Interesteg What makes it different from others?

Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Michael_Elliott 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.

bkoganbing This film of the Bowery Boys series finds them as Angels In Disguise. Though Leo Gorcey and Huntz Hall are only newspaper copy boys they go undercover as investigative journalists to track down the notorious Loop gang which has been pulling robberies all over the city. Their latest robbery wounds police officer Gabriel Dell and kills another officer who was a friend to the Boys.Gorcey's skill with a pool cue gains him entry to the gang which is headed by Edmond Ryan who is a really chilling character, a bit out of the general fun of a Bowery Boys film. The gang has been getting inside information on which places to rob, but I will have to say that the way it is transmitted is one of the cleverest gimmicks I've ever seen on film. Talk about hiding it in plain sight.The film is narrated by Gorcey with his usual command of the English language and syntax. And Huntz Hall is as clueless as ever. Definitely Angels In Disguise is one of the better Bowery Boys films.

classicsoncall I think it would have been fun if the Bowery Boys did more character parodies like the one presented here. Slip (Leo Gorcey) and Sach (Huntz Hall) take on the persona of big time gangsters to ingratiate themselves with a Chicago mob called The Loop. Then they get cornered into bringing along the rest of their gang, Whitey the Whip (Billy Benedict), Chuck the Chiller (David Gorcey), and Butch the Butcher (Benny Bartlett). I don't know about you, but the one I wanted to see most was Big Louie (Bernard Gorcey). Wasn't he just great? It didn't take much of a stretch for the Boys to get tangled up in any of their adventures, and that's the case here as well. The story starts out with Slip and Sach as copy boys at the New York Daily Chronicle, and from there they get drawn into a murder investigation of one of the local beat cops. Gabriel Dell makes an appearance as Officer Gabe Marino, who really doesn't have a large role in the story after he also takes a bullet (off screen) in the early going. Slip and Sach visit him at General Hospital, where you'll stare in disbelief as a nurse lights up a cigarette for Gabe while he's convalescing - in bed!!! Every once in a while you'll catch a scene in an era movie like this where a doctor might smoke while seeing a patient, but this was the best!As long as we're on the subject of smoking, I can't forget to mention Jean Dean in the smoking hot role of mob boss Carver's moll, Vickie Darwell. She comes on strong right from the get go, and plays Slip just a bit more risqué than I think he was used to. It would have been great to see this one in color and watch Slip turn red as a beet. Had she turned up the heat just a bit more, Slip probably would have needed a blood confusion.

wes-connors 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