The Angel of Islington
An angel (Diane Cilento) is sent down to Islington, London to assist in the lives of various people who live there such as pawn broker Joshua Webman (Felix Aylmer), his assistant Len (Philip Guard) and Jenny Lane (Sheila Sweet) who Len has a crush on. Without any money to go about her mission here on Earth the angel heads to Webman's shop to pawn her harp and enchants Mr. Webman, Len as well as the children outside with her angelic playing. Soon the angel finds herself touching lots of hearts from Joshua who is worried about the future to Jenny, Len as well as his mother and grandmother.
One of the main reasons you should never dismiss old movies just because they are old is that they can end up working in different ways. As such for those who lived around the area of the Angel, Islington back in the 1950s are likely to find some nostalgic appeal to several scenes from "The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp" which were shot there. In fact the whole vibe of the movie from youth club dances to communities where everyone knows each other and their business has that nostalgic appeal even though I wasn't even born back then.
The thing about "The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp" is that it is a very simple movie as we have a varied bunch of characters, some of them border on being more of a caricature, all with things which concern them from Len and Jenny dealing with young love to Joshua concerned about the future, especially what will happen to his collection of musical boxes. But the truth is that whilst we have the angel assisting these people and teaching them about what is really important the movie really rests on Diane Cilento delivering this wonderful mix of naive and innocent as the angel who can say things in such a way that just makes you smile whilst lighting up the screen with her smile at the same time.
What this all boils down to is that "The Angel Who Pawned Her Harp" is one of those whimsical British movies from the 1950s which is some lightweight fun. But it is also lightweight fun with a good heart as we watch the Angel bring out the best in those she meets.
