The Cockeyed Miracle

"The Cockeyed Miracle" is a wonderful, humorous comedy about family, friendship, death, and temptation for greed. It's a simple plot, with fantasy built around two souls - a father and older son who meet after the latter's death. Sam doesn't want to go off into eternity just yet - until he sees his family are taken care of. The nest egg, from his investment with his best friend, Tom, is about to hatch, but Tom is tempted to keep it all for himself. Son Jimmy and daughter Jennifer each have a big event just around the corner. How can Sam go off to bliss and joy with his father, Ben, who came to escort him up - until this is all squared away?

The setting is a small New England fishing village. Except for the opening scene of the village docks and a later horse and buggy and barn scene in a rainstorm, most of the story takes place in the Griggs home. The plot is based on a play, and it's easy to see how it would have been staged, but the film doesn't have a stagy feel to it. This film has some superb technical work in the filming of Sam and Ben walking through walls and windows and ascending through a ceiling into an upper room.

The cast are all excellent, with some very prominent senior actors of the day and other well-known supporting players. Frank Morgan is Sam Griggs, Cecil Kellaway is Tom Carter, Gladys Cooper is Sam's wife, Amy; and Leon Ames is her brother Ralph Humphrey. Keenan Wynn plays Sam's father in the afterlife, Ben Griggs. Marshall Thompson plays Sam's son, Jimmy, and Audrey Totter plays the daughter, Jennifer.

What makes this a superb comedy is the screenplay and a script with witty exchanges and some very funny dialog. It's a feel-good film that people young and old should be able to enjoy well into the future.

Here are some favorite lines from this very good movie.

Amy Griggs, "Just the same, we've got to do what the doctor says." Sam Griggs, "The only time you do what he says is when I'm sick."

Sam Griggs, "Oh, I'm sorry, Amy. I know I'm not a good patient." Amy Griggs, "That's because it takes practice to be, and you've never been sick before." Sam, "You always find excuses for me." Amy, "Nonsense!"

Amy, "My, it adds up. Four thousand seems too much when you borrow it, and so little when you spend it."

The Cockeyed Miracle is the screen name for the play by George Seaton Gone But Not Goodbye. It had a most brief run on Broadway, only 23 performances and it starred Harry Carey instead of Frank Morgan. My guess is that we got a much different interpretation than we did from Morgan on the screen.

Even flop plays on Broadway can be movie hits especially when it involves the special effects that are impossible on the stage since we are dealing with ghosts.

Morgan plays a kindly loving soul, patriarch of a family shipbuilding business, a wonderful husband to Gladys Cooper and father to Audrey Totter and Marshall Thompson. But he wasn't the best businessman in the world.

So when Morgan gets the heavenly summons one night from no less than his own father Keenan Wynn he's reluctant to go until all the family romantic and financial affairs are settled. Wynn is pushing him to depart for another plane of existence, why I don't know since they have nothing but time now. Still even without people seeing or hearing them things do seem to right themselves.

The Cockeyed Miracle is a charming fantasy with a well assembled ensemble giving it their all. It still holds up well today.

That's the thing with shuffling off the mortal coil. It does come at inconvenient times it seems.

Keenan Wynn and Frank Morgan make a wonderful father-son ghost team in this fabulous movie about family life in the 1940's. All the actors are delightful and the roles are terrific. The story line is funny and unusual. Sure there are lots of ghost movies, but I can't think of one that involves deceased father and son. The scenery is quite simple ... taking place primarily in the Griggs home with a few scenes in friend Tom's lighthouse. Audrey Trotter is gorgeous and lovable in her role as the Griggs daughter and Cecil Kellaway plays the part of Sam Grigg's long time friend with excellence. This must have been one of Keenan Wynn's early roles, but he already showed the acting skills that carried him through Hollywood for decades

Frank Morgan plays the part of Sam Griggs, a man who likes to dabble in real estate despite his wife's admonishments. He passes away before a deal can be resolved, so he wonders if his family will be able to make ends meet. Needless to say, the plot involves the supernatural.

The entire ending of the film is about the resolution of the deal, and whether or not a trusted friend chooses a moral path. That might sound like serious stuff, but it is all played for comedy. The viewer, like Sam, is caught up in the humorous drama surrounding the results of his secret deal.

Morgan, always reliable, is terrific in his part. Kennan Wynn works closely with Morgan to create the humor in the final scenes. The surrounding cast plays Sam's kin and family friends who try their best to make good life choices.

In the end, the viewer can decide if there actually is a "miracle" and even if there actually is a resolution. Either way, it is entertaining to watch the buildup.

There are some excellent special effects for 1946.

I really enjoyed this film. Frank Morgan is outstanding in the lead role and Richard Quine is delightfully funny as Frank Morgan's character's potential son-in-law. Gladys Cooper is superb as the wife of Frank Morgan's character. Cecil Kellaway and Audrey Totter provide fine support as well. The plot and mood is reminiscent of such fantasy films as "Heaven Can Wait, "A Christmas Carol", and "It's A Wonderful Life" and filmgoers who like that type of film will like this one. The one performance that I felt was disappointing was Keenan Wynn as Frank Morgan's father (and it wasn't really because of the age difference). It was a difficult part to play and I just didn't buy Keenan Wynn's performance in this film although he is a very good actor generally. However, it didn't really detract from my enjoyment of the film. The film has heart and is funny and those qualities along with a top-notch cast make for a fine and enjoyable film that I highly recommend and am a bit puzzled as to why it didn't succeed at the box office.