Angels Wash Their Faces

A follow-up, as you might have guessed from the rather arch title, to the previous year's classic Angels with Dirty Faces, though sadly bereft of that film's stars James Cagney and Pat O'Brien, not to mention director Michael Curtiz. So here's Ann Sheridan, who appeared in the original but in a different role, trying to keep her brother away from those pesky Dead End Kids in a moderately sentimental social opus. Still, this is from Warner Bros in a golden period, and it's expertly made, nattily paced and beautifully acted. Oh, and if you've never seen ex-American President Ronald Reagan in his acting heyday, he's actually well worth tuning in for.