The North Avenue Irregulars (1979)

(New Campton, California; contemporary)
IMDb

Edward Herrmann plays the Reverend Michael Hill, a motorcycle ridding widower, who has just taken over the post of pastor at the North Avenue Presbyterian Church. Shortly after arriving in his new community, the Reverend discovers that it is overrun by an illegal gambling operation and a corrupt city hall and police department. After denouncing the situation on television, he earns the wrath of the local syndicate, but his boldness inspires a couple of treasury agents (Michael Constantine and Steve Franken) to in list his help in fighting the corruption. Unable to rustle up any help from the men in his congregation, Rev. Hill enlists some of the church lady's to go under cover, and later tail, the various couriers for the gambling operation. Did I mention this film was Disney.

This is fun Saturday afternoon fair, not meant to be taken to seriously. The Church lady's are mostly types, the old lady, the black lady, the lady with a half-a-dozen kids, but their enjoyable enough to watch. I think I probably liked this movie more then it deserves, but its a late 70's Disney picture I'd never seen (I didn't even know it existed until a month or so ago), so It brought me back to a time when all of these pictures were new to me. As an added plus, this is one of the few family movies your likely to see that includes the fire bombing of a chapel.