Angels in the Outfield

Angels in the Outfield is a family comedy-drama from 1951 about Guffy McGovern, the hot-tempered manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. A young reporter, Jennifer Paige, blames him for the club's losing streak while working on a story about the team. At the same time, McGovern hears a voice promising divine help for the Pirates if he changes his ways. As he tries to control his temper, a young orphan girl who has been praying for the team begins seeing angels on the field, and the Pirates start winning.

Clarence Brown directed and produced the film, working from a screenplay by George Wells and Dorothy Kingsley. It came late in a long directing career that included The Eagle, Anna Christie, Letty Lynton, Chained, Anna Karenina, Conquest, Edison, the Man, Come Live with Me and National Velvet. Paul Douglas plays Guffy McGovern, Janet Leigh plays Jennifer Paige, and Keenan Wynn appears as Fred Bayles. Donna Corcoran plays Bridget White, with Lewis Stone and Spring Byington also in the credited cast of 35.

Released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in October 1951, the film runs 99 minutes. On IMDb it holds a rating of 7.2 from around 3,300 votes, while on TMDB it has a rating of 7 from a much smaller base of 31 votes, so the two scores are close but rest on very different numbers of viewers.