rossellini
• Laura Dern, Alan Rickman and Diane Lane
• Gary Busey, Tim Matheson and James Woods

Second Season (1995)

• Mädchen Amick and Kiefer Sutherland
• Brendan Fraser and Peter Coyote
• Eric Stoltz
• Dana Delany and Benicio del Toro
• Bill Pullman and Heather Graham
• Miguel Ferrer and Peter Berg
• Michael Rooker and Christopher Lloyd
• Danny Glover and Valeria Golino
• Bill Nunn, Giancarlo Esposito and Cynda Williams

Releases

In the United States the first season was released in a two volume VHS set. The second season was only released in Europe (DVD region 2) in 1999 and Australia (DVD region 4) under the title Perfect Crimes (three DVDs).

Grove Press released a companion book, Six Noir Tales Told for Television, (1993) with all the original stories and the screenplays from the first season. A soundtrack was also released.

External links

• .
• Thrilling Detective Guide of Fallen Angels.