Aloysius "Guffy" McGovern (Paul Douglas) is the fouled mouthed abrasive manager of the baseball team the Pittsburgh Pirates who have been stuck in a slump only fueling his bad temper. When wandering onto the field after a game to look for a missing charm, a voice claiming to belong to an angel (James Whitmore) chides Guffy for his abuse to his fellow man and polluting the air with his foul mouth. The angel makes a deal with Guffy that if he can clean up his behavior him and his heavenly choir will help him with some of his games and get his team out of its slump, Guffy agress and eventually the Pirates become contenders for the pennant. Along the way Guffy befriends a little orphan girl Bridget White (Donna Corcoran) who can see the angels, as his road to the pennant is covered by newspaper writer Jennifer Paige (Janet Leigh).
Written by Jesuit priest Fr. Grady under the pen name Riachard Conlin, the story was purchased by MGM as a vehicle for Spencer Tracy, before unsuccessfully trying to attach Clark Gable and James Cagney before settling on Paul Douglas. The film has many similarities in its DNA to other fantastical films of the era such as Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life and with its mixture of magic realism and baseball its not unthinkable future films such as Field of Dreams took inspiration from this movie. While a net loss upon initial release, Angels in the Outfield has become a minor classic that while not as well regarded as similar films of the time is pleasant diversion.
Paul Douglas had a brief run as a leading man in films in the early 50s and never became the audience draw the studios were hoping for, which is a shame because Douglas does quite well as Guffy with his brash abrasiveness softening over time well-acted. The movie is essentially a character piece with Guffy having an arc throughout the course of the film and creating a family for himself with young orphan Bridget and reporter Jennifer Paige who are both portrayed effectively by Donna Corcoran and Janet Leigh respectively. While Guffy's arc through the movie is paced effectively and has some great moments of charm and humanity, it's also maybe a little too removed from some of Guffy's past with a lot of it told to us rather than shown firsthand. The movie also has a hearing with the commissioner of baseball that feels a little heavy handed and I personally felt maybe it could've been a little more ambiguous with the fantasy elements rather than the route it takes, but is does lead to a good moment of humor between McGovern's three "witnesses".
Angels in the Outfield isn't a classic in the same league as Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life which its clearly trying to aim for in terms of pathos, but it is a solid character piece with some charming scenes and a good performance by Paul Douglas.
Written by Jesuit priest Fr. Grady under the pen name Riachard Conlin, the story was purchased by MGM as a vehicle for Spencer Tracy, before unsuccessfully trying to attach Clark Gable and James Cagney before settling on Paul Douglas. The film has many similarities in its DNA to other fantastical films of the era such as Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life and with its mixture of magic realism and baseball its not unthinkable future films such as Field of Dreams took inspiration from this movie. While a net loss upon initial release, Angels in the Outfield has become a minor classic that while not as well regarded as similar films of the time is pleasant diversion.
Paul Douglas had a brief run as a leading man in films in the early 50s and never became the audience draw the studios were hoping for, which is a shame because Douglas does quite well as Guffy with his brash abrasiveness softening over time well-acted. The movie is essentially a character piece with Guffy having an arc throughout the course of the film and creating a family for himself with young orphan Bridget and reporter Jennifer Paige who are both portrayed effectively by Donna Corcoran and Janet Leigh respectively. While Guffy's arc through the movie is paced effectively and has some great moments of charm and humanity, it's also maybe a little too removed from some of Guffy's past with a lot of it told to us rather than shown firsthand. The movie also has a hearing with the commissioner of baseball that feels a little heavy handed and I personally felt maybe it could've been a little more ambiguous with the fantasy elements rather than the route it takes, but is does lead to a good moment of humor between McGovern's three "witnesses".
Angels in the Outfield isn't a classic in the same league as Miracle on 34th Street or It's a Wonderful Life which its clearly trying to aim for in terms of pathos, but it is a solid character piece with some charming scenes and a good performance by Paul Douglas.