“Angel is the ritziest of all the Lubitsch comedies: the most discreet, the most soft-spoken, the one with the most impeccable manners” (James Harvey). Nowhere are the famed Lubitsch touches more finely executed than in the story of “Angel” (Marlene Dietrich), the bored wife of a diplomat who revisits her nebulous past in Paris, leading to an act of indiscretion with American Anthony Halton (Melvyn Douglas). Here Lubitsch perfected his gift for ironic revelation through exclusion, keeping major dramatic moments off-screen to brilliant effect (most notably Angel's impromptu flight from her affair, rendered through the sound of Anthony calling for her and the expressions of a passing flower vendor). A low-key masterpiece that has enjoyed a critical revival in recent years, “Angel now seems to be one of his best films” (Andrew Sarris).