World Famous Comics: The Angel Collection (Angel / Avenging Angel / Angel III)
The Angel Collection (Angel / Avenging Angel / Angel III)
Starring: Cliff Gorman, Susan Tyrrell, Dick Shawn, Rory Calhoun, Donna Wilkes Directed By: Robert Vincent O'Neill, Tom DeSimone Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: DVD Format: Anamorphic, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Starz / Anchor Bay Number of Items: 3 Region Code: 1 Release Date: June 10, 2003 Running Time: 285 minutes Theatrical Release Date: January 13, 1984
Hooked on ANGEL In 1984, I fell in love with a cheesy drive-in movie named Angel. It starred soap star Donna Wilkes, Dick Shawn, Rory Calhoun, Susan Tyrrell and Cliff Gorman (in one of the best roles of his career). This girl was a high school student during the day, a hooker at night. The reason she started hooking was her mom just left her and she need to get money somehow..WOW a great reason to be a lady of the evening! It had T & A, but kept the sleezibess in a small amount. Molly (Angel tried to solve the murder of her friend, another hooker. It was well done for a small grindhouse film.
A year later 1985, (that five years in movie time for you), A sequal came out. I wanted to stop and say NO, but I went anyway! I was not disaapointed. Betsy (Tomboy) Russell took on the role of Angel. In this film, Molly is graduating college and out of hooking. Her police guardian Detective Andrews, who is now played by Robert Lyons, is shot death. Molly realizes the best way to get information is to be Angel. Flanked by Kit (Rory Calhoun) and Solly (Susan Tyrrell), they flesh out who killed Andrews. With Ossie Davis in this cast, it brought a bit of class to this small film. At the end of this film ,you thought this film series was over when Molly spouted the film line "You know I never had a family Before."
A year later, 1986, Angel III: The Final Chapter. Angel is played by Mitzi Capture, who later did the show Silk Stalkings. Angel finds her birth mother and knows she has a sister. Her sister is involved with a slavery ring headed by Maud Adams, who also appeared in James Bond: the Man with Golden Gun. The piot thickens as Angel's Mom dies and tries to find her sister. Richard (Shaft) Roundtree plays the detective she befriends and helps her.
These Angels would never win best in show, but surpasses most of the GRINDHOUSE/Drive-in Cinema stuff. If anything, it is good for a night's entertainment. It does not like look cheap and the supporting casts are good
Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD
Finally!! I have been looking for the Angel movies for quite some time. I expected to maybe find them very used, and on VHS. I never thought I'd find them on DVD, much less together in a box set. Awesome!! It was pretty cool trippin down memory lane, watchin these movies. Glad I finally have them. Thanks Amazon!
fighting crime...and turning tricks The original ANGEL, released in 1984, was a surprise sleeper hit all over the world; garnering a cult following during it's runs on late-night cable. Donna Wilkes plays Molly Stewart, a 15-year-old schoolgirl who moonlights as a hooker (called Angel) on Hollywood Boulevard. Abandoned by her mother, Molly is taken care of by eccentric landlady Solly (Susan Tyrrell), transvestite Mae (Dick Shawn), and former cowboy Kit (Rory Calhoun). Molly's world is shattered when a serial killer starts offing her fellow toms, and becomes the next target when she points him out of a police lineup. ANGEL is filled with thrills, spills, campy one-liners and some equally over-the-top performances.
This box set also includes the two sequels, AVENGING ANGEL (released in 1985), and ANGEL III: THE FINAL CHAPTER (released in 1988). AVENGING ANGEL is the better film, because we get to see more of Susan Tyrrell and Rory Calhoun reprising their roles of Solly and Kit. Law student Molly (Betsy Russell) returns to the streets in order to track down the gangland killers who mowed down her guardian, Lt. Andrews (Robert Lyons). Betsy Russell, one of the main pin-up beauties of the 80s, delivers a good performance as Molly/Angel.
ANGEL III: THE FINAL CHAPTER follows Molly (now played by Mitzi Kapture) as she tries to track down her mother and long-lost sister, bringing down a white-slave trade ring in the process (run by former Bond girl Maud Adams). The third movie doesn't really work because the story and characters surrounding Angel are so dark and serious. The earlier ANGEL films were the perfect mix of comedy and action with endearing characters; you won't find that winning combination in the third movie. However, Mitzi Kapture does come closest to the spirit of Donna Wilkes in her performance as Molly/Angel.
