Tear Gas Squad (1940)

Touches You

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Excellent adaptation.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

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!

***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!

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!