''Angel'' is a 1984 American

exploitation Exploitation may refer to: *Exploitation of natural resources *Exploitation of labour ** Forced labour *Exploitation colonialism *Slavery ** Sexual slavery and other forms *Oppression *Psychological manipulation In arts and entertainment *Exploi ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by Robert Vincent O'Neil, written by O'Neil and Joseph Michael Cala, and starring

Donna Wilkes Donna Consuelo Wilkes (born 1958–1961) is an American actress. She began her career as a child actor in commercials before making her feature film debut in ''Jaws 2'' (1978). She subsequently had a supporting role in '' Almost Summer'' (1978), ...

Cliff Gorman Cliff Gorman (born Joel Joshua Goldberg; October 13, 1936 – September 5, 2002) was an American stage and screen actor. He won an Obie award in 1968 for the stage presentation of '' The Boys in the Band'', and went on to reprise his role in the ...

, Susan Tyrrell,

Dick Shawn Dick Shawn (born Richard Schulefand, December 1, 1923 – April 17, 1987) was an American actor and comedian. He played a wide variety of supporting roles and was a prolific character actor. During the 1960s, he played small roles in madcap comed ...

, and

Rory Calhoun Rory Calhoun (born Francis Timothy McCown, August 8, 1922April 28, 1999) was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s, and appeared in supporting roles in films such as '' How to Marry a Milli ...

. Its plot follows a teenage prostitute in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

who faces danger when a

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

begins stalking and murdering young sex workers. Released by

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 19 ...

, it was the first installment in the ''Angel'' film series.

Plot

Fifteen-year-old honor student Molly Stewart attends private prep school in the

area in the daytime, but transforms herself to "Angel" at night: a leather mini-skirted, high-heeled street teenage prostitute who works

Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...

. Angel has a "street family" made up of aging movie cowboy Kit Carson, street performer Yoyo Charlie, drag performer Mae, fellow hookers Crystal and Lana, and her landlady, eccentric painter Solly Mosler. The street's dangers increase as a psycho-necrophiliac serial killer begins to stalk and murder prostitutes. Los Angeles Police Lt. Andrews is assigned to the case, but finds no leads. Tragedy strikes Angel's group of friends when Crystal becomes a victim. The next day at school, Molly is confronted by teacher Patricia Allen, who is concerned about Molly's lack of extracurricular activities. Molly explains that her mother was paralyzed by a stroke and she has to head home immediately after school each day to care for her. Lt. Andrews advises the hookers to work in pairs. Angel teams up with Lana. Lana takes a potential client to a motel room that she and Angel share. When Angel shows up at the room with a client of her own a couple of hours later she finds Lana's body in the shower. Angel gives the police a description of the suspect and a composite sketch is made. The killer is brought in for a lineup and Angel recognizes him, but he shoots his way out of the police station and escapes. Andrews takes Molly/Angel home to speak with her parents, but discovers that Molly's father left nine years ago and her mother abandoned her three years ago. Molly maintains the pretense of a mother at home so that she will not be sent to a foster home. She believes that her father will return someday. She has paid her rent, school tuition and living expenses through prostitution since she was 12. Despite Andrews' warnings to stay off the street, Angel/Molly purchases a pistol and returns to work. Her masquerade falls apart that night when some classmates recognize her on the street. Word flashes through the students at her school and soon everyone knows that Molly spends her evenings as a Hollywood hooker. The next day, Ms. Allen visits Molly's apartment and insists on meeting her mother. Mae pretends to be Molly's mother, but Allen is not fooled. Mae is still at the apartment when the killer shows up later. They fight, and he stabs her, leaving her mortally wounded. Solly discovers Mae and the two share a tender moment of friendship before Mae succumbs to her wounds. Andrews and Molly return to her apartment and find Mae's body. Molly heads out on the streets with Solly's huge long-barreled Magnum to avenge Mae and Andrews goes after her. After a fight and chase, Carson, whom Andrews enlisted to help, shoots the killer. Molly, Andrews, and a wounded Carson walk off together.

Cast

as Molly "Angel" Stewart *

as Lieutenant Andrews * Susan Tyrrell as Solly Mosler *

as Marvin Walker / Mae *

as Kit Carson *

John Diehl John Henry Diehl (born May 1, 1950) is an American character actor. Noted for his work in avant-garde theater, Diehl has performed in more than 140 films and television shows, including '' Land of Plenty'', ''Stripes'', '' City Limits'', ''Nix ...

as The Killer *

Elaine Giftos Elaine Giftos (born 1942/1943) is a retired American model, actress, and dancer. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Giftos, she attended Pittsfield High School. While working as a fashion model in New York, Giftos was selected by the ...

as Patricia Allen * Steven M. Porter as Charlie "Yoyo Charlie" * Donna McDaniel as Crystal * Graem McGavin as Lana

Release

''Angel'' was released in theaters in the United States by

on January 13, 1984. The film failed to open in the top 5 at the box office, yet grossed $2.2 million on its opening weekend. The film managed to stay in the box office top ten for several months, becoming a sleeper hit and eventually earning $17,488,564. It was New World's highest grossing picture that year.

