Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

Director:

Alexander Hall

Writers:

Sidney Buchman (screenplay) &
Seton I. Miller (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 August 1941 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

A picture different from anything ever screened before!

Plot:

Boxer Joe Pendleton dies 50 years too soon due to a heavenly mistake, and is given a new life as a millionaire playboy.

Plot Keywords:

Boxer | Mistake | Millionaire | Stocks And Bonds | Supernatural

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 5 nominations

Cast

Robert Montgomery	...	Joe Pendleton
Evelyn Keyes	...	Bette Logan
Claude Rains	...	Mr. Jordan
Rita Johnson	...	Julia Farnsworth
Edward Everett Horton	...	Messenger 7013
James Gleason	...	Max Corkle
John Emery	...	Tony Abbott
Donald MacBride	...	Inspector Williams
Don Costello	...	Lefty
Halliwell Hobbes	...	Sisk
Benny Rubin	...	Bugs

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

UK:U | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #7409)

Filming Locations:

Providencia Ranch, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Columbia chief Harry Cohn had serious misgivings about this adaptation of Harry Segall's minor stage play. He preferred to reserve his more lavish budgets for surefire successes (i.e., anything featuring the studio's biggest star, Rita Hayworth). However, Sidney Buchman was eventually able to talk Cohn into forking out for costly celestial sets and Farnsworth's elaborate mansion and also into hiring Robert Montgomery on loan-out from MGM. Buchman was also able to convince Cohn that he had a better appreciation of what the public would pay to see than the Wall Street bankers who Cohn answered to.

Goofs:

Continuity: Pendleton (as Farnsworth) hands the $25,000 check to Max, who takes it with his left hand. There's an edit to a slightly different angle and suddenly the check is in Max's right hand.

Quotes:

Joe Pendleton: I don't want anybody's body. I want my body!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Whistling in Dixie (1942)

Soundtrack:

The Last Rose of Summer

When a body need a body.......

Boxer Joe Pendleton is killed in an airplane crash, while training for a championship match, however Joe wasn't to die for sometime far into the future. In order to make things right, Mr. Jordan (in charge of all arrivals for the hereafter) searches for another body that Joe can use until his time is up. The body of financier Bruce Farnsworth is the selection after he is killed by his wife and secretary in order to continue their romance and get ahold of his finances. Betty Logan appears to get Farnsworth to settle the matter concerning her father, who was sent to prison in a deal swindled by Farnsworth, and Joe frees her father, but falls for her as well. In the meantime, Joe (as Farnsworth- everyone sees Joe as Farnsworth but Joe sees himself as his true being-) starts training for the championship fight (it was Joe's natural destiny to become champ), with the help of Joe's trainer, Max Corkle. This upsets Julia Farnsworth, who then decides to make certain that Joe/Farnsworth is killed. Joe and Mr. Jordan work to make sure Joe can find another body in order to become boxing champ, bring Julia and Abbott to justice, and keep the romance alive between Joe & Betty. This film has such a beautiful charm (even though it seems hokey at times, but it has the ability to bridge gaps between audiences easily. An excellent script, crisp direction, and excellent performances by the cast (Gleason standing out as the befuddled trainer Corkle.) The ending is both brilliant and touching. Rating, 9.