Angel in My Pocket

I saw this on Turner Classic Movies. Andy Griffith is a wanna-be pastor. He's got the education, the maturity, a family, and is even an ex-marine, but no church. Well, this particular church has an ornery congregation (a Hatfield/McCoy situation), and they keep chasing away the pastors. So finally, the Bishop digs through his old file and tries Andy Griffith.

Andy and his family are totally idealistic and naïve, expecting to help people and spread the love of the Lord. This congregation does not want to be helped, nor do they want the love of the Lord. They want to control the town, the finances, and have the pastor be their yes-man.

There are a lot of interesting characters, played by many familiar faces from 1960's sit coms. "Uncle Joe" from Petticoat Junction plays the mean mayor. "Howard Spragug" from Andy Griffith show plays a star-crossed lover. The band "Wildcats" which appears in many sitcoms plays at this church's social. Margaret Hamilton plays a vindictive gossip. There were many faces that I recognized, but I could not place them.

Andy tries to stand up to the feuding congregants, but they just call the Bishop and get him into trouble. Andy does not give up, and he keeps doing what is knows is the right thing, and they keep turning up the heat to cause more conflict. Being a family film, it does have a happy ending where everything works itself out anyway, which is nice.

One thing I really liked about this movie was that it involved a church, but was never preachy. Most of TV and movies pretend that no one has any faith at all, but most people believe in something. This accepted that church is a normal part of many American's lives.

The story supposedly took place in Kansas, but it had rolling hills and eucalyptus trees. I suspect they filmed it in California's Central Valley, or maybe in Fillmore.

I recommend it for any family that wants some good, old-fashioned fun, without worrying about something popping up that might be offensive for the kids.

(For the super-sensitive: there is one scene where Andy goes to a burlesque place to talk to the owner, and they do have spicy but corny showgirls doing a routine, but that is it. They are more covered up than women you see on the beach today. The movie still has a "G" rating.)

How do I break this weird news to you all.........well here goes: ...this excellent family film was released in Australia for ONE WEEK in March 1970 on a double feature with the equally excellent but radically different COLOSSUS THE FORBIN PROJECT...as a double feature (!) in a crumbling 2500 seat palace called the Capitol. There was NO display advertising, just a directory listing and the whole program was whisked away never to surface again.

What a weird thing for Universal to do! I guess they were just played off and wasted.........well I was one of the few there that fateful Saturday morning and thought both films were a big surprise. ANGEL as others will tell you here is a rural charmer and belongs to the YOURS MINE AND OURS or WITH SIX YOU GET EGGROLL type of family film. COLOSSUS of course is literally a scary and fantastic political drama. See both if you can find them. I did and I was still very happy about it 34 years later.

I saw this as a child in the theater. Turns out I'm lucky I did. I was never a sucker for 'Family films', and as a kid my radar for idiot sentimentality was very twitchy. So when I say that I was completely satisfied with this it's high praise indeed.

Andy Griffith has been painted as some kind of icon for all that's good about the American character, but thinking of his work as wholesomeness served up like apple pie ala mode, completely misses what he has accomplished here, and in most of his work.

From 'Andy' to 'Matlock', he portrays a humble, good, man placed in a position to referee self absorbed, vain, power hungry, evil, and weak people as they spread chaos through their universe. And he always portrays honestly, and holds an honest respect for, the loser among us.

Thus, far from being a Norman Rockwell postcard of human endeavor, his body of work reflects society, warts and all, while offering solutions based on tolerance, humor, and dignity.

So it goes here. I remember being extremely happy to see Jerry Van Dyke, one of my favorite underdogs of the entertainment world as a kid, as the useless lush in this. I wish that I could go into more detail about what grabbed and held my hyperactive self glued to the screen, but as I haven't seen it since then, I can't trust my memory.

So...count me in on pleading for this to be released on DVD.

My God, the industry acts like they just laid a diamond every time they finally put out a "DIGITALLY ENHANCED" product.

Get a grip. put out the back catalog for a low price and rake in the bucks. You can keep the 'EXTRAS'.

This is an overlooked, but endearing, Andy Griffith movie. After he and Don Knotts achieved fame on TV both made movies that drew on their Mayberry personas. Knotts's movies became tiresome but Griffith's turn here is terrific. Griffith is Rev. Samuel Whitehead, fresh out of seminary and sent to a small Kansas town where two warring families dominate the church and the town. Every other minister at the church has been driven out or has fled (of course Whitehead isn't told any of this). Very quickly Whitehead finds himself in the middle of the feud which leads to hilarious confrontations. The movie plays very well and has a very dramatic scene late in the movie when Whitehead's patience is finally at an end and the church has been literally destroyed. The movie suddenly shifts from a comedy to a drama and is very poignant. It makes me wonder if the story would've been as good if it had been a drama from the start. The supporting cast is excellent with Miss America Lee Merriweather as Sam's wife and Jerry Van Dyke as his useless brother-in-law. Of course Jack Dodson (Howard Sprague, the Mayberry town clerk)is instantly recognizable and he actually does a very good job. Another thing that makes this movie stand out is that it is such a positive portrayal of someone trying to follow a Christian walk. How many movies have been made in the last couple of decades where ministers or priests are portrayed so realistically and so positively? Rev. Sam Whitehead is such a great character that his story could've easily have carried a TV series.

I can't honestly say I remember all the details of this movie. It's been a very long time since I've seen it, and I've been keeping my eye out for a copy for a while. I do remember that I was completely taken back by Andy's performance, and the story was very sensitive, funny, and believable. It's sort of like "It's a Wonderful Life" in some ways, but funnier. Andy plays a do-gooder that has a special flair for handling other people's problems. I don't want to give it all away, so that's all I'll say about it. Definitely see this movie if you get a chance to. It won't let you down one bit. A five-star pic all the way.