Angels in Disguise

Angels in Disguise (1949)

** (out of 4)

A rather flat and extremely unfunny entry in the series is perhaps one of the strangest as well. In the film a cop (Gabriel Dell) is shot and injured while his partner is murdered so the Bowery Boys decide to find out who was behind it. Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall) go undercover in a gang and learn that it's not old-time gangsters but instead a younger group who are smarter and more powerful. This here was the fifteenth entry in the series and what exactly it was trying to do is beyond me. For starters, there aren't any laughs here but what's so strange is that it really doesn't seem like the film was going for any. There's not any of that usual slapstick, no real comic banter and the screenplay seems like all the comedy must have been edited out. The movie features Gorcey doing his usual bit of messed up dialogue but even it comes off rather flat and poorly written. The strangest thing about this movie is that it adds a voice-over narration by Gorcey, which was obviously used to try and make this a noir-like film. This really didn't work because, amongst many things, the dialogue was just poorly written and really didn't add up to much. It's too silly to be taken seriously but it's not funny enough to be a comedy. The only inspired bit comes when Louie (Bernard Gorcey) pretends to be a major gangster and gets to act tough and flirt with a hot dame. The rest of the film goes for a straight drama but for the life of me I wasn't sure what the point was. There's really nothing in the screenplay and this isn't helped by the flat direction. Yarbrough is best known for some Abbott and Costello film (HERE COME THE CO-EDS), some horror flicks (SHE WOLF OF London, THE BRUTE MAN) and some downright horrid stuff (HILLBILLYS IN A HAUNTED HOUSE). He appears to be asleep at the wheel as there's not an ounce of energy to be found here and it's probably one of the most lifeless entries so far. With that said, I wouldn't call this one of the worst. There aren't any laughs and there's really not anything good here but the picture is just so darn weird that you can't help but be mildly caught up in everything that's going on. This one here is certainly for fans only and it's doubtful many of them will enjoy what's happening.

Charles R. Marion, who wrote many Bowery Boys films (later the ADDAMS FAMILY on tv), must have been inspired by the film noir rage of the late 1940s. The net result was ANGELS IN DISGUISE, a goofy on steroids mystery/adventure with lots of shady characters, and, of course, Leo Gorcey narrating the crazy proceedings?

Here, the gang goes undercover, to avenge the death of a veteran cop and friend, getting the goods on a notorious ring of robbers. The moody music, the dark settings and a shoot-out make this one a lot of fun, add Gorcey destroying the English language.

Louie (Bernard Gorcey) steals the show as "Big Louie", carrying a violin in a violin case meant for a machine gun? Check out the slickster threads the gang wears, particularly Whitey (Billy Benedict) as they try to impress the bad guys. Edward Ryan (a former child actor) plays the short-fuse leader of the Loop Gang. Former model Jean Dean plays the alluring gun mall, later to appear in movie serials. Jean Yarbrough, who was also associated with Abbott and Costello, did a fine job of directing and you can tell everybody was having a blast, especially Huntz Hall.

Yes, this was filmed around Monogram Pictures, you can see the famous brick alley, used in many other films and office windows. The building is still around today, and now owned by Public Television in Hollywood.

One of the best of the entire series, and it shows. What a treat. Remastered by Warner Brothers and in box sets, generally containing eight episodes each.

Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall) are lowly copy boys in the New York Daily Chronicle newspaper. They get news that their police friend Gabe Moreno is in the hospital after a shootout. They decide to go undercover to do their own investigation.

This is a satire of a noir crime drama. It's Slip and Sach pretending to be hard. That's a funny concept and I really like the premise initially. The jokes level off and the movie loses steam over time. The funny premise doesn't lead to a lot of laughs. The movie seems to struggle between the two opposing genres and can't quite combine them. It needs to be funnier.

Returning to work at New York City's "Daily Chronicle" (see "News Hounds" for an unconnected earlier stint), "The Bowery Boys" get involved in exposing a ring of mobsters, after policeman chum Gabriel Dell (as Gabe Moreno) is hospitalized in a shooting. Journalistic leader Leo Gorcey (as "Slip" Mahoney) is the newspaper's "chief copy boy" - and aspiring investigative reporter. Hapless Huntz Hall (as Horace Debussy "Sach" Jones) is his apprentice. William "Billy" Benedict (as Whitey), Benny "Bennie" Bartlett (as Butch), and David Gorcey (as Chuck) are streetwise paperboys.

This "Naked City"-influenced satire starts off well, but loses steam several times during the running time. The startling opening works well, with Mr. Gorcey awakening in an alley, where he and Mr. Hall have been uncharacteristically beaten to a pulp. From there, Gorcey "narrates" the loopy, nonsensical detective story. Director Jean Yarbrough manages the tight budget reasonably well.

In early film appearances, youngsters Joseph Turkel (as John Mutton), Mickey Knox (as Angles Carson), Richard Benedict (as Miami), and Pepe Hern (as Bertie Spangler) make especially good pool hall hustler impressions. You're likely to forget the plot entirely, later in the running time, when bookworm boy wonder Edward "Eddie" Ryan (as Mr. Carver) and sexy girlfriend Jean Dean (as Vickie Darwell) enter the picture.

Watch for the scene where Mr. Ryan sadistically slaps Mr. Turkel's face, followed by Ms. Dean's sexually-charged entrance; in a dress which fills the movie screen like few others, Dean definitely gives the film a lift. Happily, the often underutilized Bowery supporting cast helps round up the forgettable, frayed storyline, with Bernard Gorcey (as "Big Louie") joining "Whitey the Whip", "Chuck the Chiller", and "Butch the Butcher".

***** Angels in Disguise (9/9/49) Jean Yarbrough ~ Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Joseph Turkel

"Angels in Disquise" is the most stylish, most Irish, and arguably the best of the Bowery Boys series. Eddie Ryan is great as an intellectual crime boss who believes the boys are tough gangsters. There are the usual number of amusing malapropisms from Slip, lots of zany moments from Sach, and the height-challenged Bernard Gorcey gets to play a gunman called "Big Louie Dumbrowsky".

The best part of "Angels", however, is Jean Dean as bad girl Vicki Darwell. Dean was a Vargas model in the 1940's (for his redheads) and Esquire calendar girl who was as close to physical perfection as any woman before or since. The scene in which she makes her first appearance is magical; that moment transcends the whole series. It even appears that the actors recognize this as it is happening, and are genuinely blown away by this stunning beauty.