By Richard Harland Smith
Tear Gas Squad
Brief Synopsis
A brave young policeman single-handedly takes on a vicious criminal gang.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Terry Morse
Director
Dennis Morgan
Tommy McCabe
John Payne
[Sergeant] Bill Morrissey
Gloria Dickson
Jerry Sullivan
George Reeves
Joe McCabe
Frank Wilcox
Sergeant [Ed] Crump
Film Details
Also Known As
State Cop
Genre
Drama
Crime
Romance
Release Date
May
4,
1940
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
55m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6 reels
Synopsis
When wounded robber Rocks Dawson demands to be treated by pharmacist Joe McCabe, Joe arrests the robber and becomes a hero. Joe is the younger brother of nightclub singer Tommy McCabe, whose act includes a parody of a police officer. Tommy's cavalier attitude toward the police department raises the ire of audience member Jerry Sullivan, who invites Tommy to her house for dinner. When Tommy calls on Jerry, he is embarrassed to learn that her father and cousins are all police officers, but wins the family over with his rendition of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling." Falling in love with Jerry, Tommy foresakes performing to join the police academy, where he is assigned to instructor Sergeant Bill Morrissey, his rival for Jerry's affections. Tommy's insubordination irritates Bill, and consequently, after graduation, Tommy is assigned to the police glee club. When Bill opposes Tommy's request for a transfer, Tommy socks Bill and is suspended from the force. Meanwhile, Jerry has fallen in love with Tommy, who visits Joe at the pharmacy to tell him the good news. While the brothers are talking, members of Rock Dawson's gang break in and kill Joe to avenge Rock's arrest. The gang has been conducting a murderous rampage, and the police are hot on their trail. Out of compassion, Jerry's father allows Tommy to accompany him to the factory district where his brother's killers are trapped. As Bill enters the compound, he is taken hostage by the gang. Tommy convinces Lieutenant Sullivan to give him five minutes to capture the killers, and climbs into the building, saves Bill and brings the killers to justice. For his bravery, Tommy is reinstated in the police force, thus rewarding Jerry's faith in him.
Director
Terry Morse
Director
Cast
Dennis Morgan
Tommy McCabe
John Payne
[Sergeant] Bill Morrissey
Gloria Dickson
Jerry Sullivan
George Reeves
Joe McCabe
Frank Wilcox
Sergeant [Ed] Crump
Herbert Anderson
Pliny Jones
Julie Stevens
Lois
Harry Shannon
Lieutenant Sullivan
Mary Gordon
Mrs. Sullivan
William Gould
Captain Henderson
John Hamilton
Chief Ferris
Edgar Buchanan
Cousin Andy
Dick Rich
Cousin Pat
De Wolf Hopper
George
Adrian Morris
Crusty
Stevan Darrell
Mitch
Sol Gorss
Frank
Ben Welden
Sully
Warren Rock
Rocks Dawson
Frank Mayo
Nick, proprietor
Stuart Holmes
Deputy city clerk Smith
Garland Smith
Cadet
Donald Curtis
Second cadet
Wilfred Lucas
Policeman
Carl Harbaugh
Policeman
Wen Niles
Announcer
Creighton Hale
Announcer
Lee Prather
Sergeant-at-Arms
John Harron
Taxi driver
Don Turner
Henchman
Paul Maxey
Harmon
Ralph Sanford
Officer
Charles Sherlock
Officer
Jack Mower
Officer
Howard Mitchell
Officer
Mike Lally
Radio officer
Pat O'malley
Patrolman
Crew
Milo Anderson
Gowns
Charles Belden
Original Screenplay
Bryan Foy
Producer
Kenneth Gamet
Original Screenplay
Louis Hesse
Film Editor
Sid Hickox
Photography
M. K. Jerome
Composer
Stanley Jones
Sound
John Langan
Dialogue Director
Ernest Nims
Film Editor
Charles Novi
Art Director
Don Ryan
Original Screenplay
Russ Saunders
Assistant Director
Jack Scholl
Composer
Jack L. Warner
Executive Producer
Film Details
Also Known As
State Cop
Genre
Drama
Crime
Romance
Release Date
May
4,
1940
Premiere Information
not available
Production Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Distribution Company
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.
Country
United States
Technical Specs
Duration
55m
Sound
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
6 reels
Articles
Tear Gas Squad
Though Dennis Morgan had been kicking around Hollywood since 1936, picking up paychecks on Poverty Row and for such big studios as Paramount, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Warner Brothers, he was announced as a "big new star" for Tear Gas Squad (1940), a curious hybrid of musical comedy and police procedural. The 55-minute B-feature hews closely to the tradition of Warners' "G" Men (1935) and MGM's Code Two (1953), telling the tale of an irreverent police cadet on the rocky road toward being a good cop. Joining the force only to impress a cop's daughter, cabaret crooner Morgan excels in the glee club (singing four songs along the way) until the mob murder of his pharmacist brother prompts him to join the good fight for law and order. Tear Gas Squad benefits from a rich cast of character actors who later found steady work on TV, among them Herbert Anderson of Dennis the Menace, William Hopper of Perry Mason, Edgar Buchannan of Petticoat Junction and both George Reeves and John Hamilton of The Adventures of Superman). Director Terry Morse is best remembered for directing the wraparound American footage starring Raymond Burr that was added to the US release of Japan's Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956).
By Richard Harland Smith
By Richard Harland Smith
Tear Gas Squad
Though Dennis Morgan had been kicking around Hollywood since 1936, picking up paychecks on Poverty Row and for such big studios as Paramount, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and Warner Brothers, he was announced as a "big new star" for Tear Gas Squad (1940), a curious hybrid of musical comedy and police procedural. The 55-minute B-feature hews closely to the tradition of Warners' "G" Men (1935) and MGM's Code Two (1953), telling the tale of an irreverent police cadet on the rocky road toward being a good cop. Joining the force only to impress a cop's daughter, cabaret crooner Morgan excels in the glee club (singing four songs along the way) until the mob murder of his pharmacist brother prompts him to join the good fight for law and order. Tear Gas Squad benefits from a rich cast of character actors who later found steady work on TV, among them Herbert Anderson of Dennis the Menace, William Hopper of Perry Mason, Edgar Buchannan of Petticoat Junction and both George Reeves and John Hamilton of The Adventures of Superman). Director Terry Morse is best remembered for directing the wraparound American footage starring Raymond Burr that was added to the US release of Japan's Godzilla, King of the Monsters (1956).
By Richard Harland Smith
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
The working title of this picture was State Cop. The Variety review credits Ernest Nims with editing, although onscreen credits list Louis Hesse as editor. According to a news item in Hollywood Reporter, actress Julie Stevens, who plays "Lois" in the film, was discovered at the Pasadena Playhouse.
