Tear Gas Squad (1940) User Reviews

There is a tenor amidst the tear gas...

[AlsExGal · 6/10 · 23 November 2019]

... 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.

"Why, for you, I'd even be a fireman."

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 24 May 2014]

Nightclub crooner Dennis Morgan joins the police academy to impress pretty blonde policeman's daughter Gloria Dickson. Cop John Payne is also sweet on Gloria and, as movie luck would have it, he winds up as Morgan's trainer at the academy. Nice little B movie with a misleading title. There's no tear gas squad, although tear gas does play a part in the final minutes of the picture.

Morgan's somewhat miscast but does get to sing some songs, which is primarily what they paid him for. Poor John Payne has to play O'Brien to Morgan's Cagney. Nice supporting cast includes many future TV stars: Edgar Buchanan (Petticoat Junction), William Hopper (Perry Mason), Herbert Anderson (Dennis the Menace), George Reeves and John Hamilton (Adventures of Superman). Director Terry O. Morse would go on to direct the American footage for the first Godzilla. Not a bad movie of its type and a decent way to kill an hour.

Will she pick the brash guy or the steady Sergeant?

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 17 November 2019]

During the 1930s, 40s and 50s, thousands of B-movies were made by Hollywood. However, these second features weren't always bad AND they weren't always made by tiny film studios. In the case of "Tear Gas Squad", it's a film from Warner Brothers...but it's clearly a B as it only runs 55 minutes and features the studio's second-string actors.

The film features two brothers--Tommy and Joe McCabe. When the film begins, the druggist, Joe (George Reeves) becomes a hero when he captures two criminals. His brother, Tommy (Dennis Morgan), is quite different. He's brash and pretty obnoxious. However, when he meets a cute lady whose family consists of cops, he impulsively joins the service to impress her. However, during his time in the police academy, Tommy is a know-it-all....and his instructor (John Payne) is NOT impressed. To make things worse, they both are in love with the same woman.

Despite only clocking in at 55 minutes, there is tons of singing in the film...too much for such a short film. I guess I can't blame Warner too much...Morgan had a lovely voice. But sometimes the film loses its direction with all these numbers....and one or two less would have improved the picture AND made the story more believable. Plus there is a scene involving a cigarette on the gun range that, frankly, is stupid and never would occur in real life. Because of these things, despite the film being very slickly made, it's only an okay movie. It easily could have been better...but it is watchable as a time-passer.

Great B-film from Warners

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 23 May 2014]

I love this one-- it's the little film that could. It is easily my most favorite B-film. It has some great Irish music, some fast-paced action scenes (especially at the end), and appealing lead performers (like Dennis Morgan, John Payne & Gloria Dickson) to sustain our interest. But what impresses me most is the way this story deftly combines several different genres-- it's a musical, police procedural, romance, mystery and gangster drama all rolled into one. It tries to be all things to all viewers, and since the cast is so versatile, it succeeds. And to think they packed it all into a film that doesn't even run a full hour! Great entertainment.

Shed no tears

[bkoganbing · 4/10 · 5 January 2014]

After seeing any number of films from Warner Brothers I'm convinced that several properties at once were written with James Cagney in mind. And when he said no they devolved on to lesser players in the pecking order.

Case in point is this film Tear Gas Squad in which there is no such specialized squad in any police department I know. And we only see tear gas being used in the final showdown with the bad guys here. What this is all about is yet another buddy film that was probably meant for the team of Cagney and Pat O'Brien.

Dennis Morgan plays a nightclub singer with not too good an opinion of cops, but joins the force any way to impress Gloria Dickson who comes from a family of them. And she's got Sergeant John Payne who is also courting her who gives Morgan a ticket and gets a lot of lip from Morgan. So when he winds up Morgan's training officer you can only imagine what follows.

Which you've seen in any number of Cagney/O'Brien films all of them better than this. At least Morgan got to sing a bit. John Payne who has a few good notes in his system as well sang not a bit.

Fortunately for both Morgan and Payne better films were coming along although Payne would have to move to 20th Century Fox for them.

Silly Mix Of Genres, But Still Fun

[redryan64 · 6/10 · 12 August 2014]

MAKING THE USE of plenty of footage culled from ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES (Warner Bros., 1938), this production is a prime example of the making of a "B" movie out of thin air. The recipe calls for an unmade, but easily revisable script, a couple of lightweight leads, a modest sized assembly of supporting players and a catchy-if somewhat ambiguous and misleading title.

