Themes: Angels, Baseball Players, Members of the Press
Main Cast: Paul Douglas, Janet Leigh, Keenan Wynn, Donna Corcoran, Lewis Stone
Release Year: 1951
Country: US
Run Time: 99 minutes
Plot
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, All Movie Guide
Review
While Angels in the Outfield is not in the same league as such great Hollywood fantasies as It's a Wonderful Life, it's nonetheless an enjoyable little film. Angels' biggest problem is that its screenplay tries too hard to cover too many bases. As a result, there's a love story that's treated a trifle too tangentially to be as effective as it might be; the grump-gets-heart-melted-by-little-orphan subplot isn't exploited fully, a court scene that owes a little too much to Miracle on 34th Street gets thrust in at the last minute, and a sentimental climax involving an over-the-hill pitcher doesn't really wash because it's not properly set up. Even with this jumble of spare parts and in spite of Clarence Brown's so-so direction, Angels still works, thanks largely to the wonderful performance of its leading man, Paul Douglas. Possessing a face that might have been the inspiration for the word "hangdog," Douglas is expert at creating characters who are insistently gruff, grumpy and stubborn but still are believably vulnerable and warm. Douglas grabs hold of Guffy from the first moment and never lets go, galvanizing the film in its slack moments and relishing the opportunities he is given to carry a film on his stooped but broad shoulders. Throw in a sweet but not cloying performance from youngster Donna Corcoran and a solid turn from Janet Leigh and there's more than enough to make Angels a pleasant little experience. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
With baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates in last place (a situation reflecting the club's real-life woes at the time), their combative, foul-mouthed manager Guffy McGovern has plenty to complain about. All this changes when, while wandering through Forbes Field at night, Guffy is accosted by the voice of an angel (voice of James Whitmore), who hints at having been a ballplayer on Earth.
As the spokes-angel for the Heavenly Choir Nine, a celestial team of deceased ballplayers, he 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 Bridget White insists that she can see the angels helping out the "live" ballplayers — understandably so, since it was Bridget's prayers to the Archangel Gabriel that prompted the angel to visit McGovern in the first place.
Newspaper reporter Jennifer Page transforms Bridget's angelic visions into a nationwide news story, causing McGovern no end of trouble. When Guffy himself confirms Bridget's claims, he falls into the hands of vengeful sportscaster Fred Bayles, who has been scheming 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 (who, the angel has told Guffy, will be "called up" to the Heavenly Choir team shortly) — to win the pennant. Guffy also wins over Jennifer, and they plan to adopt young Bridget.
The angels themselves are never actually seen by the viewing audience, just the effects of their presence - a feather dropping, or someone being jostled from time to time. The angel who talks to Guffy never reveals who he was in life. It being a time when profanity was never used in films, the "swearing" uttered by Guffy is audio gibberish, scrambled recordings of his own voice.
Bing Crosby has a short cameo in the film, playing golf, sinking a long putt. At that time, Crosby was a part owner (approximately 15%) of the Pirates.
The film contains extensive baseball action shots, most of which were filmed at Forbes Field,[1] the former home of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Steelers, demolished in 1971, the year after the Pirates and Steelers moved to Three Rivers Stadium. The opening credits acknowledge "the kind cooperation of the Pittsburgh 'Pirates' for the use of the team and its ballpark," while reminding the viewer that the story is fictional and "could be any baseball team, in any league, in any town in America."
Historians may note several distinguishing features of Forbes Field at the time. One is the "Kiner's Korner" inner fence in left field, with the 365-feet left field foul line marker observable on the outer wall, and the 335-feet sign on the inner fence. The other distance markers (376-457-436-375-300) are visible in some scenes. Other objects on the field of play at Forbes are visible from time to time, including the flagpole and batting cage near the 457 foot marker in deep left center field, and the Barney Dreyfuss monument in straightaway center field.
A few closeup shots are recognizable as the Los Angeles version of Wrigley Field, a venue often used for that era's Hollywood films depicting baseball. As with both its Chicago counterpart and Forbes Field, the L.A. Wrigley featured an ivy-covered wall. Wrigley's left-center and center field markers (345 and 412) are visible in some of those shots, and of course the "Kiner's Korner" inner fence is missing.
Some stock footage alleged to be the Polo Grounds in New York City was actually Comiskey Park in Chicago, as evidenced by a quick glimpse of an auxiliary scoreboard reading "Visitors" and "White Sox".
