In retrospect the story seems a little familiar. A man leads a particular kind of life, a supernatural force enters the picture, and the man finds his dreams fulfilled but they aren't what he thought. Did it begin with W. W. Jacob's short story, "The Monkey's Paw," in 1902? Probably not.
Orson Bean is Mr. Bevis, an "oddball" who has numerous marginalized hobbies and is liked by everyone for his good-natured personality. However, he's often late for work, is behind in his rent, and drives a crazy old car. And one day his cavalier attitude bears fruit. He gets fired, evicted, and his car rolls away and turns over.
Enter his guardian angel, Henry Jones, giving his usual, delightfully off-kilter performance. Jones gives Bevis the success that has always bypassed him. Instead of his loud sports jacket and bow tie, he's immediately garbed as "an undertaker." His rent is now paid up. His antique car is replaced by some kind of SuperDuper sports convertible. When he shows up for work, the other workers, instead of greeting him warmly as usual, ignore him. Then the boss loudly and happily announces that Bevis is so efficient that he's getting a raise.
It's all too much for Bevis and he tells Jones he wants his old life back. In keeping with the light-hearted spirit of the story, Jones reluctantly disappears. However, he's still hanging around in the ether, keeping an eye on his charge, and getting him out of scrapes, so Bevis gets to keep his old personality but avoid serious problems at the same time.
Nicest touch: When Bevis first shows up for work, he's called into the boss's office to be fired. From behind the closed door we hear angry shrieking as a cascade of insults is uncorked. And there's a quick shot of the boss's portrait on the office wall -- wearing a beaming paternal grin.
The street peddler, Tony, is played by Vito Scotti, who had quite a career as a character actor. Fans of "Columbo" might recognize him because he appeared so often as an undertaker, a bum, a high-end tailor, the proprietor of an expensive restaurant, and so forth.
Orson Bean is Mr. Bevis, an "oddball" who has numerous marginalized hobbies and is liked by everyone for his good-natured personality. However, he's often late for work, is behind in his rent, and drives a crazy old car. And one day his cavalier attitude bears fruit. He gets fired, evicted, and his car rolls away and turns over.
Enter his guardian angel, Henry Jones, giving his usual, delightfully off-kilter performance. Jones gives Bevis the success that has always bypassed him. Instead of his loud sports jacket and bow tie, he's immediately garbed as "an undertaker." His rent is now paid up. His antique car is replaced by some kind of SuperDuper sports convertible. When he shows up for work, the other workers, instead of greeting him warmly as usual, ignore him. Then the boss loudly and happily announces that Bevis is so efficient that he's getting a raise.
It's all too much for Bevis and he tells Jones he wants his old life back. In keeping with the light-hearted spirit of the story, Jones reluctantly disappears. However, he's still hanging around in the ether, keeping an eye on his charge, and getting him out of scrapes, so Bevis gets to keep his old personality but avoid serious problems at the same time.
Nicest touch: When Bevis first shows up for work, he's called into the boss's office to be fired. From behind the closed door we hear angry shrieking as a cascade of insults is uncorked. And there's a quick shot of the boss's portrait on the office wall -- wearing a beaming paternal grin.
The street peddler, Tony, is played by Vito Scotti, who had quite a career as a character actor. Fans of "Columbo" might recognize him because he appeared so often as an undertaker, a bum, a high-end tailor, the proprietor of an expensive restaurant, and so forth.