Charley and the Angel (1973)

Charley is a workaholic family man that finds out from an angel that his "number's up" and he will be dying soon so he tries to change his ways and be a better husband and father with the time he has left.

Director:

Vincent McEveety

Writers:

Will Stanton (novel), Roswell Rogers

Stars:

Fred MacMurray, Cloris Leachman, Harry Morgan

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fred MacMurray	...	Charley Appleby
Cloris Leachman	...	Nettie Appleby
Harry Morgan	...	The Angel formerly Roy Zerney
Kurt Russell	...	Ray Ferris
Kathleen Cody	...	Leonora Appleby
Vincent Van Patten	...	Willie Appleby
Scott C. Kolden	...	Rupert Appleby (as Scott Kolden)
George Lindsey	...	Pete, Handyman
Edward Andrews	...	Ernie, Banker
Richard Bakalyan	...	Buggs
Barbara Nichols	...	Sadie
Kelly Thordsen	...	Policeman
Liam Dunn	...	Dr. Sprague
Larry D. Mann	...	Felix
George O'Hanlon	...	Harry, Police Chief

Storyline

Charley is a workaholic family man that finds out from an angel that his "number's up" and he will be dying soon so he tries to change his ways and be a better husband and father with the time he has left.

---

Plot Keywords:

prohibition | prohibition era | bootlegging | bootleg | bootleg liquor | 

---

Taglines:

A heavenly SUPER (natural) COMEDY!

---

Genres:

Family | Comedy | Fantasy

---

Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Charley e l'angelo

Filming Locations:

Pasadena, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kurt Russell and Kathleen Cody started their off screen romance during this film, which continued through their second Disney film together, Superdad (1973).

---

Goofs

At the beginning of the movie they talk about summer is almost over. The 2nd day at the store he is by a calendar on the wall that says August. Then when Charley gets home his sons gave him a card for Father's Day and he said, That's right, Sunday is Father's Day. So that means it would be June.

---

Quotes

The Angel formerly Roy Zerney: Oh those earthly things just fade away.

---

Soundtracks

Livin' One Day At The Time
By Shane Tatum and Ed Scott

User Reviews

Half Baked tale of Deppression era

Quick Quiz folks: How old was Fred MacMurray when he made this film? He was born in 1908-this film was made in 1973. He was around 65 years old-too old to be a father of 2 young boys! He's old enough to be their grandfather. So, would someone please tell me why Disney Cast MacMurray as a father? He has since worn out his role as a father since "My three sons."

I like Fred MacMurray, I consider him to be one of the best actors in Hollywood but he's all wrong here as a father. Cloris Leachman is OK as the mother, certainly better than she was in "Scavenger Hunt."

Perhaps the best performances comes from the two boys, I like the scene where they drive a car!(and they seem to be the only ones who are enjoying themselves.) Harry Morgan is fine as the angel.

So, overall this film was a half baked attempt at a feel good story of a family in the Depression. It was made at a time when Watergate broke lose and the Vietnam war-so perhaps they made this movie as an escape from that.

I enjoy this film, but Disney should have done better with the story and the casting.