''Angels Revenge'', or ''Angels Brigade'', is a 1979 American comedy action film directed by Greydon Clark and distributed by Arista Films. It is also known as ''Angels' Brigade'' and ''Seven from Heaven''. The film has major roles for Peter Lawford and Jack Palance as the leaders of a drug cartel, and gives minor roles to

character actor A character actor is a supporting actor who plays unusual, interesting, or eccentric characters.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrieved 7 August 2014, "..a breed of actor who has the ability to b ...

s Jim Backus,

Alan Hale, Jr. Alan Hale Jr. (born Alan Hale MacKahan; (March 8, 1921 - January 2, 1990) was an American actor and restaurateur. He was the son of actor Alan Hale Sr. His television career spanned four decades, but he was best known for his secondary lead role ...

, Pat Buttram and Arthur Godfrey (playing himself). Of the actresses who played the movie's seven female protagonists, however, the closest any had previously come to any degree of fame was

Susan Kiger Susan Lynn Kiger (born November 16, 1953 in Pasadena, California) is an American model and actress. Kiger was the ''Playboy'' Playmate of the Month for January 1977. Her centerfold was photographed by Pompeo Posar and Ken Marcus. In addition, sh ...

, who had been the '' Playboy'' Playmate of the Month for January 1977. Kiger played singer Michelle Wilson; her co-stars were Sylvia Anderson as stuntwoman Terry Grant, Lieu Chinh as martial arts instructor Keiko Umaro, Jacqueline Cole as high-school teacher April, Noela Velasco as model Maria, and Robin Greer as policewoman Elaine Brenner. Her younger sister Liza Greer plays high-school student Trish, who invites herself into the team. Jack Palance played chief antagonist Mike Farrell, assistant to Lawford's kingpin character.

Plot

The film focuses on seven women who decide to fight the local drug cartel after the brother of Michelle Wilson, a Las Vegas pop singer, is found severely beaten. When taken to the hospital, the young man is found to have been on illegal drugs. The singer meets with April, her brother's teacher, and the two hatch a plan to destroy the local drug processing plant. They recruit four more women with special skills and connections to help them carry out their audacious goal. As they plan their first strike, they discover high-schooler Trish spying on them. The student gets relegated to phone duty, but eventually worms her way into their escapades. The "Angels" not only destroy the processing plant, but also manage to intercept one of the shipments. As a result, the women receive unwelcome attention from the local drug cartel.

Critical response

The film was poorly received by the critics and general public, being seen as a cheap knockoff of ''

Charlie's Angels ''Charlie's Angels'' is an American crime drama television series that aired on ABC from September 22, 1976, to June 24, 1981, producing five seasons and 115 episodes. The series was created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts and was produced by Aa ...

''. The plot was seen as contrived. It also had a number of actors, primarily Lawford and Palance, whose popularity had fallen since the 1960s.

''Mystery Science Theater 3000''

Because of the poor response, the film faded into obscurity until 1995 when it was featured on the movie-mocking television series ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

''. It was edited to fit their timeslot; for example, Miller ( Neville Brand) is listed in the opening credits, but only mentioned towards the end, never actually appearing on screen.

RiffTrax

In 2017, former ''MST3K'' writers and cast members Bridget Nelson and Mary Jo Pehl riffed the uncut film as a video-on-demand for RiffTrax.

References

External links