The Angels Wash Their Faces

The Angels Wash Their Faces is a 1939 Warner Bros. film directed by Ray Enright and starring Ann Sheridan, Ronald Reagan and the Dead End Kids. Plot Gabe Ryan is released from reform school and is taken to a new house by his sister Joy to start a new life where no one knows of his past. However, Gabe immediately joins the Beale Street Termites gang, and meets gangster William Kroner, who accuses Gabe of starting a fire at one Kroner's his properties. Alfred Martino, the actual arsonist, uses the opportunity to frame Gabe for other fires. He torches one of his apartment complexes so that he can collect the insurance money, but one of the kids named Sleepy is killed in the fire. Patrick Remson, the assistant district attorney, tries to prove Gabe's innocence. His motives are not only to prove Gabe's innocence but also to get closer to Gabe's sister. Joy has devoted her life to helping Gabe and neglects her other interests such as rallying against city-government corruption, which pleases Martino. However, Gabe is found guilty and sentenced to prison.