Charley und der Engel (1973)

Charley und der Engel: Directed by Vincent McEveety. With Fred MacMurray, Cloris Leachman, Harry Morgan, Kurt Russell. 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.

“Family man and hardware store owner in the 1930s cheats death and is visited by a persnickety angel with a scheduling conflict. Fred MacMurray, his eyebrows arched in malevolent ill-will and his hair darkened black as patent-leather, plays the hero like a galumphing, sexless clod. His character of Charley never makes a wise decision, never says the proper thing at the correct time…he canu0026#39;t even drive on the right side of the street! As the heavenly apparition, Harry Morgan cracks wise and wastes time with dead-end lines like, u0026quot;Donu0026#39;t worry Charley, your wife canu0026#39;t see or hear me.u0026quot; Itu0026#39;s u0026quot;Topperu0026quot; for under-achievers, or perhaps children too young to know any better. Technical aspects good, but the supporting cast is filled with wheezing old-timers looking for their piece of scenery to chew on. *1/2 from ****”