Too much of everything

Best movie ever!

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Oh how times have changed in the world of baseball. Today we worry about performance enhancing drugs and steroid scandals and players cheating, along with multi-million dollar contracts and ridiculously priced tickets. Back in 1951, apparently the biggest scandal would be a manager who believes he talks to angels! And ends up being threatened with discipline for no reason other than that his belief in angels apparently makes him a better person and his team a better team!Paul Douglas played Guffy McGovern, the manager of the sad-sack Pittsburgh Pirates - a bad joke around the world of baseball. McGovern is mean and demanding to his players, abusive toward the umpires (this being a family movie, I love the very innocent and even humorous way that he's depicted swearing) and he's involved in a long running feud with broadcaster Fred Bayles (Keenan Wynne.) But there's a little girl named Bridget in an orphanage run by nuns who prays for the Pirates and McGovern every day. Her prayers get heard, and all of a sudden heaven is on the Pirates' side. There aren't just angels in the outfield - they're in the infield, in the dugout and sitting on the scoreboard, too. And with the help of the angels the Pirates are transformed into contenders. But when, partly the result of stories written by reporter Jennifer Paige (a very young and beautiful Janet Leigh), people find out that McGovern is consorting with these heavenly beings - well, all hell breaks loose. Suddenly, Bayles has evidence that McGovern is crazy, the Commissioner of Baseball holds a hearing. My gosh, you'd have thought this was about Pete Rose gambling again.It's a very innocent movie - quaint even - when sports wasn't quite the big business it is today and when society wasn't quite as cynical about the stars. It's humorous - but not over the top - and Donna Corcoran (who plays Bridget) is an adorable 8 year old baseball fan who just wants the Pirates to win. On occasion it's even thoughtful - there's some commentary on the debate between belief and disbelief, but - as with most other things in this movie - there's no heavy duty religious content. The baseball action is even pretty well done. Perhaps it turns a bit overly sweet toward the end, but basically, this is a very enjoyable movie - perhaps not the best baseball movie ever made ("Pride Of The Yankees" still holds that place in my books), but quite well done. (7/10)

It's hard to believe that this movie was directed by Clarence Brown, who gave us such masterpieces as Garbo in Anna Karenina, Gable and Shearer in Idiot's Delight, and a very moving adaptation of Faulkner's Intruder in the Dust. Be that as it may, this a a generally flat film, with no real sense of pacing. The actors are all fine - indeed, much better than their material - but they can't make a silk purse out of this sow's ear.Which is not to say that there is nothing of value here, however. The last part of the movie, which doesn't build a lot of tension, nevertheless shows the main character doing something very decent. It could be developed a lot more effectively, I suppose, but there's something very satisfying about that. (I won't go into details, because I wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone.) Yes, this movie is worth watching. It's not close to being a great movie, but it won't waste your time, either.-------------------------I watched this again tonight on TCM. The basic plot - a baseball manager's conversations with angels - is pure fantasy, and not that interesting. It is also very much a repeat of the 1947 20th Century Fox hit Miracle on 34th Street, especially in the final courtroom scene, where, this time, various witnesses are called in to prove the existence of angels, as opposed to Santa Claus. For that, Miracle was a much better movie than this.But where this movie is interesting is its recreation of baseball in the late 1940s/early 1950s. The Pittsburgh "fans" turn downright vicious when they fear leaving an aging pitcher in will cause them to lose the game they need to win the pennant. There are other touches here and there that come off as very real, despite the fantasy of the main story line.As I wrote last year, you won't waste your time watching this movie. Some of it is blatant emotion manipulation. But there are interesting elements in it as well.

As a general rule, I hate remakes. Now this isn't always true. There are a few, very few, times that the remake is better due to a defect that is eliminated in the remake. However, I really disliked the remake of "Angels in the Outfield" because they took a very good film that could be enjoyed by the family and made it a film most adults couldn't stomach. I know you might disagree, but I loved the 1951 version and would rather just pretend that the Disney remake never occurred.The film is a cute little fantasy about a hot-headed baseball coach (Paul Douglas--who is wonderful in this role). The guy explodes and curses all the time--and he's difficult to like--especially since his team seems to do nothing but lose. Eventually, however, his nasty ways have got to stop--and an angel's voice calls out to him and threatens him unless he changes his ways. And, as an added bonus, the angel and his pals will help the coach's team IF he sticks with the bargain! It's all quite cute and well done--with Janet Leigh, Spring Byington and a cute orphan (who is NOT too cute, thank goodness) on hand for support. Well worth seeing and very clever.By the way, look close for a few cameos--such as Joe DiMaggio, Bing Crosby and Ty Cobb! Also, in a small role as a hat check girl is Barbara Billingsley--the future Mrs. Clever from "Leave It To Beaver".

I was taken by this movie the first time I ever saw it. That was so long ago, I can't even remember when. Paul Douglas as Guffy was superb. Angry, contrite at times, not quite sure what is happening with the angels, but in the end, he is willing to believe. The baseball scenes are pretty realistic. I enjoyed the shots of Forbes Field, as it was always one of my favorite places to watch a ball game. Donna Corcoran and Janet Leigh were both excellent playing their parts. However, the best performance (and most overlooked), was that of Keenan Wynne as the commentator. He played his part so perfectly that you forget this is only a movie. You really wanted to throttle him, the way he denigrated Guffy and the rest of the team. Excellent acting job on his part. James Whitmore did a great job as the voice of the angel, taking no "guff" from Guffy. I enjoyed the scene where Guffy lets his old and tired pitcher (Bruce Bennet) stay in the game, because Whitmore informs Guffy that "We are recruiting him (Bennet) next season." All in all, this was a terrific baseball movie. Yes it was predictable and at times a bit sappy. Having said that, the film was still well done and is certainly a fine movie for family entertainment.