Nightclub singer becomes police cadet to impress blond female from police family, ends up with her current dating partner as his cadet trainer.Nightclub singer becomes police cadet to impress blond female from police family, ends up with her current dating partner as his cadet trainer.Nightclub singer becomes police cadet to impress blond female from police family, ends up with her current dating partner as his cadet trainer.
William Hopper
- George
- (as DeWolf Hopper)
James Cagney
- Rocky Sullivan
- (archive footage)
Frank Bull
- Police Broadcaster
- (uncredited)
Donald Curtis
- Second Cadet
- (uncredited)
Steve Darrell
- Mitch, a Henchman
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDespite the title, tear gas is not mentioned until five minutes before the end of this film, it is not used until two minutes before the end, and there is no actual tear gas squad. Tear gas is just a weapon coincidentally used by regular police offers.
- GoofsIn a street scene late in the film, the Warner Bros. water tower, complete with logo, can be seen over the false fronts of the New York street.
- ConnectionsEdited from Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
- SoundtracksThe Song Is the Thing
(uncredited)
Music by M.K. Jerome
Lyrics by Jack Scholl
Played during the opening credits
Sung by Dennis Morgan and the police glee club
Featured review
There is a tenor amidst the tear gas...
... and the most tear gas associated with this film was probably when the police were called in when the people who bought a movie ticket found out they were going to be watching a musical full of Irish singing and stereotypes rather than a crime film and began to riot. But I digress.
I had low expectations going in, but this thing actually works pretty well. A hot head singer (Dennis Morgan as Tommy McCabe) who parodies cops in his act gets fresh with one of the patrons, one of two girls who came to the club alone. Tommy picks the one who is not as pretty IMHO and who is less perky and has tons of attitude (Gloria Dickson as Jerry Sullivan) . She agrees to let him come over to her house for supper to meet the family. They turn out to be a family of Irish cops who don't like his nightclub act. So McCabe joins the police force to try to win a girl who doesn't like him and already has a beau (John Payne as Bill Morrissey). Not exactly a cunning plan.
This thing turns out to be part musical, part romance, part buddy picture, part gangster picture, and part police procedural. And although it doesn't do any one of these things very well, the whole thing fits together to make a pretty entertaining film. The only genres you probably could not fit into this film are horror and sci-fi.
Of course, the police training part of the film makes it also part comedy. Payne's character is the officer in charge of McCabe's training, and at one point he makes McCabe stand out on the firing range with a cigarette in his mouth so that shakey recruit Piney Jones (Herbert Anderson) will have incentive to aim better! Oh the paperwork and the dismissals that would be required if that happened today! Probably then too! Well, Payne was probably angry not only about the girl problem but also because he doesn't get to sing a note in this film.
There are quite a few future stars of TV in this film. Note that both George Reeves of 50s Superman fame and his boss at the Daily Planet, John Hamilton, costar in this film, but never say a word to one another and are never even in the same scene! Great Caesar's Ghost! Not a bad way to spend an hour.
I had low expectations going in, but this thing actually works pretty well. A hot head singer (Dennis Morgan as Tommy McCabe) who parodies cops in his act gets fresh with one of the patrons, one of two girls who came to the club alone. Tommy picks the one who is not as pretty IMHO and who is less perky and has tons of attitude (Gloria Dickson as Jerry Sullivan) . She agrees to let him come over to her house for supper to meet the family. They turn out to be a family of Irish cops who don't like his nightclub act. So McCabe joins the police force to try to win a girl who doesn't like him and already has a beau (John Payne as Bill Morrissey). Not exactly a cunning plan.
This thing turns out to be part musical, part romance, part buddy picture, part gangster picture, and part police procedural. And although it doesn't do any one of these things very well, the whole thing fits together to make a pretty entertaining film. The only genres you probably could not fit into this film are horror and sci-fi.
Of course, the police training part of the film makes it also part comedy. Payne's character is the officer in charge of McCabe's training, and at one point he makes McCabe stand out on the firing range with a cigarette in his mouth so that shakey recruit Piney Jones (Herbert Anderson) will have incentive to aim better! Oh the paperwork and the dismissals that would be required if that happened today! Probably then too! Well, Payne was probably angry not only about the girl problem but also because he doesn't get to sing a note in this film.
There are quite a few future stars of TV in this film. Note that both George Reeves of 50s Superman fame and his boss at the Daily Planet, John Hamilton, costar in this film, but never say a word to one another and are never even in the same scene! Great Caesar's Ghost! Not a bad way to spend an hour.
helpful•20
- AlsExGal
- Nov 23, 2019
Details
- Runtime55 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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