The North Avenue Irregulars

The Last Great Disney Family Film
The North Avenue Irregulars was Disney's best attempt to revive its family film franchise. They started by choosing a true story and then giving it that Disney touch. Next they collected a group of up and coming actors from Broadway and television.

The North Avenue Presbyterian Church has a new minister. He wants to get the congregation more involved in the affairs of the church, so his first action is to give charge of the sinking fund to Rose Delaney (Patsy Kelly). The thing that he does not know is that her husband is a compulsive gambler. When she tells him that Rafterty has bet the whole $1,206 on a horse race, he goes to stop the wager but is too late. When he asks for the money back, he is given the door.

That night he goes on local television and instead of giving his planned sermon, he goes on a tirade about illegal gambling and the police looking the other way. This gets the eye of the FBI (Michael Constantine and Steve Franken) and Reverend Hill...

"Who would suspect a bunch of ding-a-ling dames?"
Disney studios ended its family-friendly filmmaking in 1979 with two films: "Unidentified Flying Oddball" and "North Avenue Irregulars." While "U.F.O" is a silly time-waster, "North Avenue Irregulars" remains a personal favorite, with an outstanding cast enlivening thin (and let's face it, dated) material and delivering loud and frequent laughs. Feminists will object strongly to the female stereotypes, but most everyone else will ignore the silliness of it all and find much to enjoy in this fast-paced lark.

The Rev. Mike Hill (Edward Herrmann) has just taken over as pastor at North Avenue Presbyterian Church, much to the displeasure of Anne Woods (Susan Clark), whose father recently retired as pastor. The rest of the flock includes daffy housewife Vicki (Barbara Harris), dippy (and apparently wealthy) old maid Claire (Cloris Leachman), ditsy engaged debutante Jane (Karen Valentine) whose fiance Howard is an insufferable mama's boy, dotty elderly couple Rose and Delaney...

Underrated Disney Comedy
To me, this is the best movie to come out of Disney's dry spell of the '70's (when it released such stinkers as "Million Dollar Duck" and "Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo") . . terrific fun for the whole family. Edward Herrmann (who I normally find an unbearably annoying actor) is quite good as a pastor who finds himself fighting organized crime when one of his church members gambles away church money. (True, he should be angry at the church member, but our reverend believes in tackling the ROOT of the problem). After Herrmann speaks out against organized crime publicly, two FBI agents come to him and ask him for his help in going undercover to expose these gangsters. He asks for help from his congregation, and the only ones who will aid him are 6 indomitable females (Patsy Kelly, Virginia Capers, Barbara Harris, Cloris Leachman, Karen Valentine, and - later - Susan Clark). You'll relish every second that you see all of the ladies on the screen,...

Click to Editorial Reviews