Sequels

The film's cult following and box office profits were enough to spawn two

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

s, although each with a different actress. The sequels were '' Avenging Angel'' (1985), starring

Betsy Russell Elizabeth "Betsy" Russell (born September 6, 1963) is an American actress who is best known for her roles in ''Private School'' (1983), ''Tomboy'' (1985), and as Jill Tuck, one of the primary characters of the ''Saw'' film series from 2006 to ...

, and '' Angel III: The Final Chapter'' (1988), starring

Mitzi Kapture Mitzi Kapture (born Mitzi Gaynor Donahue; May 2, 1962) is an American actress, known for her role as Sgt. Rita Lee Lance in the CBS/USA Network crime drama series ''Silk Stalkings'' from 1991 to 1995. Life and career Kapture was born in Yorba L ...

. Each film performed less well at the box office. A failed pilot for a TV spinoff was released straight to video as '' Angel 4: Undercover'' (1993), starring Darlene Vogel, but was non-canonical to the previous films.

Production

The movie was filmed in 1983. Lead actress

was actually twenty-four years old when she played fifteen-year-old Molly Stuart. She prepared for the role by talking to real-life street prostitutes on Hollywood Boulevard, spent time with the

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

, and in various halfway houses for underage children living on the streets of Los Angeles. Composer

Craig Safan Craig Safan (born December 17, 1948 in Los Angeles, California) is an American composer for film and television, whose biggest scores include ''The Last Starfighter'', '' Mr. Wrong'', '' Stand and Deliver'', '' Fade to Black'', ''Major Payne'', ' ...

wrote the score to this film in less than a week. The film premiered at the

Hollywood Pacific Theatre Hollywood Pacific Theatre is a movie theater located at 6433 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, along the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame. History Beginnings Originally known as the Warner Bros. Theatre or Warner Hollywo ...

on Hollywood Boulevard. A fact sheet inside the theatre, prior to its closure in 1994, confirmed this. The theatre is also featured in the climax of the film, when a gun-toting Angel opens fire on the killer and terrifies the patrons outside. The motel in the film is the El Royale Motel at 11117

Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east–west thoroughfares in the San Fernando Valley region of the City of Los Angeles, California. Ventura Boulevard is one of the oldest routes in the San Fernando Valley as it was originally a part o ...

Studio City Studio City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 1927, ...

. Most of the film was shot at real locations on and around Hollywood Boulevard.

Home video

In 2003,

Anchor Bay Entertainment Anchor Bay Entertainment (formerly Video Treasures and Starmaker Entertainment) was an American home entertainment and production company. It was a subsidiary of Starz Inc. Anchor Bay Entertainment marketed and sold feature films, television se ...

released the Region 1 DVD box set of the first three ''Angel'' films entitled ''The Angel Collection''.,''The Angel Collection'' product info
/ref> and is also available on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

from

Vinegar Syndrome Cellulose acetate film, or safety film, is used in photography as a base material for photographic emulsions. It was introduced in the early 20th century by film manufacturers and intended as a safe film base replacement for unstable and highly ...

Soundtrack

Craig Safan's score was released on compact disc by

Intrada Records Intrada is an American record company based in Oakland, California, owned and managed by Douglass Fake. The company specializes in movie and television soundtracks, notably those by the late Jerry Goldsmith. Intrada was founded in 1985 by owner ...

in 1993. In 2013 BSX Records released a compilation album called ''The Angel Trilogy'', featuring Safan's album programme (plus a cover version of the Allies' "Something Sweet" as performed by Melody Michalski), Christopher Young's score for '' Avenging Angel'' (also previously released by Intrada) and Eric Allaman and Reinhard Scheuregger's music for ''Angel III: The Final Chapter''.

References

External links

* *
The AFI Catalog of Feature Films:''Angel''
* {{Angel (film series) 1984 films 1980s crime thriller films 1984 action thriller films 1984 LGBT-related films 1980s English-language films American crime thriller films American exploitation films American high school films American serial killer films American LGBT-related films American sexploitation films Angel (film series) Cross-dressing in American films Films about prostitution in the United States Films directed by Robert Vincent O'Neil Films scored by Craig Safan Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles New World Pictures films 1980s American films