ANOTHER WEAPON AVAILABLE to the second string director and production team of any "B" is the assistance rendered by a truly unsung hero in Hollywood. That talented guy is the editor who puts the trailers together. His presence on the movie studios' lot is equally important to the Movie Company as the Major League relief pitcher, who is designated as "the Closer" is to his team.

WE'VE SEEN BOTH the complete feature film and the movie's trailer. We have to confess that we did enjoy it's meshing names like Dennis Morgan, Gloria Dickson, John Payne, George Reeves and John Hamilton (among others). It does have a certain sort of crazy appeal; not the least of which is Mr. Morgan's character's being torn between the Police Department's 'Shock Troops' and the Department's Chorale, where he is lead singer.

WE ALSO SAW the movie's trailer, as we said earlier, and guess what? The trailer was a better movie than that was the actual 55 minutes of the film itself!

That rat he killed my brother

[kapelusznik18 · 5/10 · 25 May 2014]

***SPOILERS*** "Tear Gas Squad" starts off as a musical comedy but soon turns serious when night club singer Tommy McCabe's, Dennis Morgan, kid brother druggist Joe, Steve Reeves , is gunned down before his eyes by the Rock Dawson, Warren Rock, gang. It was Rock Dawson whom Joe had turned in, at gunpoint, to the police earlier in the movie when he came to his drugstore for help after being shot in the arm by the police.

Up until then Tommy who joined to police department to impress Jerry Sullivan, Gloria Dickson, who's entire family excluding Mama, Mary Gordon, are a member of the city police department but had been suspended for being a wise guy after graduation day with him being at the top of his class. Now determined to track down Joe's killers Tommy breaks all the rules and laws to get his hands on Dawson and his gang and bring them to justice. As things turn out it's Jerry's policeman suitor Sgt. Bill Morrissey, John Payne, Tommy's instructor at the police academy who ends up being kidnapped by the Dawson gang and held hostage, when the gang surrounded, at the Acme Fruit Packing Co. wear-house on the city's waterfront.

***SPOILERS*** Doing his "Spiderman" act Tommy crashes through the skylight of the wear-house and with the whole place being tear gassed by the police he not only saves Morrissey's life but also ends up getting the girl, Jerry Sullivan, as well. The movie has staring in it the future Superman, and mild mannered reporter Clark Kent, actor Steve Reeves as Joe McCabe, Tommy's kid brother, as well as his boss John Hamilton as Chief Ferris who later played Perry White the editor of the Daily Planet. Now how's that for a quinella!

Dennis Morgan in shoddy B-film before he entered the majors...

[Doylenf · 5/10 · 23 May 2008]

There's a definite B-film flavor for this quickie from Warner Bros. that has DENNIS MORGAN as a nightclub singer trying to impress a girl (GLORIA DICKSON) with his impersonation as a police officer during a nightclub act. Little does he know she's from a family of officers, which is why she fails to be impressed by him.

JOHN PAYNE is one of her brothers, also a policeman who knows Morgan because he gave him a traffic ticket for speeding. The story turns out to be a trifle distinguished only by a generous sampling of Irish songs by Morgan, who never sounded in better voice. Unfortunately, the story is hackneyed stuff, with Morgan deciding to actually join the police force instead of just impersonating one. Naturally, he has to shape up under Payne's leadership in training school.

It's predictable nonsense with DENNIS MORGAN's way with a song being the only worthwhile reason for watching. Running less than an hour, it's a harmless programmer but easily forgotten.

You have to wait for the tear gas

[scsu1975 · 5/10 · 21 November 2022]

Oddball quickie from Warner Brothers, which is part musical, part romance, part police story, and almost no tear gas.

Dennis Morgan plays a singer (surprise) who does a "singing cop" act. He decides to join the force to impress Gloria Dickson, much to the dismay of her current suitor and cop John Payne. The only action, including the tear gas, occurs in the final ten minutes or so. Morgan is so appealing that you can put up with most of the nonsense that occurs for most of the film (like his singing in the police glee club). There are plenty of familiar faces, including Perry White as the Police Chief (and Morgan does get to call him "Chief"), Superman as Morgan's brother, Paul Drake in a bit part, Dennis the Menace's father, and Uncle Joe (movin' mighty slow) from Hooterville. Speaking of which, Gloria Dickson was one hot babe.

Actually, this is a delightful musical!

[Hup234! · 9/10 · 12 September 1999]

A bit of history is called for in explaining the misleading title.

