Angels Revenge
Angels Revenge, or Angels Brigade, is a 1979 American comedy action thriller film[1] directed by Greydon Clark and distributed by Arista Films. It is also known as Angels' Brigade and Seven from Heaven.
| Angels Revenge | |
|---|---|
 One-sheet for Angels Brigade | |
| Directed by | Greydon Clark |
| Produced by | Greydon Clark |
| Written by | Greydon Clark Alvin L. Fast |
| Starring | Sylvia Anderson Lieu Chinh Jacqueline Cole Liza Greer Robin Greer Susan Kiger Peter Lawford Jack Palance Jim Backus |
| Music by | Gerald Lee |
| Cinematography | Dean Cundey |
| Distributed by | Arista Films |
Release date | February 1979 |
Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The film has major roles for Peter Lawford and Jack Palance as the leaders of a drug cartel, and gives minor roles to character actors Jim Backus, Alan Hale, Jr., Pat Buttram and Arthur Godfrey (playing himself). Of the actresses who played the movie's seven female protagonists, however, the closest any had previously come to any degree of fame was Susan Kiger, who had been the Playboy Playmate of the Month for January 1977. Kiger played singer Michelle Wilson; her co-stars were Sylvia Anderson as stuntwoman Terry Grant, Lieu Chinh as martial arts instructor Keiko Umaro, Jacqueline Cole as high-school teacher April, Noela Velasco as model Maria, and Robin Greer as policewoman Elaine Brenner. Her younger sister Liza Greer plays high-school student Trish, who invites herself into the team. Jack Palance played chief antagonist Mike Farrell, assistant to Lawford's kingpin character.
Plot
The film focuses on seven women who decide to fight the local drug cartel after the brother of Michelle Wilson, a Las Vegas pop singer, is found severely beaten. When taken to the hospital, the young man is found to have been on illegal drugs. The singer meets with April, her brother's teacher, and the two hatch a plan to destroy the local drug processing plant. They recruit four more women with special skills and connections to help them carry out their audacious goal. As they plan their first strike, they discover high-schooler Trish spying on them. The student gets relegated to phone duty, but eventually worms her way into their escapades. The "Angels" not only destroy the processing plant, but also manage to intercept one of the shipments. As a result, the women receive unwelcome attention from the local drug cartel.
Critical response
The film was not well received by the critics or the general public, being seen as a cheap knockoff of the Charlie's Angels television series.[2] The plot was seen as contrived. It also had a number of actors, primarily Lawford and Palance, whose popularity had fallen since the 1960s.[3]
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Because of the poor response to the film, it faded into obscurity until it was featured in a 1995 episode of the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. The movie was edited somewhat for MST3K; for example, the character of Miller (Neville Brand) is listed in the opening credits, but is only mentioned towards the end of this version, never actually appearing on screen.
Rifftrax
In 2017, former MST3K writers and cast members Bridget Nelson and Mary Jo Pehl riffed the uncut movie as a video-on-demand for RiffTrax.[4]
References
- "Angels Brigade". www.allmovie.com. Retrieved 1 September 2019.
- Martel, Roman J. (2013-07-18). "Roman's Movie Reviews and Musings: Angels' Revenge (1979) - MST3K Review". Roman's Movie Reviews and Musings. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
- "The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 2". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
- "Angels' Revenge". RiffTrax. April 7, 2017. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
