Two Undercover Angels (1969)

- Rote Lippen, Sadisterotica
With better dubbing, this might be a good film, 4 April 2005

Two female detectives are hired to find a missing woman. They soon discover that their missing woman is only one of many models and dancers who have vanished. The trail leads to an artist who paints and sculpts women at the time of their deaths. His work is eerily reminiscent of the woman they're looking for.

Two Undercover Angels appears to have been an attempt by Franco to cash-in on the success of James Bond and other spy movies of the 60s. While this was the first "Red Lips" movie that Franco made, I unfortunately saw the sequel, Kiss Me Monster, first. Two Undercover Angels is miles ahead of the sequel by having something of an understandable plot (I would argue that the second in the series had no plot), acting, sets, and every other way imaginable. A lot of the jokes (this is a spoof after all) work in this movie.

While this movie may be better than it's successor, that's not to say it's a particularly good movie. Part of the problem, unfortunately, comes from the dubbing. I'm not one to complain about dubbing, but this may be the worst I've heard. It's hardly the fault of Franco or anyone else involved in making the movie, but it's still a distraction. The bad dubbing may be partially responsible for the confusion I had from time-to-time following the plot. But Franco's style of storytelling doesn't help much either. He introduces new characters on a regular basis that add little or nothing to the proceeding but to confuse the issue. As soon as you think you've gotten a handle on a new character, they disappear never to be seen again.

The two detectives mentioned in the title are played by Janine Reynaud and Rosanna Yanni. At least from appearances, they appear to be having a good time with their roles. There is a sense of humor and ease with which they work together that helps to make-up for some of the movie's shortcomings.

If someone were to ask me for a good place to begin discovering Franco, this is not where I would advise them to begin. Seek out Venus in Furs or The Diabolical Doctor Z for a place to start with Franco.

5/10