Angel (1984 film)
Encyclopedia
Angel is a 1984 film directed by Robert Vincent O'Neill, and written by O'Neill with Joseph Michael Cala. It was released by New World Pictures.
Despite the carnival-like atmosphere of the Hollywood streets after dark, all is not well as hookers are being killed by a psycho-necrophiliac (John Diehl) that likes to dismember the girls' bodies when he is done. Police Lt. Andrews (Cliff Gorman) has been assigned to the case, but has no leads. Tragedy strikes Angel's group of friends when Crystal, who has a budding romantic relationship going with Yoyo Charlie, picks up the killer and winds up a victim.
The next day at school jock Ric Sawyer (David Underwood) makes a play for Molly which she pointedly rejects. She then goes to see teacher Patricia Allen (Elaine Giftos) who is concerned about Molly's lack of extra-curricular activities. Molly explains that her mother has been paralyzed by a stroke and she needs to go home immediately after school every day to take care of her.
The next evening a crowd, including Angel, gathers outside the motel room where Crystal's body was found. Lt. Andrews advises the girls to work in pairs. Later that evening Angel is working with partner Lana when they see a potential client across the street. Lana takes him to a motel room she and Angel share. A couple hours later when Angel shows up at the room with a client of her own, she finds the naked, bloody body of Lana in the shower where the killer left it.
This makes Angel the only person who can identify the killer. Based on a description she gives the police, a sketch is made and the killer is brought in for a lineup. Angel recognizes him, but he escapes by grabbing an officer's gun and shooting his way out of the police station.
Andrews takes Molly/Angel home and demands to speak with her parents, then finds out the truth: Molly's father left her mother nine years ago and her mom abandoned Molly three years ago. Molly keeps up the fiction of her mother being around so that she will not be sent to a foster home. She believes someday her father will return for her and wants to be waiting for him at their old apartment, so since the age of 12 she has paid the rent by prostitution.
Despite Andrews' warnings to stay off the street, Angel/Molly purchases a pistol and goes back to work. That night schoolmate Ric Sawyer and pals see her and force her into their car, but Molly uses the gun to escape. However, her secret is out now and her whole school knows she spends her evenings as a Hollywood hooker.
The next day Mae is playing cards with Molly's landlord, Solly (Susan Tyrrell), when teacher Allen, who has heard the stories circulating around the school, comes by insisting on seeing Molly's mother. Mae sneaks up to Molly's apartment to try and pretend he is Molly's mother, but Allen sees through this subterfuge. Mae is still at Molly's apartment a few minutes later when the killer, trying to murder Molly, shows up. He and Mae fight till Mae is stabbed and dies in Solly's arms.
Andrews and Molly return to her apartment to find Mae dead. While Andrews is on the phone Molly goes to Solly's room and gets her gun (a huge, long-barrelled magnum) and heads out on the streets to avenge Mae. Andrews goes looking for her and enlists Kit Carson to help in the search. The killer sneaks up behind Molly with a knife, but a warning from Yoyo Charlie saves her and starts a chase though the streets with Molly using the huge gun to blast away at the killer while Andrews tries to catch up with them both. In a dead-end alley the killer jumps Molly and gets her gun and is about to turn it on both her and Andrews when Carson - having put real bullets into his cowboy/show guns - arrives just in the nick of time to fill the killer full of lead. Molly, Andrews and a wounded Carson walk off together as the scene fades to black.
, and was popular enough to spawn three sequel
s, each with a different starring actress. Sequels were Avenging Angel
(1985), starring Betsy Russell
, Angel III: The Final Chapter (1988), starring Mitzi Kapture
, and Angel 4: Undercover (1993), starring Darlene Vogel
. All were commercial failures at the box office.
was actually twenty-four years old, when she played the role of fifteen-year-old Molly Stuart in this film. She prepared for the role by talking to real-life street prostitutes on Hollywood Boulevard
, and spent time with the Los Angeles Police Department
, and in various halfway houses for underage children living on the streets of Los Angeles
.
Composer Craig Safan wrote the score
to this film in less than a week. The film premiered at the Hollywood Pacific Theatre
on Hollywood Boulevard
. A fact sheet inside the theatre, prior to its closure in 1994, confirmed this. The theatre also features in the climax of the film, where a gun-toting Angel opens fire on the killer, terrifying patrons outside.
The motel in the film is the El Royale Motel at 11117 Ventura Boulevard
, Studio City. It has scarcely changed since this film was shot in 1983. In fact, most of the film was shot at real locations on and around Hollywood Boulevard
.
Plot
The movie opens with 15 year-old honor student Molly Stewart (Donna Wilkes) attending her private prep school in the Los Angeles area. When she gets home, however, with some makeup work and a change in wardrobe she becomes Angel: the mini-skirted, high-heeled street prostitute working Hollywood Blvd. As she weaves her way through the evening avoiding vice-cops and interacting with potential customers, we meet the members of her street family: the aging movie cowboy Kit Carson (Rory Calhoun), street performer Yoyo Charlie (Steven M. Porter) transvestite Mae (Dick Shawn) and fellow hookers Crystal (Donna McDaniel) and Lana (Graem McGavin).Despite the carnival-like atmosphere of the Hollywood streets after dark, all is not well as hookers are being killed by a psycho-necrophiliac (John Diehl) that likes to dismember the girls' bodies when he is done. Police Lt. Andrews (Cliff Gorman) has been assigned to the case, but has no leads. Tragedy strikes Angel's group of friends when Crystal, who has a budding romantic relationship going with Yoyo Charlie, picks up the killer and winds up a victim.
