The Angels Wash Their Faces
Encyclopedia
The Angels Wash Their Faces is a 1939 Warner Bros.
film starring Ronald Reagan
and The Dead End Kids
.
) is released from reform school and it taken to a new house by his sister Joy (Ann Sheridan
) to start a new life where no one knows of his past. However, Gabe immediately joins a local gang, the Beale Street Termites, where he meets up with William Kroner (Bernard Nedell), a local gangster. William accuses him of starting a fire at one of his properties, and Alfred Martino (Eduardo Ciannelli
), the actual arsonist, uses this opportunity to frame Gabe for any fire. He decides to torch one of his apartment complexes so that he can collect the insurance money. Unfortunately, one of the kids, Sleepy (Bernard Punsly
) is killed in the fire.
Patrick Remson (Ronald Reagan
), the Assistant District Attorney, tries to prove Gabe's innocence. His motives are not only to prove Gabe's innocence, but also to get closer to his sister. Joy has devoted her life to helping Gabe and neglects her other interests, which was rallying against city government corruption, which pleases Martino. However, it is all for naught as Gabe is found guilty and sentenced to prison.
The other boys, led by Billy (Billy Halop
), decide to do something to help Gabe. Billy runs for "boy mayor" and wins. He has Kroner arrested for a small infraction and sends him to jail. While there, Billy and the rest of the gang interrogate him and try to make him admit that Gabe is innocent. He does not cave in, that is until he is shown proof that his accomplices, Martino and the fire chief, are planning to skip the country. He confesses and Martino and the chief are arrested and sent to prison.
.
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
film starring Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
and The Dead End Kids
Dead End Kids
The Dead End Kids were a group of young actors from New York who appeared in Sidney Kingsley's Broadway play Dead End in 1935. In 1937 producer Samuel Goldwyn brought all of them to Hollywood and turned the play into a film...
.
Plot
Gabe Ryan (Frankie ThomasFrankie Thomas
Frank Marion Thomas, Jr. was an American actor, author and bridge-strategy expert who played both lead and supporting roles on Broadway, in films, in post-World War II radio, and in early television. He was best known for his starring role in Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.-Early years:Thomas was born...
) is released from reform school and it taken to a new house by his sister Joy (Ann Sheridan
Ann Sheridan
-Life and career:Born Clara Lou Sheridan in Denton, Texas on February 21, 1915, she was a student at the University of North Texas when her sister sent a photograph of her to Paramount Pictures. She subsequently entered and won a beauty contest, with part of her prize being a bit part in a...
) to start a new life where no one knows of his past. However, Gabe immediately joins a local gang, the Beale Street Termites, where he meets up with William Kroner (Bernard Nedell), a local gangster. William accuses him of starting a fire at one of his properties, and Alfred Martino (Eduardo Ciannelli
Eduardo Ciannelli
Eduardo Ciannelli, sometimes credited as Edward Ciannelli, , was an Italian baritone and character actor with a long career in American films, mostly playing gangsters and criminals.-Early life:...
), the actual arsonist, uses this opportunity to frame Gabe for any fire. He decides to torch one of his apartment complexes so that he can collect the insurance money. Unfortunately, one of the kids, Sleepy (Bernard Punsly
Bernard Punsly
Bernard Punsly , was a New York City-born American actor who later left show business to become a physician.-Career and personal life:...
) is killed in the fire.
Patrick Remson (Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
), the Assistant District Attorney, tries to prove Gabe's innocence. His motives are not only to prove Gabe's innocence, but also to get closer to his sister. Joy has devoted her life to helping Gabe and neglects her other interests, which was rallying against city government corruption, which pleases Martino. However, it is all for naught as Gabe is found guilty and sentenced to prison.
The other boys, led by Billy (Billy Halop
Billy Halop
William "Billy" Halop was an American actor born in New York City.He came from a Jewish theatrical family: his mother was a dancer, and his sister Florence Halop was a child actress, who later worked on radio and in television...
