Angels Brigade - 1979
By The Bottom Reel Editorial Team ·
Angels Brigade (1979)
Angels Revenge / Seven from Heaven: The “Charlie’s Angels” Rip-Off That MST3K Made Famous
Overview
Angels Brigade – also released as Angels Revenge, Angels’ Brigade, and Seven from Heaven – is a 1979 American action-comedy directed by Greydon Clark. It’s a low-budget “jiggle-fest” exploitation film that cashes in on Charlie’s Angels and the 1970s vigilante trend. The film was distributed by Arista Films and released theatrically February 1979.
Plot
After Michelle Wilson Susan Kiger, a Las Vegas pop singer, learns her younger brother has been beaten and hospitalized for using drugs, she vows revenge on the drug cartel. She recruits six women with special skills to form a vigilante “brigade”:
April Thomas Jacqulin Cole – schoolteacher tired of kids on drugs
Terry Grant Sylvia Anderson – stunt driver whose brother OD’d
Kako Umaro Lieu Chinh – martial arts instructor
Maria Noela Velasco – top model
Elaine Brenner Robin Greer – policewoman
Trish Liza Greer – a nosy teenage schoolgirl who forces her way in
The “Angels” first destroy a right-wing militia compound, then take on the drug operation run by Mike Farrell Jack Palance and his lieutenant Burke Peter Lawford. Along the way they deal with sexist cops, bumbling henchmen, and a custom van full of weapons. The titular “revenge” refers to Michelle avenging her brother.
Cast & Crew
Michelle Wilson – Susan Kiger Playboy Playmate Jan 1977
April Thomas – Jacqulin Cole
Terry Grant – Sylvia Anderson
Kako Umaro – Lieu Chinh
Maria – Noela Velasco
Policewoman Elaine Brenner – Robin Greer
Trish – Liza Greer
Mike Farrell – Jack Palance
Burke – Peter Lawford
Cmdr. Lindsey March – Jim Backus
Miller – Neville Brand
Van Salesman – Pat Buttram
Arthur Godfrey – Himself
Manny – Alan Hale Jr.
Director/Producer/Writer – Greydon Clark
Cinematography – Dean Cundey Halloween, Jurassic Park
Music – Gerald Lee
Social Impact & Reception
Critics: Universally panned. The film is described as a “cheap knockoff of Charlie's Angels” with a “contrived” plot. Exclaim! gave it 2/10: “Somewhere buried underneath all of the terrible references and non-sequiturs are maybe one or two chuckles that weren't elicited without a fair amount of shame and guilt”. DVD Talk called it “in no way a good movie, but it's also not a hilariously bad movie either, instead offering up little gems of terribleness here and there”.
Audience: Also poor. It was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000 Season 6, cementing its cult bad-movie status. Fan reviews: “Ok. Angel's Revenge... is far from a good movie, but it's a movie that's so bad that it's good” and “Ripping off Charlie's Angels and inserting random celebrities does not make for a good movie”. Others: “A mess of a film. With tits.”
Social context: Released during the late-70s exploitation cycle, it tried to blend female empowerment with sex appeal and anti-drug messaging. Critics noted it was “racist, sexist and stupid” despite the female-led premise. The casting of fading 1960s stars like Lawford and Palance was seen as a sign of desperation.
Budget vs. Box Office
Production Budget: $3,000,000
Theatrical Gross: No figures reported. Box Office Mojo lists “Domestic –, International –, Worldwide –” with no revenue data.
Release: Limited theatrical run in Feb 1979, then straight to VHS and TV. It was re-cut as Angels by New World Pictures and as Angels Revenge for TV.
Profit: With no theatrical revenue reported and universally bad reviews, it likely lost money. Its afterlife has been on late-night TV, VHS, DVD from Scorpion Releasing, and MST3K reruns.
Ratings
IMDb: 2.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes: No Tomatometer score due to insufficient reviews. Audience reviews average 0.5/5 stars, with comments like “perhaps one of the worst films I have ever seen”.
Metacritic: No score listed.
TMDb: 3.2/10 from 29 votes, with 24% approval.
Rating: PG Runtime: 97 minutes.
Legacy
Angels Brigade is now mainly remembered for:
Dean Cundey’s cinematography – He later shot Halloween, Back to the Future, and Jurassic Park. His interview on the DVD is considered the best part.
MST3K episode – The 1995 Mystery Science Theater 3000 riff turned it into a bad-movie classic.
“So bad it’s good” circuit – It’s cited alongside The Room and Birdemic as a film “enjoyed” for its incompetence. Letterboxd reviews say it’s “dated, sleazy cornball Charlie’s Angels ripoff” that “plays great with a crowd”.
Bottom line: A sexploitation Charlie’s Angels cash-in about seven women fighting drug dealers and militias. Jack Palance and Peter Lawford slum it, Dean Cundey lights it, and Greydon Clark directs it. It bombed in 1979 and lives on only as a punchline. As one reviewer put it: “WTF were Jack Palance, Arthur Godfrey, Peter Lawford and Jim Backus THINKING?!”