And that's even though I hate using that adjective to describe any movie, but this one fits the bill perfectly. PAUL DOUGLAS is a temperamental baseball player who makes a deal with a heavenly angel to curb his temper and maybe win a few games with help from above.
JANET LEIGH is a girl reporter who eventually falls in love with Douglas (hey, this is a movie!!) after a rather brief courtship during which both she and Douglas fall in love with little Donna Corcoran. This little girl has one of the sweetest, most angelic faces I've ever seen on a child actress and she's got a sincerity that makes everything she says and does look perfectly natural.
The orphanage where the girl is sheltered is run by SPRING BYINGTON, in one of her most unusual roles as a nun who knows baseball, and ELLEN CORBY who does a wistfully sweet job as a beaming assistant to Byington.
The baseball flavor gets help from some real footage of Pirate games and some humorous clips of famous people commenting on the angel situation. Among the movie stars, Bing Crosby playing golf.
The story is a morality tale done without any special effects gimmicks. I didn't see the remake, but I understand it did use CGI to make more graphic use of the angel element. KEENAN WYNN has the film's only unlikeable role as a sports announcer who's cynical about the little girl's claim that she sees angels in the outfield.
Summing up: An amiable comedy, well played by Douglas, Leigh and Corcoran.
JANET LEIGH is a girl reporter who eventually falls in love with Douglas (hey, this is a movie!!) after a rather brief courtship during which both she and Douglas fall in love with little Donna Corcoran. This little girl has one of the sweetest, most angelic faces I've ever seen on a child actress and she's got a sincerity that makes everything she says and does look perfectly natural.
The orphanage where the girl is sheltered is run by SPRING BYINGTON, in one of her most unusual roles as a nun who knows baseball, and ELLEN CORBY who does a wistfully sweet job as a beaming assistant to Byington.
The baseball flavor gets help from some real footage of Pirate games and some humorous clips of famous people commenting on the angel situation. Among the movie stars, Bing Crosby playing golf.
The story is a morality tale done without any special effects gimmicks. I didn't see the remake, but I understand it did use CGI to make more graphic use of the angel element. KEENAN WYNN has the film's only unlikeable role as a sports announcer who's cynical about the little girl's claim that she sees angels in the outfield.
Summing up: An amiable comedy, well played by Douglas, Leigh and Corcoran.