), decide to do something to help Gabe. Billy runs for "boy mayor" and wins. He has Kroner arrested for a small infraction and sends him to jail. While there, Billy and the rest of the gang interrogate him and try to make him admit that Gabe is innocent. He does not cave in, that is until he is shown proof that his accomplices, Martino and the fire chief, are planning to skip the country. He confesses and Martino and the chief are arrested and sent to prison.
Production
It was filmed under the title, The Battle of City Hall. It was changed to reference the title of the unrelated movie Angels with Dirty FacesAngels with Dirty Faces
Angels with Dirty Faces is a 1938 American gangster film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring James Cagney, Pat O'Brien, the Dead End Kids and Humphrey Bogart, along with Ann Sheridan and George Bancroft...
.
Cast
- Ronald ReaganRonald ReaganRonald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
as Patrick Remson - Ann SheridanAnn Sheridan-Life and career:Born Clara Lou Sheridan in Denton, Texas on February 21, 1915, she was a student at the University of North Texas when her sister sent a photograph of her to Paramount Pictures. She subsequently entered and won a beauty contest, with part of her prize being a bit part in a...
as Joy Ryan - Billy HalopBilly HalopWilliam "Billy" Halop was an American actor born in New York City.He came from a Jewish theatrical family: his mother was a dancer, and his sister Florence Halop was a child actress, who later worked on radio and in television...
as Billy Shafter - Bobby JordanBobby JordanRobert "Bobby" Jordan was an American actor, born in Harrison, New York, most notable for being a member of the Dead End Kids, the East Side Kids and the Bowery Boys.-Early life and career:...
as Bernie Smith - Leo GorceyLeo GorceyLeo Bernard Gorcey was an American stage and movie actor who became famous for portraying on film the leader of the group of young hooligans known variously as the Dead End Kids, The East Side Kids and The Bowery Boys. Always the most pugnacious member of the gangs he participated in, young Leo...
as Leo Finnegan - Gabriel DellGabriel DellGabriel Dell was an American actor and one of the members of what came to be known as the Dead End Kids/East Side Kids/The Bowery Boys.-Early life:...
as Luigi Batteran - Huntz HallHuntz HallHenry Richard "Huntz" Hall was an American radio, theatrical, and motion picture performer noted primarily for his roles in the "Dead End Kids" movies, such as Angels with Dirty Faces , which gave way to the "The Bowery Boys" movie franchise, a prolific and highly successful series of comedies in...
as Huntz Gartman - Bernard PunslyBernard PunslyBernard Punsly , was a New York City-born American actor who later left show business to become a physician.-Career and personal life:...
as Luke 'Sleepy' Arkelian - Frankie ThomasFrankie ThomasFrank Marion Thomas, Jr. was an American actor, author and bridge-strategy expert who played both lead and supporting roles on Broadway, in films, in post-World War II radio, and in early television. He was best known for his starring role in Tom Corbett, Space Cadet.-Early years:Thomas was born...
as Gabe Ryan - Margaret HamiltonMargaret HamiltonMargaret Hamilton was an American film actress known for her portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz...
as Miss Hannaberry - Marjorie MainMarjorie MainMarjorie Main was an American character actress, mainly at MGM, perhaps best known for her role as Ma Kettle in a series of ten Ma and Pa Kettle movies.-Early life and career:...
as Mrs. Arkelian - Grady SuttonGrady SuttonGrady Harwell Sutton was an American film and television actor from the 1920s to the 1970s.-Biography:Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Sutton was raised in Florida where he attended St. Petersburg High School. He began his career during the silent film era and made the transition to sound films...
as Gildersleeve (mayor's secretary) - William HopperWilliam HopperWilliam Hopper, born DeWolf Hopper, Jr. was an American actor. He is best-remembered for playing Paul Drake on television's Perry Mason.-Early life:...
as Photographer (uncredited)