ANGELS REVENGE (1979) *

A concerned teacher (Jacqulin Cole) is upset that her students are dying from drugs.  She then gets the help of a singer, a cop, a karate expert, a stuntwoman, and even one of her students to form an all-woman army to blow up a drug compound.  This causes Mr. Big (Peter Lawford) to get real upset and he sends out his goons to stop them once and for all.

Angels Revenge was of course riding on the coattails of Charlie’s Angels.  It’s actually closer to something like The Dirty Dozen, but, you know, with women.  If director Greydon (The Forbidden Dance) Clark upped the sex and violent quotient, it could’ve been a decent slice of exploitation filmmaking.  Instead, he goes for laughs, and the results are often embarrassing.  I mean whenever the ladies hit someone, it makes a stupid cartoony noise like “Boing-ing-ing” or “BONK”!  If you ever saw Clark’s Joysticks, you know that comedy just isn’t his forte.

I liked that Clark tried to at least make a multicultural group of women who empower themselves and don’t rely on their looks to get what they want.  However, the clumsy way he handles it winds up making it feel a bit racist and sexist.  Oh well.

You can keep yourself somewhat amused by counting all the guest stars.  There’s Arthur Godfrey (playing himself), Pat Buttram, and not one, but two refugees from Gilligan’s Island, Alan Hale, Jr. and Jim Backus.  It’s sort of sad seeing the great Jack Palance in this though.  He’s mostly just there to be Peter Lawford’s whipping boy, which is odd because it looks like Jack could snap him in two at any moment.  

Palance and Clark teamed up again the next year for Without Warning.

AKA:  Angels’ Brigade.  AKA:  Seven from Heaven.