Review of The Littlest Angel

Although this TV special, probably quite imaginative for 1969, now looks like an under-dressed, blue-screen relic from years past, it still has enough musical flair, talented players and soft-hearted sentiment to make it a passable holiday entertainment. Johnny Whitaker, as the shepherd boy who follows a white dove off a cliff and winds up in the Hereafter, isn't an accomplished vocalist yet is still a most efficient child-actor, carrying most of this show along with his youthful enthusiasm; Whitaker is quite adept at picking up his musical cues, and is comfortably at-home sharing the screen with heavyweights such as Fred Gwynne (sporting a thick crop of dark hair!), Tony Randall, Connie Stevens, James Coco, and E. G. Marshall. The costumes are fairly unflattering on everybody (Whitaker's shepherd's skirt is far too brief--exposing his knobby knees), and the primitive effects are an eyesore, however the songs are rather tuneful and everyone involved proves to be a good sport and pulls this off with sheer professionalism.