Two Undercover Angels and Kiss Me, Monster

Two Undercover Angels (1969)

and Kiss Me, Monster (1969)

by Tuna

After finishing Succubus, Jess Franco was elated with the performance of Janine Renaud, and decided to use her again, but in a different genre. It occurred to him to make a detective comedy based loosely on characters like Laurel and Hardy or Abbott and Costello, but using women, with one of them being a classic dumb blonde, for which role he recruited the Argentine actress Rosanna Yanni, with whom he had always wanted to work. The idea seemed so good to him that he decided to shoot two films back to back with essentially the same crew, using the same leads playing the same characters. The two films are often marketed as a single package called "Red Lips."

Two Undercover Angels (1969) is the first of the two comedies. IMDb lists it as El Caso de las dos bellezas, and it was called Sadist Erotica (against Franco's better judgment) in an early U.S. release. Renaud and Yanni play freelance detectives, although they seem to have connections to Interpol. It is never actually clear whom they work for, but their task is to get to the bottom of an epidemic of disappearing models and go-go dancers. As the detectives get deeper into the case, it is evident who is responsible: an artist and his werewolf-like assistant. But could it be that our girls are the real targets?

Kiss Me, Monster (1969) is the sequel. This time, Janine Renaud and Rossana Yanni have a nightclub act and hope to get to Vegas, but are also still in detective work. They are hired to get to the bottom of a secret society that is creating a race of supermen.

These are not the sorts of film I expect with Jess Franco at the helm, but are OK comedies, although the two women reminded me more of Maxwell Smart than Laurel and Hardy. IMDb comments are generally favorable, although several complained about the English dubbing, which was done by professional German voice actors. The first one is better because the plot in the second one is minimal, and most of the humor is supposed to come from a running gag where everyone gets a knife in the back just before they are to say something useful to the detectives. Jess Franco admits Kiss Me, Monster didn't do as well in the box office.

Both films are available from Blue Underground in a two-disk package which sports decent transfers, trailers, and interviews with the eternally colorful and candid Jess Franco. In his commentary, Franco accuses his producers of being totally clueless about film, and frequently making bad decisions. He also mentions that neither the Spanish nor German producers liked either of these films, but changed their tunes when both made money. He also mentions that it was never his intention to make films for the masses, but is pleased that so many of the current generation seem to enjoy his work. The actual films may be mediocre but, on the basis of the fact that these are Franco's only comedies, and given the candid and amusing interviews, this boxed set is a must-own for Franco fans.

DVD INFO

widescreen transfers
two disks, one for each film, and a Jess Franco interview on each disk

NUDITY REPORT

Two Undercover Angels:

María Antonia Redondo, as the first victim we see, has a nipple slip. Maria Dom, as a nightclub dancer shows breasts. Another nightclub performer also shows breasts in a lengthy scene in a cage. Unfortunately, I could find no clues to her identity.

Kiss me, Monster:

This time, Janine Renaud shows breasts during her nightclub act, and Maria Dom shows breasts in a nightclub act. Attentive viewers will notice that Dom's scene is simply a continuation of her scene in Two Undercover Angels, despite the fact that she died in the first one.

The Critics Vote ...

No major reviews online

The People Vote ...

IMDB summary for Two Undercover Angels. IMDb voters score it 5.1/10

IMDB summary for Kiss Me, Monster. IMDb voters score it 4.4/10

The meaning of the IMDb score: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence equivalent to about three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, comparable to approximately two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, equivalent to about a two star rating from the critics, or a C- from our system. Films rated below five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film - this score is roughly equivalent to one and a half stars from the critics or a D on our scale. (Possibly even less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

Our own guideline:

A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre.
B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. Any film rated B- or better is recommended for just about anyone. In order to rate at least a B-, a film should be both a critical and commercial success. Exceptions: (1) We will occasionally rate a film B- with good popular acceptance and bad reviews, if we believe the critics have severely underrated a film. (2) We may also assign a B- or better to a well-reviewed film which did not do well at the box office if we feel that the fault lay in the marketing of the film, and that the film might have been a hit if people had known about it. (Like, for example, The Waterdance.)
C+ means it has no crossover appeal, but will be considered excellent by people who enjoy this kind of movie. If this is your kind of movie, a C+ and an A are indistinguishable to you.
C means it is competent, but uninspired genre fare. People who like this kind of movie will think it satisfactory. Others probably will not.
C- indicates that it we found it to be a poor movie, but genre addicts find it watchable. Any film rated C- or better is recommended for fans of that type of film, but films with this rating should be approached with caution by mainstream audiences, who may find them incompetent or repulsive or both. If this is NOT your kind of movie, a C- and an E are indistinguishable to you.
D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. We don't score films below C- that often, because we like movies and we think that most of them have at least a solid niche audience. Now that you know that, you should have serious reservations about any movie below C-. Films rated below C- generally have both bad reviews and poor popular acceptance.
E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre.
F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, these films would both be rated C-, but the DVD set is a must-own for Francophiles.