I'm a longtime John Leslie fan; later when the great porn actor began directing I watched many of his films, THE TEASE starring Lauren Hall on VHS lingering as my favorite (and long overdue for a DVD release).
ANGELS is a big-deal movie he made which doesn't' hold up all that well. I was fortunate to catch its softcore version (made for the British -heavily sheltered denizens in the UK - as well as domestic pay-cable market), which is interesting in pointing up in bold relief the distinctions between X and XXX movies.
Set at Christmas, film explicitly mocks Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, as minor gangster Ceasar (misspelled by the filmmakers, Peter North in the role) is about to execute a $3,000,000 heist at the airport involving currency exchange. A phone call from Det. Carmine (T.T. Boy) crashes his hopes -he'll go to jail unless he double crosses his partners in the upcoming big score.
SPOILERS ALERT:
Despondent, North is about to shoot himself to death when Tom Byron appears, presenting himself as the stock guardian angel of fantasy films (we later learn, to no surprise, that he is really the devil). Alluding to "A Christmas Carol", Ceasar asks to see his future, which Byron assures him will be bleak -and Tom insists that he commit suicide first, which North does.
The duo then go the TOPPER route, popping up to eavesdrop on living humans for the rest of the film. Key voyeurism is on an endless lesbian and then threesome scene of Alicyn Sterling, Angela Summers and Joey Silvera. The editing is very choppy, because all shots showing a cock or penetration (or money shots) are carefully removed, to give us a softcore version of the movie.
Ceasar discovers that his partner Vito (Silvera) and even girl friend Gigi (Summers) are plotting against him, in league with Det. Carmine, who plans to take over his business once Ceasar is eliminated. Missy Warner has a memorable turn as a would-be stripper, forced to service Carmine as she auditions for a job.
Film's major setpiece is Sterling doing a classic tease, masturbating in front of Jerk-Off Sam (guest star Jamie Gillis), before the notorious voyeur finally humps her from behind. There's some poor continuity and unconvincing plot twists en route to a very unsatisfying approximation of a happy ending.
Film is bookended by a scene of North shtupping Savannah, with her receiving unwarranted top billing (she was a big star and draw at the time). Irony of her blowing her brains out a couple of years after this film was made a la North's character is pretty depressing.
Cast as an angel who wins the battle of wits with Byron (that's not very difficult!) to gain Ceasar's soul, Savannah is embarrassing here. I was quite stunned to hear LOUDLY on the soundtrack throughout the final scene Leslie yelling out directions for her every move (as well as to North) left in the final print -typical of no-budget porn but disconcerting in a relatively polished production like this. Apparently she was out of it.
Not so Sterling; with relatively few of her 100-plus performance preserved on DVD, ANGELS is an absolute must as showcase for Sterling's beauty and talent -those outsized puffy nipples are a major turn-on, and the absence of hardcore footage does not detract.
Missing in action in the 68-minute softie cut is Brigette Aime, seen only fleetingly for a second or two as Jake Steed and two other guys sock it to her in the early bar scene -a victim of "no hardcore".
Elsewhere, Leslie's direction has several gaffes, notably his letting performers like Byron and Gillis overact miserably at times. Byron has an uncontrolled shout early in the film that is strictly amateur-night, while Gillis, nearly catatonic with fake Irish accent as a gangster posing as Irish priest (!) cannot resist stepping out of character into his old porn mannerisms as he makes a stupid "lascivious" face while watching Alicyn masturbate.
Bill Heid's jazz score (all his musicians receive prominent screen credits, porn not fazing them) is good, but the film's production values are strictly cheapskate.