mark.waltz Slip, aka Leo Gorcey, provides a Philip Marlowe style narration in this entry in the Bowery Boys series that spoofs the new breed of crime film known as "film noir", perhaps not realizing what they were doing. It's as deliciously close to film noir as the spoof's, "The Cheap Detective" and "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" were. They are taking on a mysterious gang known as "the Loop" who attacked their pal, Gabriel Dell. Told in flashback, this has all the elements of the great film noir of the day, not that I consider this a classic by any means. The use of music, editing and photography is more cleverly used, making this stand out among the long running D grade series that was never meant to be anything but a quick money maker for Monogram studios during the late 1940's. I don't think that Leo Gorcey gets the credit for being as good an actor as he is, but this ranks as one of his best performances, really making the grade in his narration as well as in the use of his malapropisms in describing what's going on. So probably the best of the series up to this point, it would only find competition in a few more over the next decade.

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.

aimless-46 "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.