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Tear Gas Squad
A brash night club singer becomes a cop to impress a woman.
Release : | 1940 |
Rating : | 5.5 |
Studio : | Warner Bros. Pictures, |
Crew : | Art Direction, Director of Photography, |
Cast : | Dennis Morgan John Payne Gloria Dickson George Reeves Frank Wilcox |
Genre : | Drama Crime |
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Reviews
I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
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!
There's a definite B-film flavor for this quickie from Warner Bros. that has DENNIS MORGAN as a nightclub singer trying to impress a girl (GLORIA DICKSON) with his impersonation as a police officer during a nightclub act. Little does he know she's from a family of officers, which is why she fails to be impressed by him.JOHN PAYNE is one of her brothers, also a policeman who knows Morgan because he gave him a traffic ticket for speeding. The story turns out to be a trifle distinguished only by a generous sampling of Irish songs by Morgan, who never sounded in better voice. Unfortunately, the story is hackneyed stuff, with Morgan deciding to actually join the police force instead of just impersonating one. Naturally, he has to shape up under Payne's leadership in training school.It's predictable nonsense with DENNIS MORGAN's way with a song being the only worthwhile reason for watching. Running less than an hour, it's a harmless programmer but easily forgotten.
Spoiler - The irish tenor sings in uniform with his gal and his horse in the final scene. Is that why somebody called it a comedy? Hokey police drama with fits of music and unintentional laughs. If you want to riff on a B-movie ala MST3K, screen this George Reeves ditty at your next gathering.
A bit of history is called for in explaining the misleading title.Often in B-film productions, the studios would assign the producer only a "power title" with a hoped-for marquee value. From just that pre-assigned title with which to work, the film's storyline would then evolve.Well, the film attached to the title "Tear Gas Squad" turns out to be a terrific little musical-comedy programmer with a great cast and original songs and music by Jack Scholl and M. K. Jerome (whose biggest fame would come from "Casablanca" two years later).The great Irish tenor of Dennis Morgan shines. All else is a pleasurable hour of concise entertainment. Recommended!