Angels in the Outfield (1951)
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69% of users liked it
(9,346 ratings)
Though not the most profitable baseball comedy ever made, Angels in the Outfield is one of the most likeable and enduring. Paul Douglas stars as Guffy McGovern, the combative, foul-mouthed manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. With his team in the basement once more, McGovern has plenty to complain… More Though not the most profitable baseball comedy ever made, Angels in the Outfield is one of the most likeable and enduring. Paul Douglas stars as Guffy McGovern, the combative, foul-mouthed manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. With his team in the basement once more, McGovern has plenty to complain about. All this changes when, while wandering through Forbes Field at night, Guffy is accosted by the voice of the Archangel Gabriel (courtesy of an unbilled James Whitmore). As the spokesman for the Heavenly Choir Nine, a celestial ballclub, Gabriel begins bestowing "miracles" upon the Pirates--but only on the condition that McGovern put a moratorium on swearing and fighting. With the help of the invisible ghosts of past baseball greats, the Pirates make it into the Pennant race. During one crucial game, orphan girl Bridget White (Donna Corcoran) insists that she can see the angels helping out the "live" ballplayers--understandably so, since it was Bridget's prayers that prompted Gabriel to visit McGovern in the first place. Newspaperwoman Jennifer Page (Janet Leigh) transforms Bridget's angelic visions into a nationwide news story, causing no end of trouble for McGovern. When Guffy himself confirms Bridget's claims, he falls right into the hands of vengeful sportscaster Fred Bayles (Keenan Wynn), who's been scheming all along to have McGovern thrown out of baseball. Complication piles upon complication until the Big Game, wherein Guffy is forced to rely exclusively upon the talents of his ballplayers--notably "over the hill" Saul Hellman (Bruce Bennett)--to win the pennant. Unlike the spell-it-all-out 1995 remake of Angels in the Outfield, the original film never shows the angels, permitting the audience to draw its own conclusions regarding Divine Intervention. The film is an unqualified delight, never descending into sloppy sentiment or boggy bathos. Understandably, Angels in the Outfield was Paul Douglas' favorite film (though he'd never admit it after President Dwight D. Eisenhower, hardly Douglas' favorite politician, insisted that it was his favorite as well). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Clarence Brown
- Genres
- Classics, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy
- On DVD
- May 1, 2007
Critic Reviews
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Charles Cassady, Common Sense Media
Cute baseball fantasy overshadowed by remake.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Paul Douglas
as Guffy McGovern
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Janet Leigh
as Jennifer Paige
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Keenan Wynn
as Fred Bayles
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Donna Corcoran
as Bridget White
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Lewis Stone
as Arnold P. Hapgood
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Spring Byington
as Sister Edwitha
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Bruce Bennett
as Saul Hellman
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Marvin Kaplan
as Timothy Durney
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Ellen Corby
as Sister Veronica
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Jeff Richards
as Dave Rothberg
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John Gallaudet
as Reynolds
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King Donovan
as McGee
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Don Haggerty
as Rube Robinson
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Paul Salata
as Tony Minelli
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Fred Graham
as "Chunk"
- Ty Cobb
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Joe DiMaggio
as Himself
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John R. McKee
as Bill Baxter