Often in B-film productions, the studios would assign the producer only a "power title" with a hoped-for marquee value. From just that pre-assigned title with which to work, the film's storyline would then evolve.

Well, the film attached to the title "Tear Gas Squad" turns out to be a terrific little musical-comedy programmer with a great cast and original songs and music by Jack Scholl and M. K. Jerome (whose biggest fame would come from "Casablanca" two years later).

The great Irish tenor of Dennis Morgan shines. All else is a pleasurable hour of concise entertainment. Recommended!

Singing cops and gun toting pharmacists make for odd couple heroes.

[mark.waltz · 3/10 · 28 June 2016]

A Payne and a Morgan get together for this extremely short B comedy action filler that is sure to please in spite of its clichéd premise. When pharmacist George Reeves reacts to gangsters on the lam by pulling a gun while grabbing Band-Aids, he becomes a n instant hero. Wannabe cop brother Dennis Morgan sings in a nightclub, gaining a slap from tough Irish gal Gloria Dickson who slowly falls for his own brand of blarney when he wins over her family with a series of Irish lullaby's, with the exception of her tough cop suitor (John Payne) who makes his training a living hell. Between the two rivals, there's little room for gangsters to make a racket, although elements of a full plot are few and far between. The big story involves Morgan's determination to get away from the squad glee club and do something to impress Dickson and show Payne up.

Harry Shannon and Mary Gordon add heart to the role of Dickson's Irish immigrant parents, emotional over the singing of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling", a corny moment for sure, but you may find your eyes smiling along. A good bulk of this finds Morgan singing which without, this would clock in at a little more than half an hour. It takes more than 3/4 of the film to return to the plot set-up concerning Reeves, making me wonder how this managed to get past the approval of the Warner executives. So as entertaining as it seems to be, it's untimely pretty sloppy and a weak entry even on the B level. Even so, the film moves at a brisk pace, never slowing down for a second. So while there is music in this mess, it's rather flat in spite of Morgan's glorious voice.

Morgan Shows His Stuff

[dougdoepke · 5 April 2011]

Cocky young nightclub singer joins police force to win affection of cop family's daughter.

The title remains a mystery since the crime part comes as something of an after-thought. And when the title tear gas finally does fly, it's short-lived. Actually, the movie's a showcase for Morgan who's clearly on his way to bigger and better things. Despite the B-budget, he comes through here in spades with a lively performance and a fine singing voice.

In fact, the production looks like an opportunity for a number of likable younger players— Payne, Reeves, Anderson— resulting in an uncommonly good-looking male cast. The rivalry between Morrissey (Payne) and McCabe (Morgan) appears both natural and the movie's dramatic centerpiece.

Sure, the story's about as hackneyed as they come. But it's a Warner Bros. production and no one was more energetic on screen than the studio of Cagney, Flynn, and Robinson. Their crews knew how to keep a story moving in both filming and editing. And, despite the limitations, this lively little endeavor is no exception.

(In passing—note the presence of two cast members from 1950's Superman series, George Reeves {Joe McCabe} along with John Hamilton {police chief}. Also, look quickly for Perry Mason's William Hopper in an early walk-on.)

Slam Bang Pow!

[vawlkee_2000 · 10/10 · 19 March 2013]

Sure it's a "B" film but it has class all the way! From start to finish, snappy dialogue, great performances and a near breathless pace! Nobody could make 'em like Warner's!

Morgan starts out as a wise-ass and get's himself busted from the force. When his brother is murdered by by the hoods he had a part in busting in a robbery attempt earlier... Quoting Bugs Bunny: "Of course you know this means WAR!" Later Superman star, George Reeves puts in an excellent performance as Morgan's druggist Brother.

An excellent supporting cast keeps this film running at a breakneck pace! This film has "A" written all over it and is a "must see". I can't praise it too highly!

I could go on and on, but you should see it for yourselves and decide!

Dennis Morgan sings like never before!

[steveareno · 9/10 · 13 June 2000]

I was amazed at how short this film was AND how extremely great it was.Dennis Morgan's voice was really exceptional and he sang so much in this movie,it made it SO nice!!It has to do a lot with the police force.It was drama and music all wrapped up into one package.Hope you enjoy it!!