The ANGEL trilogy is a perfect addition to your DVD collection, especially if you love 80's kitsch.
:P Piggytails Sex And Candy SchOOlgirl :P Angel Our Fav 1980s Hooker Is Finally a released on dvd..But please note that the 5 star rating for this dvd is for the first Angel movie ONLY..Movie 2 Avenging Angel is about 3 stars..And the 3rd movie here is barely a 2..I can't say too much good about 2nd and 3rd movie..But the first and original Angel movie starring a sexy Donna Wilkes..Who was at the time in her mid 20s playing a not quite 15 year old schoolgirl hooker..This is one of my favorite movies of the 1980s..The videotape had many Moons ago burned out so the release on dvd is welcomed..The first movie is so good it is worth the price..She is by day a cute little schoolgirl innocent in pigtails..And by night a "hot child in the city" as that song said..This movie really brings that song to mind even though it isn't played in the movie but it should..Hooker by night walking the streets along Hollywood Blvd..Little top short black leather skirt just wished she would've kept the pigtails here too but hey who is complaining..She walks the streets along side some wild characters..Including 2 veterans of film (i may have their names spelled wrong if i do forgive me) Rory Calhone he lampoons the cowboy that he had played in so many old western movies..And the best one is played by Dick Shawn picture half Frank n Furter from Rocky Horror Picture Show meets Milton Berle..You may remember Dick Shawn as LSD/Hitler in movie "Producers"..Can see some of his character from Producers here too..He is hilarious in the movie..And political correctness thankfully is no where to be found which makes it a welcomed sight in this day and age of political correctness..This is sort of a Jack the Ripper kind of tale set in 1980s Hollywood Blvd..Where Angel tracks down the serial killer who is killing off her co streetwalkers..Both her innocent and hooker portrayals is the sexiest you will see in any 80s film..Yeah it is cheaply filmed we could've filmed the movie ourselves..Like i said what i wrote here is about the first movie only..One question how can they call a the complete collection.. For there was also a Part 4 to this sexploytation movie series..Part 4 had found Angel treading into the world of Rock Groupies..And it is NOT here in this set..So it isn't complete..Sad it isn't coz that one was the best one next to the classic first movie..I recommend this set ONLY to get the first one coz it is the only way can get it on dvd..There are NO behind the scenes here wish there was..Would love to see more of Donna Wilkes...She Lil Angel during the day but a Lil Devil by night..Donna Wilkes is piggytails sex and candy wittle schoolgirl what HOT dreams are made of...Schoolgirl Mmmmmm Daddy Like......
Great DVD Set! A Must-Have for Angel Fans! You know you're living in America when you can get the Angel Trilogy on DVD with extras delivered to your home straight from Amazon! This set is amazing, a real treat for Angel fans. I have my VHS versions of Angel and Avenging Angel, along with sealed back-ups in a safety deposit box in case one of them broke and they were no longer available on the market to replace. But now with the DVD set, all is secure!
I have posted extensive reviews of these three movies under the VHS version here on Amazon, so I won't repeat them. The sound and visual quality here are excellent, as good as old low-budget movies will look. The theatrical trailors on each (2 on Angel) are amazing. Angel has three deleted scenes with no sound, but with subtitles. For Angel fans, a true treat, but as extras go otherwise, they're not much. One is an existing scene in the movie with slightly different dialog that features some smoking. I guess they didn't want to glorify smoking in the final version, who knows. The chapter selections are superb, and, catch this, "Something Sweet" plays when you're at the menu, with Angel/Molly leaning into a car. Wow, it doesn't get any better than that. Anchor Bay did a great job.
Certainly, Angel 3: The Final Chapter is the dud of the series. It stands fine on its own, but not next to Angel and Avenging Angel. But no real Angel series is complete without it. Angel 4, that other reviewer was right, it doesn't really belong here anymore than Halloween 3 belongs in any Halloween set.
It's a minor miracle that we have this set on DVD with a few extras. I would have liked to have seen a where-are-they-now retrospective featuring the lovely Donna Wilkes, Betsy Russell, and Mitzi Kapture. They could talk about their experiences playing Angel, how they fit into the series, sort of like what the Bond Girls recently did for a special. Susan Tyrell or Cliff Gorman interviews would have been nice also, or even the woman who played guidance counselor, Patricia Allen, in Angel. But, let's not ask for the moon, we have the stars.
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