Horror veteran Jimmy Sangster got himself attached to the Disney company by way of his story concerning a crooked apartment manager in Los Angeles who is hit by a car and goes to Hell. To save himself from eternal damnation, he must return to Earth and find three unsullied innocents who will sign away their souls in exchange for their life's wish to be granted. Sangster shares credit for the plot with screenwriter Mary Rodgers of "Freaky Friday", who apparently added the accoutrements of a single mom and her son looking for a husband and father to love, a teenage nerd who wants to be a motocross champion and a nervous songbird who wants to be a star. Disney, who had not yet developed the Touchstone subsidiary for more grown-up product, was attempting to change their image a bit here, but the swear words and a scary scene down in Hades just seem out of place in a movie about an old softie (Elliott Gould) charming everyone with his rumpled panache. Bill Cosby is cast as Satan, who dresses up for different occasions even though nobody but Gould can see him, and Susan Anspach is the daycare worker burned by broken romances. Both are good, but it's Gould movie and he carries it to a treacly but satisfying finish. **1/2 from ****

I enjoyed this movie - The singing in the movie is wonderful and the ending song just sticks with me. It has a good soul-searching ending. I saw this movie when I was little and couldn't wait to see it again - I still loved it 15 years later! When you look back to the movies of that time, especially all the ones with Kurt Russell - this is the same sort of quality movie. You can't expect the technology of today but its good for the time. To have the comic genius of Bill Cosby, you know it has to be decent. I keep looking on You Tube for the songs that were sung. Haven't had that luck yet. It's good to see that Good always WINS!!! Another Disney Life lesson!

I can remember seeing this movie when I was a young man. It was good and wholesome. Even my parents enjoyed watching it when it came on the tube. Ms. Budd's performance is one of the highlights of this movie, along with a wonderful performance by a young Adam Rich. There is a lot of talent in this movie, which brings for fun watching over and over. Those who are looking for the: sex, murder, more sex, blood/gore, or foul language feature will probably NOT like this movie. Then again, we are not all alike, and thank God for that, but I think that many will enjoy this movie and refer it's viewing to others. When I would have school friends come to the house for a sleep over, it was always a 'must' to watch (if the friend(s) had not already seen the movie) and seemed clean and fresh with each viewing. I can't remember any of them having NOT liked it. Just to make sure it wasn't just because I was 'a kid' then, I watched it recently........ still very enjoyable.Gene C. Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Elliott Gould's career slowed down after a string of R-rated films in the 60's and 70's...and came to a screeching halt in 1981. Disney's attempt in the eighties to modernize their films included casting Bill Cosby and Elliott Gould as The Devil and Max Devlin respectively. The plot involves Gould signing up three good souls for the Devil so as to replace his own soul from going down South. In concept, this is basically the flip side of Oh God! (George Burns and John Denver). Bill Cosby probably seemed like a hip if not fair replacement for George Burns (both being beloved stand-ups) but Elliott Gould was too much of a bad boy to be considered sympathetic in any film. The sort of sympathy evoked by John Denver in "Oh God!" Together, Cosby and Gould had no chemistry with little if any comic opportunities. Cosby was not very believable as the Devil and we could care less if Gould spent eternity in Hell. Singer Julie Budd was cast as one of the "good" souls (the in-joke here is that Julie Budd is a look-alike, sound-alike clone of Barbara Streisand and Streisand is the former Mrs. Gould. Of course kids who saw this film in 1981 didn't have a clue who she was...oh heck, most adults didn't know who she was...so why the trouble in casting Julie Budd?) To make things worse she sings one song "Rainbows and Roses" over and over and over and over and over again. Disney turns out more music than any film studio, couldn't they write a few songs for this film? Adam Rich (former "Eight Is Enough" social tragedy) and David Knell round out the trio in appearances that are a notch below a below-average Love Boat guest spot. Susan Anspach ("Montenegro") plays Adam Rich's mom and Gould's love interest and deserves the most sympathy for that alone.