The next day at school jock Ric Sawyer (David Underwood) makes a play for Molly which she pointedly rejects. She then goes to see teacher Patricia Allen (Elaine Giftos) who is concerned about Molly's lack of extra-curricular activities. Molly explains that her mother has been paralyzed by a stroke and she needs to go home immediately after school every day to take care of her.
The next evening a crowd, including Angel, gathers outside the motel room where Crystal's body was found. Lt. Andrews advises the girls to work in pairs. Later that evening Angel is working with partner Lana when they see a potential client across the street. Lana takes him to a motel room she and Angel share. A couple hours later when Angel shows up at the room with a client of her own, she finds the naked, bloody body of Lana in the shower where the killer left it.
This makes Angel the only person who can identify the killer. Based on a description she gives the police, a sketch is made and the killer is brought in for a lineup. Angel recognizes him, but he escapes by grabbing an officer's gun and shooting his way out of the police station.
Andrews takes Molly/Angel home and demands to speak with her parents, then finds out the truth: Molly's father left her mother nine years ago and her mom abandoned Molly three years ago. Molly keeps up the fiction of her mother being around so that she will not be sent to a foster home. She believes someday her father will return for her and wants to be waiting for him at their old apartment, so since the age of 12 she has paid the rent by prostitution.
Despite Andrews' warnings to stay off the street, Angel/Molly purchases a pistol and goes back to work. That night schoolmate Ric Sawyer and pals see her and force her into their car, but Molly uses the gun to escape. However, her secret is out now and her whole school knows she spends her evenings as a Hollywood hooker.
The next day Mae is playing cards with Molly's landlord, Solly (Susan Tyrrell), when teacher Allen, who has heard the stories circulating around the school, comes by insisting on seeing Molly's mother. Mae sneaks up to Molly's apartment to try and pretend he is Molly's mother, but Allen sees through this subterfuge. Mae is still at Molly's apartment a few minutes later when the killer, trying to murder Molly, shows up. He and Mae fight till Mae is stabbed and dies in Solly's arms.
Andrews and Molly return to her apartment to find Mae dead. While Andrews is on the phone Molly goes to Solly's room and gets her gun (a huge, long-barrelled magnum) and heads out on the streets to avenge Mae. Andrews goes looking for her and enlists Kit Carson to help in the search. The killer sneaks up behind Molly with a knife, but a warning from Yoyo Charlie saves her and starts a chase though the streets with Molly using the huge gun to blast away at the killer while Andrews tries to catch up with them both. In a dead-end alley the killer jumps Molly and gets her gun and is about to turn it on both her and Andrews when Carson - having put real bullets into his cowboy/show guns - arrives just in the nick of time to fill the killer full of lead. Molly, Andrews and a wounded Carson walk off together as the scene fades to black.
Sequels
The film became an 1980's cult classicCult Classic
Cult Classic is a Blue Öyster Cult studio recording released in 1994, containing remakes of many of the band's previous hits.-Track listing:# " The Reaper" - 5:05# "E.T.I...
, and was popular enough to spawn three sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
s, each with a different starring actress. Sequels were Avenging Angel
Avenging Angel (1985 film)
Avenging Angel is a 1985 film directed by Robert Vincent O'Neill and written by Robert Vincent O'Neill with Joseph Michael Cala. The movie is a sequel to 1984's Angel and was followed by the 1988 film Angel III: The Final Chapter and Angel 4: Undercover...
(1985), starring Betsy Russell
Betsy Russell
Betsy Russell is an American actress who is best known for her role in Private School, and as Jill Tuck, the ex-wife of the Jigsaw Killer in the Saw film series.-Early life:...
, Angel III: The Final Chapter (1988), starring Mitzi Kapture
Mitzi Kapture
Mitzi Gaynor Donahue is an American actress, also credited and more popularly known as Mitzi Kapture.Kapture began her career in films, most of which were not huge commercial successes...
, and Angel 4: Undercover (1993), starring Darlene Vogel
Darlene Vogel
Darlene Vogel , is an American actress who was a model and did commercials before getting into acting.-Career:...
. All were commercial failures at the box office.
Behind The Scenes
Lead actress Donna WilkesDonna Wilkes
Donna Wilkes is an American film actress known for her roles in several films, most notably the starring role in 1984's Angel, which became a cult classic. She has also appeared in several television programs such as Father Murphy and the soap opera Days of our Lives...
was actually twenty-four years old, when she played the role of fifteen-year-old Molly Stuart in this film. She prepared for the role by talking to real-life street prostitutes on Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
, and spent time with the Los Angeles Police Department
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
, and in various halfway houses for underage children living on the streets of Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Composer Craig Safan wrote the score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
to this film in less than a week. The film premiered at the Hollywood Pacific Theatre
Hollywood Pacific Theatre
Hollywood Pacific Theatre is a movie theatre located at 6433 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, California on Hollywood's famous Hollywood Walk of Fame.-Beginnings:...
on Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
. A fact sheet inside the theatre, prior to its closure in 1994, confirmed this. The theatre also features in the climax of the film, where a gun-toting Angel opens fire on the killer, terrifying patrons outside.
The motel in the film is the El Royale Motel at 11117 Ventura Boulevard
Ventura Boulevard
Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley, USA; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real , Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S...
, Studio City. It has scarcely changed since this film was shot in 1983. In fact, most of the film was shot at real locations on and around Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard
-Revitalization:In recent years successful efforts have been made at cleaning up Hollywood Blvd., as the street had gained a reputation for crime and seediness. Central to these efforts was the construction of the Hollywood and Highland shopping center and adjacent Kodak Theatre in 2001...
.