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4/2/09
B.L.O.G Presents Angel (1984)
Hello folks and welcome to the first post of April, and let me tell you March was a great month. Not only did I get to watch a lot of movies, but more of you came to check out what was going on at the Lair as well. So I just wanted to say thanks to all the repeat visitors and first time lookie loos that catch this post.
April is a really religious month with Easter, Good Friday, and Passover all going on and probably not in that order. You see, the Bugg subscribes to no religion, and only prays at the alter of cult film. Keeping that in mind, I’m devoting days this month to religious themes. Each Friday this month we’ll be on a journey through heaven and hell, but this ain’t Friday is it? That’s right it’s B.L.O.G day. And this month each of these heavenly bodies will also be getting some of that old time religion. So without further ado, ‘cause this is already way too much ado, I give you the sweet little vengeful prostitute played by…



The Bugg Picture

The characters are what really set this film apart from the pack. Rory Calhoun, a former western star in films as well as TV series, The Texan, really brings Kit Carson to life. He basically steals the whole show, and it’s no wonder to me that his character made it to the 1985 sequel Avenging Angel. Calhoun would have had a lock on the best performance if it wasn’t for Dick Shawn as Mae. Shawn, who some may know as Hitler from the Mel Brooks film The Producers, gives the role far more substance than I thought a film of this nature was capable of. Sure, part of the portrayal was rooted in caricature, but Shawn manages to bring a fully realized and complex character to the screen.

Unlike other films where the bad performances by one or two of the cast members actually managed to improve the film, here it just makes you mad. The supporting cast (minus Gorman) is so entertaining you kind of wish there was a movie about them. So while Calhoun showed up in Avenging Angel, Ms Wilkes did not. In fact while the Angel series spans fours films, a different girl took on the role in each.

Angel is a film that I’m glad I finally got a chance to see, and I will probably pursue the series to see a different Angel helps out matter (or if sequels were entirely unwarranted.) One thing is for sure, a film like this could never be made today. I can’t see any studio exec green lighting a film that centers on a 15 year old prostitute, well, unless there was an Oscar in it for someone. While the film is far from perfect, it is entertaining throughout, and the interesting characters give the film some flavor. Check it out and see if this Angel deserves her halo.
Bugg Rating
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I've been holding off on picking up the trilogy boxset from Anchor Bay...I might just bump it up higher on my wishlist!
ReplyDeleteback in `84 donna wilkes was one hell of a hot chick.
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ReplyDeleteHoly crap! I love this movie series! Yeah, the performances are flat, but I wouldn't say they were maddeningly so. Overall, cheesy and fun. That's my bread n' butter, man.
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