The Cockeyed Miracle
7 /10 1 Votes
Director S. Sylvan Simon Music director David Snell Duration Country United States | 6.8/10 IMDb Genre Fantasy, Comedy Screenplay Karen DeWolf Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Writer George Seaton , Karen DeWolf Release date October 24, 1946 (1946-10-24) Initial release October 24, 1946 (New York City) Cast Frank Morgan (Sam Griggs), Keenan Wynn (Ben Griggs), Cecil Kellaway (Tom Carter), Audrey Totter (Jennifer Griggs), Richard Quine (Howard Bankson), Gladys Cooper (Amy Griggs)Similar movies Frank Morgan appears in The Cockeyed Miracle and The Last of Mrs Cheyney | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Cockeyed Miracle is a 1946 fantasy film about a ghost who, with the help of his father (also a ghost), stops his best friend from leaving his family penniless. The ghosts are played by Frank Morgan and Keenan Wynn, the villain by Cecil Kellaway. The film was based on the play But Not Goodbye by George Seaton.
Contents
Plot
Aging shipbuilder Sam Griggs (Frank Morgan) is near the end of his career due to health problems. With the help of his friend Tom Carter (Cecil Kellaway), he has invested all of his family's money in a shaky real estate venture which he hopes will provide a large return. The rest of his family is happily unaware of the deal, preoccupied with their own future prospects.
Sam dies and meets the youthful ghost of his father Ben Griggs (Keenan Wynn), eager to shepherd his son into the afterlife. Sam insists on lingering to help his family as best he can, first persuading Ben to use his supernatural power to cause storms to help along a romance between his daughter and an oblivious lodger, and then to aid the success of his investment by impressing the potential buyer.
Having discovered his death and their own financial situation (but not the nature of his venture), Sam's wife Amy (Gladys Cooper) encourages her children to remember their father fondly. Tom arrives at their home to give the grieving family Sam's share, but succumbs to greed after writing the check and attempts to leave without informing them of their new inheritance.
Though Sam invisibly berates his faithless friend, he and his father seem helpless to prevent the betrayal. However, one last storm cast by Ben leads to Tom dying from a lightning strike. Knowing that the authorities will find the check on his body, Sam and Ben finally leave for the afterlife with Tom in tow.
Cast
Reception
The film earned $619,000 in the US and Canada and $227,000 elsewhere causing a loss of $182,000.
References
The Cockeyed Miracle WikipediaThe Cockeyed Miracle IMDb The Cockeyed Miracle themoviedb.org