Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Livestonth I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Michael_Elliott Angels Wash Their Faces, The (1939) ** 1/2 (out of 4) The Dead End Kids star in this Warner crime drama, which has the boys trying to clear one of their pals of arson and murder charges. If you've seen one of these dramas then you've pretty much seen them all but this one here has a rather strange, stupid yet original twist at the end. The first half of the film is pretty boring as we sit through the typical story of a troubled kid trying to do good but getting into more trouble. Most of this is deadly dull and boring because we have seen it in previous films but then the twist takes place. In the middle of the movie one of the boys is elected Mayor and of course he appoints his pals into other positions throughout the city. This is how they go about getting their friend cleared but the screenplay is so far fetched that I couldn't help but break down laughing. All of this laughter made the second half of the film fast paced, loose and fun. The Dead End Kids are their typical self but Ronald Reagan and Ann Sheridan add nice support. Bonita Granville, from Warner's Nancy Drew series, also joins the boys and is an added touch. I'm not sure what it is about her but I've found her very charming and sweet in the five films of her's I've seen.

Neil Doyle ANGELS WASH THEIR FACES is an obvious attempt to capitalize on the popularity of the previous ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES, but emerges as a vehicle for the Dead End Kids rather than giving ANN SHERIDAN or RONALD REAGAN a chance to demonstrate their chemistry.If you happen to be a fan of The Kids, this film is up your alley. They seem more like delinquents than real gangsters (by today's standards), while Sheridan and Reagan try to resolve the problems they create involving a wrongly accused case of arson.Ray Enright keeps it all moving rather briskly, but the script--with its focus on the kids rather than the stars--is a disappointment for fans of Sheridan and Reagan.The cast includes the usual Warner stock company of contract players, including Bonita Granville, Henry O'Neill, Eduardo Ciannelli, Frankie Thomas and Margaret Hamilton.Summing up: Routine crime drama interesting only for a glimpse of Ann Sheridan and Ronald Reagan at an early stage of their careers.

jotix100 This 1939 film tried to capitalize on the much better Michael Curtiz's film "Angels with Dirty Faces". As directed by Ray Enright, the only interesting thing is how tamed these kids were in comparison with what's going on with the youth in America's inner cities today.The film is only worth seeing because of the presence of Ann Sheridan and Ronald Reagan, who showed they were well paired together. The Dead End kids have larger parts as the plot concentrates on them rather than in the older folks.In a way it's curious how arson was used in the same way some scrupulous landlords did in later years right here in New York. It was the quickest way to turn a property around never considering the social problems it created. In today's climate with so many guns around there is a new reality. The young kids of the story seemed mere pranksters rather than criminals. How times change!

Randy_D A sequel to Angels With Dirty Faces in name only, The Angels Wash Their Faces suffers somewhat from the usual shenanigans of the Dead End Kids. As a matter of fact, with the presence of the Dead End Kids and Ann Sheridan this should have been treated as an actual sequel to Angels With Dirty Faces, at least for continuity's sake.Speaking of Ann Sheridan, she is the one true shining light of this movie. To paraphrase a cliché, Ann Sheridan could read from a phone book for two hours and I would buy the DVD!Another virtue of this movie is the chemistry between Ann Sheridan and Ronald Reagan. Unfortunately , this aspect of the film is kept too far in the background. For a better example of the Sheridan-Reagan duo I would recommend Juke Girl or Kings Row.