This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Excellent characters with emotional depth. My wife, daughter and granddaughter all enjoyed it...and me, too! Very good movie! You won't be disappointed.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

It's Hollywood's version of The Three Wise Men in this droll, slightly morbid comedy. Of course, the three escapees from Devil's Island prison don't start out as do-gooders. But once they encounter the struggling Ducotel family, their heartstrings are tugged. The chuckles come from how the three use their criminal skills to help the family's failing business, which is also about to be foreclosed by a hard-hearted cousin Andre (Rathbone) and his grasping son Paul (Baer).Now when thinking laughs, Bogart, Ray, and Ustinov don't come to mind. Wisely, each underplays his comedic role letting the unlikely situation they're in dominate; that way, none risk a broader type comedy that might burlesque their established personas. So Bogart's Joseph uses his shady leadership skills to benefit the family. Thus Bogart is still Bogart despite the droll format. At the same time, Ustinov's Jules cracks open about every lock in town, while Ray angles toward the fetching family daughter Isabelle (Talbot). All in all, It's a clever format for the three.Anyway, Talbott's charming, getting to wear about every colorful outfit in Paramount's wardrobe department. Carroll, on the other hand, looks unwell and too old to believably husband the lovely, much younger Bennett. On the other hand, I especially like the scenes where a fast-talking Bogart uses salesmanship on a reluctant over-weight woman (Penman), and an ill-fitting jacket on a paunchy man. As I recall, the movie got a lot of ballyhoo at the time, probably because of Bogart and this slight change of pace.Anyway, the 106-minutes may be a little overstretched for the material. But the results amount to an entertaining X-mas parable that was unfortunately Bogie's last film. But all in all, it's a pretty good one to go out on. One other thing, if someone offers you a little metal box with holes in it, don't take it. I repeat, don't take it.

This film has the most incongruous, far-fetched collection of actors of any film I can recall. And, why not? With such a wacky script and unusual plot, it calls for such diversity. "We're No Angels" is one of the most unusual – and original, comedies ever made. The entire cast shine in this hilarious film. It takes a short time to get up to speed, but that helps we viewers understand a little better what it's all about. It help us make sense out of what follows. Three convicts look down from roof windows on a family as its characters are introduced and they talk about their travails. And yet, the three pop in and out of the story, by simple trips down the ladder and then back up again. They are supposed to be repairing the roof. It's a novel convention and creative derivation from the old Hollywood techniques of heavenly creatures looking down on things below, or the more standard narrator telling a story. In this method though, the characters in the technique are part of the story at the outset and all along. By the time they come down off the roof for good, the comedy moves into high gear and it never lets up. I wonder how Paramount managed to cast the three male leads together. Humphrey Bogart is Joseph, a white-collar con man and head of the group. Peter Ustinov is Jules, the deft lock and safe opener. And, Aldo Ray is Albert, the slow-witted but kind-hearted guy who in an emotional outburst killed his uncle. A fourth character that we never see is contained in a box that looks like a model house. Adolph is a deadly poisonous snake – a sort of pet of the three guys who are prisoners on Devil's Island. From his description (very short, multi-colored), Adolph is probably some sort of coral snake. Three convicts have escaped from Devil's Island at the start of the story, but we don't know for sure if these are the three. That's because in the port town of Cayenne, capital of French Guiana, convicts from the island several miles offshore, are often put to work in various jobs. So, they can move about, cautiously, as convicts. But they talk about escaping and have their eyes set on doing so on a small ship anchored nearby. (The 1973 movie, "Papillon" is set in the same place.) But first they need to get passports, papers, clothing and some money. They set about to accumulate all three when they stop in the general store operated by Felix Ducotel. Leo G. Carroll is the next diverse actor cast, as Felix. His wife and daughter are two more. Joan Bennett plays his wife, Amelie, and Gloria Talbott plays his daughter, Isabelle. The final diverse casting is Basil Rathbone as Andre Trochard. A small number of other supporting players fill out the cast. This is one very funny, and redeeming story about three convicts who would like to see justice done for a family that befriended them – the Ducotels. Others describe the plot, so I'll end with a few funny lines from the film script. For more hilarious dialog, see the Quotes section here on the IMDb Web page of "We're No Angels."Albert, "They shouldn't let crooks like that on Devil's Island." Jules, "No, it'll give the place a bad name."Andre, "You men are murderers." Joseph, "Not me. I'm a maniac."Joseph, "Jules, you rush in and tell him before it's too late. Tell him there's a snake in that box." Jules, "He won't believe me. He doesn't like me." Joseph, "Albert, maybe you ought to run in and warn him." Albert, "Why don't we cut cards for it?" Joseph, "Good idea. I'll get the cards." (Long pause as he slowly saunters over to get a deck of cards and returns). Joseph, "Who cuts first?" This goes on for a time. The dialog is all the more funny watching the film. Joseph, "It's true. He died in his sleep." Felix, "That was very considerate of him." Amelie, "I don't know what to do." Felix, "The first thing to do is make sure that he's dead. I don't trust him."Felix, "He had a number of good points, I'm sure. I just can't think of any."Jules, "It's predestiny." Albert, "No, it's the fellow from the boat."The ending has a nice artistic touch. This is a wonderfully funny film. Anyone who hasn't seen Bogart in comedy will be surprised. With the right plot and script, a great actor can play any role. Bogie and the entire cast provide many laughs in this film. It's a treasure to keep in one's film library and pop in to play when skies are gray – or any time.

