mark.waltz
A Payne and a Morgan get together for this extremely short B comedy action filler that is sure to please in spite of its clichéd premise. When pharmacist George Reeves reacts to gangsters on the lam by pulling a gun while grabbing Band-Aids, he becomes a n instant hero. Wannabe cop brother Dennis Morgan sings in a nightclub, gaining a slap from tough Irish gal Gloria Dickson who slowly falls for his own brand of blarney when he wins over her family with a series of Irish lullaby's, with the exception of her tough cop suitor (John Payne) who makes his training a living hell. Between the two rivals, there's little room for gangsters to make a racket, although elements of a full plot are few and far between. The big story involves Morgan's determination to get away from the squad glee club and do something to impress Dickson and show Payne up.Harry Shannon and Mary Gordon add heart to the role of Dickson's Irish immigrant parents, emotional over the singing of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling", a corny moment for sure, but you may find your eyes smiling along. A good bulk of this finds Morgan singing which without, this would clock in at a little more than half an hour. It takes more than 3/4 of the film to return to the plot set-up concerning Reeves, making me wonder how this managed to get past the approval of the Warner executives. So as entertaining as it seems to be, it's untimely pretty sloppy and a weak entry even on the B level. Even so, the film moves at a brisk pace, never slowing down for a second. So while there is music in this mess, it's rather flat in spite of Morgan's glorious voice.
John T. Ryan
MAKING THE USE of plenty of footage culled from ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES (Warner Bros., 1938), this production is a prime example of the making of a "B" movie out of thin air. The recipe calls for an unmade, but easily revisable script, a couple of lightweight leads, a modest sized assembly of supporting players and a catchy-if somewhat ambiguous and misleading title.ANOTHER WEAPON AVAILABLE to the second string director and production team of any "B" is the assistance rendered by a truly unsung hero in Hollywood. That talented guy is the editor who puts the trailers together. His presence on the movie studios' lot is equally important to the Movie Company as the Major League relief pitcher, who is designated as "the Closer" is to his team.WE'VE SEEN BOTH the complete feature film and the movie's trailer. We have to confess that we did enjoy it's meshing names like Dennis Morgan, Gloria Dickson, John Payne, George Reeves and John Hamilton (among others). It does have a certain sort of crazy appeal; not the least of which is Mr. Morgan's character's being torn between the Police Department's 'Shock Troops' and the Department's Chorale, where he is lead singer.WE ALSO SAW the movie's trailer, as we said earlier, and guess what? The trailer was a better movie than that was the actual 55 minutes of the film itself!
kapelusznik18
***SPOILERS*** "Tear Gas Squad" starts off as a musical comedy but soon turns serious when night club singer Tommy McCabe's, Dennis Morgan, kid brother druggist Joe, Steve Reeves , is gunned down before his eyes by the Rock Dawson, Warren Rock, gang. It was Rock Dawson whom Joe had turned in, at gunpoint, to the police earlier in the movie when he came to his drugstore for help after being shot in the arm by the police.Up until then Tommy who joined to police department to impress Jerry Sullivan, Gloria Dickson, who's entire family excluding Mama, Mary Gordon, are a member of the city police department but had been suspended for being a wise guy after graduation day with him being at the top of his class. Now determined to track down Joe's killers Tommy breaks all the rules and laws to get his hands on Dawson and his gang and bring them to justice. As things turn out it's Jerry's policeman suitor Sgt. Bill Morrissey, John Payne, Tommy's instructor at the police academy who ends up being kidnapped by the Dawson gang and held hostage, when the gang surrounded, at the Acme Fruit Packing Co. wear-house on the city's waterfront.***SPOILERS*** Doing his "Spiderman" act Tommy crashes through the skylight of the wear-house and with the whole place being tear gassed by the police he not only saves Morrissey's life but also ends up getting the girl, Jerry Sullivan, as well. The movie has staring in it the future Superman, and mild mannered reporter Clark Kent, actor Steve Reeves as Joe McCabe, Tommy's kid brother, as well as his boss John Hamilton as Chief Ferris who later played Perry White the editor of the Daily Planet. Now how's that for a quinella!
dougdoepke
Cocky young nightclub singer joins police force to win affection of cop family's daughter.The title remains a mystery since the crime part comes as something of an after-thought. And when the title tear gas finally does fly, it's short-lived. Actually, the movie's a showcase for Morgan who's clearly on his way to bigger and better things. Despite the B-budget, he comes through here in spades with a lively performance and a fine singing voice. In fact, the production looks like an opportunity for a number of likable younger players— Payne, Reeves, Anderson— resulting in an uncommonly good-looking male cast. The rivalry between Morrissey (Payne) and McCabe (Morgan) appears both natural and the movie's dramatic centerpiece.Sure, the story's about as hackneyed as they come. But it's a Warner Bros. production and no one was more energetic on screen than the studio of Cagney, Flynn, and Robinson. Their crews knew how to keep a story moving in both filming and editing. And, despite the limitations, this lively little endeavor is no exception.(In passing—note the presence of two cast members from 1950's Superman series, George Reeves {Joe McCabe} along with John Hamilton {police chief}. Also, look quickly for Perry Mason's William Hopper in an early walk-on.)
AD
