Angels in Disguise (1949)

The Bowery Boys investigate a murder, and all the evidence points to the involvement of the notorious Loop gang.

Director:

Jean Yarbrough

Writers:

Charles R. Marion (screenplay), Gerald Schnitzer (screenplay),

Stars:

Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Gabriel Dell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Leo Gorcey	...	Slip Mahoney
Huntz Hall	...	Horace Debussy 'Sach' Jones
Gabriel Dell	...	Gabe Moreno
Mickey Knox	...	Angles Carson
Jean Dean	...	Vickie Darwell
William 'Billy' Benedict	...	Whitey (as Billy Benedict)
David Gorcey	...	Chuck
Benny Bartlett	...	Butch (as Bennie Bartlett)
Bernard Gorcey	...	Louie Dumbrowsky
Richard Benedict	...	Miami
Joe Turkel	...	Johnny Mutton (as Joseph Turkel)
Pepe Hern	...	Bertie Spangler
Edward Ryan	...	Mr. Carver
Ray Walker	...	City Editor Jim Cobb
Rory Mallinson	...	Martin Lovell

Storyline

Slip (Leo Gorcey) narrates that he and Sach (Huntz Hall) were copy boys on the 'Daily Chronicle" when their police-detective friend, Gabe Moreno ('Gabriel Dell(I)' )was shot during a holdup by The Loop Gang, and another officer killed. During their investigation, Slip accidentally wins the respect of gangster "Angles" (Mickey Knox) when he gets out of a prearranged police pickup. The Loop Gang pull another robbery and mobster Bertie Spangler (Pepe Hern) for bungling a job. Slip then realizes that "Angles" and his mob are responsible for the crime wave. Through "Angles" and "Miami" ('Richard Benedict' ), Slip and Sach meet Carver (Edward Ryan), real leader of the gang, and his vampish girl friend Vickie ('Jean Dean' )who immediately "goes for" Slip. His pals Butch (Benny Bartlett), Chuck (David Gorcey and "Whitey (William 'Billy' Benedict) dress like gangsters and convince Carver they are mobsters, and malt-shop owner Louie Bernard Gorcey)pretends he is their contact man. The Bowery ...

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Plot Keywords:

gang | bowery boys | gangster | police detective | malt shop | 

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Taglines:

It's their Funniest Fightin-est Film!

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Genres:

Crime | Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1949 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Monogram Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

63 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The fifteenth of forty-eight Bowery Boys movies.

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Quotes

Mr. Slip Mahoney: Let me get my implement of destruction.

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Connections

Followed by Master Minds (1949)

User Reviews

Bowery Boys #15

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.