I had high hopes for this one… I guess they were TOO high. First of all, I've often had trouble with the concept of obviously filmed plays… "Noises Off" and "The Man Who Came to Dinner" were two of the worst offenders in my opinion. Static, motionless, tons of expositional dialogue crammed in as fast as they possibly could. And that was my experience with "We're No Angels". (I should note that I was unaware it had originally been a play when I started it… but I figured it out in about five minutes. How did "Arsenic and Old Lace" manage to be so entertaining, since it basically had the same limitations? I don't know, but 'static' is not a word I would apply to that film.) The first fifteen or twenty minutes of this one are basically filled with Bogart, Ustinov and Ray up on the roof watching and listening as the Ducotel family rolls out their long list of woes. How long can you watch someone looking in a window? What worked on the stage doesn't necessarily translate well to the screen. There was no action that I needed to see in order to follow the film, so about the time the daughter fainted for the second time, I went to work on a project in the kitchen and finished the film by listening only. It was so incessantly talky that it was like listening to a radio dramatization… perfect background for a little DIY puttering; not enough to keep me sitting and staring at the screen for the entire running time. I certainly had no trouble following it from the next room.That said, I thought Peter Ustinov and Aldo Ray were both excellent; they both presented well-drawn characters and delivered their lines (including some real zingers) with appropriate gusto. Bogart was all right, but I've been much more impressed with him in other pictures. He didn't seem to be working as hard as the other two were.Dull, predictable, nothing special. Wanted to like it more; wish I had.

It wasn't until a few years ago that my family purchased the DVD and sat down and watched this. Since the first viewing this has become a family favorite for Christmas (as well as other times during the year). First of all, it has wonderful acting throughout. Humphrey Bogart is fantastic and shows off his versatility as a comedic actor. Peter Ustinov is superb as is Aldo Ray. The three seem to play off each other so well that it's easy to get lost in the story.Though the movie starts a little slow it picks up the pace fairly quickly and doesn't let up. As the three convicts come undergo significant character change teaming up against a Basil Rathbone (who plays a great villain).I must say that this movie has what I feel is one of the funniest scenes I have seen in any movie ever (a laugh-so-hard-it-hurts scene). Though the movie almost has the feel of a play because of the limited locations, it makes up for it with the humorous story and the fantastic acting. You will never look at Bogart the same again!