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IMDbPro

The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue

  • TV Movie
  • 19961996
  • TV-PGTV-PG
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
270
YOUR RATING
Robert Urich and Tegan Moss in The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue (1996)
  • Drama
When an unemployed Detroit man is arrested for a crime he didn't commit, his three children are determined to get him out of jail in time for Christmas and they decide to enlist the help of ... Read allWhen an unemployed Detroit man is arrested for a crime he didn't commit, his three children are determined to get him out of jail in time for Christmas and they decide to enlist the help of "the most powerful man in the world" - President Hoover. En route to the White House, they... Read allWhen an unemployed Detroit man is arrested for a crime he didn't commit, his three children are determined to get him out of jail in time for Christmas and they decide to enlist the help of "the most powerful man in the world" - President Hoover. En route to the White House, they meet an array of colorful characters.
IMDb RATING
6.2/10
270
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Robert Ellis Miller
  • Writers
    • Rider McDowell
    • Michael De Guzman
  • Stars
    • Robert Urich
    • Diana Scarwid
    • Tegan Moss
Top credits
  • Director
    • Robert Ellis Miller
  • Writers
    • Rider McDowell
    • Michael De Guzman
  • Stars
    • Robert Urich
    • Diana Scarwid
    • Tegan Moss
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 10User reviews
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 nominations

    Photos6

    Robert Urich and Diana Scarwid in The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue (1996)
    Britt Irvin, Tegan Moss, Alexander Pollock, and Diana Scarwid in The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue (1996)
    Alexander Pollock in The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue (1996)
    Robert Urich, Britt Irvin, Tegan Moss, Alexander Pollock, and Diana Scarwid in The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue (1996)
    The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue (1996)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Robert Urich
    Robert Urich
    • Angus Feagan
    Diana Scarwid
    Diana Scarwid
    • Annie Feagan
    Tegan Moss
    Tegan Moss
    • Bernice Feagan
    Britt Irvin
    Britt Irvin
    • Lilly Feagan
    • (as Brittney Irvin)
    Alexander Pollock
    • Jack Feagan
    Tom Heaton
    Tom Heaton
    • Boxcar Louie
    Alf Humphreys
    Alf Humphreys
    • Needles
    • (as Alfred E. Humphreys)
    Matthew Walker
    Matthew Walker
    • Handy Andy
    Frank C. Turner
    Frank C. Turner
    • Hiram Wingate
    Thomas Peacocke
    • President Hoover
    Don S. Davis
    Don S. Davis
    • Dewey
    Camille Mitchell
    Camille Mitchell
    • Margaret
    Donna White
    • Miss Knight
    Caroline Elliott
    • Sarah
    Kimberley Warnat
    • Charlene
    Zach Lipovsky
    Zach Lipovsky
    • Henry
    • (as Zack Lipovsky)
    Bethoe Shirkoff
    Bethoe Shirkoff
    • Mrs. Rumsen
    Bob Frazer
    Bob Frazer
    • Deputy Sheriff
    • Director
      • Robert Ellis Miller
    • Writers
      • Rider McDowell
      • Michael De Guzman
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      This movie was based on the actual story of Bernice Feagan.
    • Goofs
      The freight cars are obviously not Depression-era.
    • Quotes

      Jack Feagan: It wasn't me, Magic Dog bit him.

    User reviews10

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    The Human Touch Given A Failed Presidency
    This heartwarming tale about three plucky Depression era kids who hitchhiked to Washington to see President Herbert Hoover to get their father out of jail for Christmas is a real tearjerker now, but all too real for people barely subsisting during those hard economic times. The real story though is the story about how that story got out to the general public.

    Just about any other president including the last several we had of both parties would have played this up to the hilt. Hoover was going into what was an unsuccessful re-election campaign and being portrayed as an unfeeling, uncaring incumbent. This kind of story would have been a godsend to his political managers.

    But Hoover was a strange and silent man, his concept of the Presidency was that he was the CEO of the country and his Board of Directors was his Cabinet. It's how he conducted his mining business, it's how he got the food to a starving Europe during and post World War I. Read his memoirs, they read like reports to his stockholders covering his years of government service. He was a painfully shy man and resolutely silent in enduring criticism, he totally flubbed the public relations aspect of the presidency.

    This story gained the light of day when it was published in the memoirs of Hoover's Press Secretary Theodore Joslin. The book is called Hoover off the record and you might find it in a used bookshop or as a library discard. Joslin was a newspaperman who served in the last two years of his presidency from 1931-1933. The memoir shows a most human side of Hoover and this story of the kids was one of many included.

    In 1934 when the book came out, Herbert Hoover was in need of all the good publicity he could get. But instead of thanking Joslin, he cut him off completely and never spoke to him again. This very private man felt he was betrayed instead of helped. Go figure.

    As for the story itself the film The Angel Of Pennsylvania Avenue is almost Dickensian in nature as these young people, three steps from an Oliver Twist like existence, travel through the highways and byways of Depression America to see the man in the White House. You could easily see Charles Dickens writing a story like this about some ragamuffin urchins trying to see Queen Victoria on a personal matter. She might not have been amused, but she would have been touched as Hoover was and I was.

    Robert Urich and Diana Scarwid play the parents and the kids are Teagan Moss, Britney Irvin, and Alexander Pollock. They reminded a little of my own nieces and nephew when they were a bit younger. They're a perfect Norman Rockwell American family. And of course some mention must be given to Thomas Peacocke playing Herbert Hoover. A fascinating man and we learn many times more from failed presidencies than from the successful ones.
    helpful•15
    0
    • bkoganbing
    • Dec 5, 2009

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 15, 1996 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United States
      • Canada
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Tres ángeles en el camino
    • Filming locations
      • Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    • Production companies
      • Craig Anderson Productions
      • Hallmark Entertainment
      • Pacific Motion Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 32 minutes
    • Color
      • Color

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