Fast, Cheap and Fun

[Michael_Elliott · 21 May 2013]

Tear Gas Squad (1940)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Cheap but fun "B" picture from Warner has Dennis Morgan playing a lounge singer who does a routine as a cop, which crosses the line with a beautiful woman (Gloria Dickson) there watching. Soon she invites the singer to her house where he learns that there are all cops in her family and there's another man, also a cop (John Payne), who also has a thing for her. The singer decides to become a cop himself and this here is where the trouble starts. TEAR GAS SQUAD is pretty straight from start to finish and it follows just about every cliché that you'd expect it to but I still thought the film managed to be quite entertaining through its 55-minute running time. The best thing about the picture is that director Terry O. Morse manages to keep it running at an extremely fast pace and he never lets any of the action slow down. There are all sorts of strange things going on here including the non-stop singing from Morgan who is constantly throwing out a song. Even stranger is the entire love triangle as the woman pretty much disappears from the picture and we're just left with two guys who can't stand one another. Of course there has to be "drama" from the poor attitude of the singer, his fall from grace and then the redemption. I thought Morgan and Payne were both very entertaining in their roles. I'd stop short of saying they gave great performances since the material is pretty light but there's still no doubt that they help keep the film entertaining. Dickson was good as the love interest but she really didn't have too much to do. George Reeves has a couple quick but memorable scenes. If you're looking for top-notch entertainment or an Oscar-winner then you're not going to find it here but those who like "B" movies should find plenty of entertainment here.

Superman gets shot (spoiler).

[gkeith_1 · 10/10 · 13 September 2017]

Spoilers. Observations. Opinions.

Superman gets shot. He is youthfully pretty here. He (George Reeves) had just recently been in 1939's Gone With the Wind, also in the opening shot just like in Tear Gas Squad (this film). I thought, great. I will see him a lot, then I realized he didn't get top billing so he might soon move to the background -- I was right.

Tear Gas Squad happened toward the end of this film, with Dennis Morgan, as Superman's vindictive brother, chasing some crooks as retribution for offing Brother Superman. Turns out Morgan's character had a childhood dabbling in tear gas (how strange), and a futuristic Spidey-sense of scaling walls and crashing through glass skylights.

I wouldn't watch a film with a title like this, but when I saw that it had Dennis Morgan as a nightclub singer, I wanted to give it a try.

What a strange storyline. Nightclub singer soon "daylights" as a police cadet. His singing is beautiful, as always, but he acts like a stupid SOB in his choice of singing material. In the police academy, he is mouthy and obnoxious. He fights people. What a knucklehead.

He meets a police family who wants him to sing his stupid-text nightclub songs, but he chooses to sing some schmaltzy sort of stereotypical Irish songs to placate these sons of immigrants.

He likes their daughter, but the conflict here is her already-boyfriend, no-nonsense John Payne, a sergeant instructor in the police academy. Morgan joins the academy, and naturally Payne is his sadistic professor. Later, Morgan saves Payne's life from the bad guys. Awwwwwww.

Denouement: things are tied up. Payne is no longer the suitor. Morgan, decked out in a sergeant's uniform, gets his happy ever after with the young damsel. Morgan is standing with his police horse, looking like he is in the Central Park of his nightclub police parody song about the nannies pushing the baby prams. He also reminds me of the Nelson Eddy Royal Mountie with his horse and the lovely Jeanette MacDonald.

I would rather see Payne in Betty Grable musicals, than the droll, serious police officer as portrayed here.

The police chief would later be Perry White in the George Reeves Superman 1950s TV series. Jones, another officer, would be the father in TV's Dennis the Menace. A police cousin, Edgar Buchanan, would later be Uncle Joe in TV's my fave Petticoat Junction.

Was this film a combination of 1930s' gangster films plus soon-to-be popular song and dance musicals of the 1940s? Hitler was on the rise, and World War Two had already started in Europe. The U.S. was not yet at war in 1940, the year that this film was released. I was thinking these thoughts as this film began, a hybrid of droll musical comedy and cartoonish gangster-losers.

This was a small, tightly directed, under one hour film. They told the entire story quite quickly. The action was fast. I still hate black and white, however, as you well know. Film noir, you aren't my friend. I love full color musicals, with lots of song and dance and even rather plot-less story lines.

I am a degreed historian, actress, singer, dancer, stage makeup artist, film critic and movie reviewer.

It's Hokey - Big Spoiler

[fowlerjones · 23 May 2003]

Spoiler - The irish tenor sings in uniform with his gal and his horse in the final scene. Is that why somebody called it a comedy? Hokey police drama with fits of music and unintentional laughs. If you want to riff on a B-movie ala MST3K, screen this George Reeves ditty at your next gathering.