''Dark Angel'' is a 1996 American

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

thriller

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

produced and directed by

Robert Iscove Robert Iscove is a Canadian film and television director, television producer and a choreographer. Filmography * '' Love and Larceny'' (1985, TV) * ''The Lawrenceville Stories'' (1987-1989, miniseries) * '' Shattered Dreams'' (1990, TV) * ''Miss ...

and written by

John Romano John or Johnny Romano may refer to: * Johnny Romano (1934–2019), American baseball player * John Romano (physician) (1908–1994), American physician and psychiatrist * John Romano (writer) John Romano (born October 2, 1948) is an American scre ...

, from a story by Romano and

Randall Wallace Randall Wallace (born July 28, 1949) is an American screenwriter, film director, producer, and songwriter who came to prominence by writing the screenplay for the historical drama film ''Braveheart'' (1995). His work on the film earned him a nom ...

. It stars

Eric Roberts Eric Anthony Roberts (born April 18, 1956) is an American actor. His career began with a leading role in '' King of the Gypsies'' (1978) for which he received his first Golden Globe Award nomination. He was nominated again at the Golden Globes ...

as a police detective on the trail of a

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Ashley Crow Ashley Diane Crow (born August 25, 1960) is an American actress. She is best known for her role of Sandra Bennet on the television show '' Heroes''. Life and career Crow was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She moved to Mountain Brook, Alabama at t ...

Linden Ashby Clarence Linden Garnett Ashby III (born May 23, 1960) is an American actor and director. On television, he portrayed Brett Cooper on the final two seasons of the Fox soap opera ''Melrose Place'' (1997–1999) and Sheriff Noah Stilinski on all ...

Gina Torres Gina Torres (born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Zoe Washburne in the science fiction series ''Firefly'' (2002–2003) and its feature film sequel '' Serenity'' (2005), and as Jessica Pearson in th ...

, and

Paul Calderon Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

co-star. The film was originally produced for

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

as the pilot episode of a series that never materialized. It aired on the network on September 10, 1996.

Plot

New Orleans Police Department The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) has primary responsibility for law enforcement in New Orleans, Louisiana. The department's jurisdiction covers all of Orleans Parish, while the city is divided into eight police districts. The NOPD has ...

detective Walter D'Arcangelo is the only link to a

who preys on

adulterous Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

women. In order to clear his name, Walter must solve the case before the killer strikes again.

Cast

as Walter D'Arcangelo *

as Anna St. Cyr *

as Harry Foley *

as LaMayne *

as Vance Pickett *

V. P. Oliver V. P. Oliver (born October 8, 1985 in Northridge, California, United States as Vince Oliver) is an American actor. He played Jimmy Harrison in Aaron Spelling's soap opera '' Sunset Beach'' for 46 episodes in 1997. Later, Oliver played college bas ...

as Jerome * Nicholas Pryor as Richard * Wayne Péré as Vardamon *

Joel Polis Joel Polis (born October 3, 1951) is an American television, film and stage actor. Polis has appeared in over one hundred television programs and films during his career. Career Polis' first film role was the character Fuchs in the 1982 scienc ...

as Jastrow * Ray Baker as Wentworth

Production

Fox originally announced ''Dark Angel'' as a series in development for the 1996–97 television schedule, and produced this film as its pilot episode. Filming took place on location in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Release

The film premiered on Fox on September 10, 1996, as part of the network's ''Tuesday Night Movie'' series.

Reception

Carole Horst from ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote: "Script by TV vet John Romano doesn't flag as mystery unfolds at a leisurely pace, although Roberts gets the only fully fleshed out character, delivering a sexy, wiseguy performance. Most everyone else has to walk that line between hip irony and outright overacting. Most fall on the wrong side. Robert Iscove's direction is crisp and straightforward; Linda Burton's production design and Francis Kenny's camera make good use of the flavor of the city."

References

External links

* * * 1996 films 1996 thriller films 1990s American films 1990s English-language films 1990s mystery thriller films 1990s police procedural films 1990s serial killer films American mystery television films American mystery thriller films American police detective films American serial killer films American thriller television films American Zoetrope films Fictional portrayals of the New Orleans Police Department Films about adultery in the United States Films directed by Robert Iscove Films set in New Orleans Films shot in New Orleans Fox network original films Murder mystery films Television films as pilots Television pilots not picked up as a series {{US-tv-thriller-film-stub