Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

Peereddi I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

Iseerphia All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

Spikeopath Here Comes Mr. Jordan is directed by Alexander Hall and adapted from Harry Segall's play by Sidney Buchman & Seton Miller. It stars Robert Montgomery, Evelyn Keyes, Claude Rains, Rita Johnson, Edward Everett Horton and James Gleason. Photography is by Joseph Walker and Friedrich Hollaender scores the music. Plot sees Montgomery as boxer Joe Pendleton, who during a journey in a small plane finds himself crashing towards the earth but then suddenly finds that he is in heaven. Turns out that his soul was saved before the crash impact by angel 7013 (Horton) who assumed that he wouldn't have survived the crash. Bad call, tho, because it wasn't Pendleton's time, he's not due to die for another 50 years! So superior angel Mr. Jordan (Rains) escorts him back to Earth, but the trouble is is that Joe's body has been cremated by his boxing manager Max (Gleason), so the search is on for a new body for Joe to exist in. First stop; a murder victim!Fun and appealing comedy that offers up dry observations on the afterlife and keeps its romantic plot strand on the warm side of the bed. It's that the makers can marry up the comedy to the romance so well that makes the film so utterly beguiling. The characters are easily to warm too, so as the plot delightfully twists and turns, we are happy to run with them into each well written corner. The film is also very well casted, with Montgomery bullish without over doing it, and Rains elegant and enjoying his role. But the joys come in the support cast with Horton all prissy as the over zealous 7013 and Gleason playing it spot on as the bemused and incredulous manager. Bonus, too, is that the ending offers up a two fold resolution that shows a better hand than many other comedies of the era.Uncynical if a touch routine, Here Comes Mr. Jordan is heartily recommended fare to the classic comedy seeker. 7.5/10

writers_reign What's in a name? Well you might ask: In 1941 a minor play by Harry Seagall entitled Heaven Can Wait was adapted for the screen as Here Comes Mr. Jordan. Two years later, 1943, Ernst Lubitsch adapted a play entitled Birthday, by Hungarian playwright Leslie-Bush Fekete for the screen and called it Heaven Can Wait. Confused? You ain't heard nothing yet; 30 years later Warren Beatty remade Here Comes Mr. Jordan under its original title, Heaven Can Wait. Both plays/screenplays had one common element in that both protagonists - Robert Montgomery's Joe Pendleton in the former and Don Ameche's Henry Van Cleave in the latter - died in the opening reels of their respective films but their the resemblance ends. Ameche died of natural causes after a long and full life whilst Montgomery didn't technically die at all. In the prime of his life, whilst alone in and piloting his own private plane it went into a spin and seemed certain to crash; New-Boy-In-Heaven Edward Everett Horton assumed the worst and plucked Joe from the plane. Alas, Joe wasn't due to die for another fifty years and is rightly miffed to find himself in limbo. He demands to see Horton's supervisor, Mr. Jordan (Claude Rains) who soon ascertains that not only is Joe not supposed to die he is also destined to become world heavyweight boxing champion. In theory there's nothing to it; return Joe to earth and let him get on with his life. There's the rub; his manager, Max Corklle (James Gleason) has already had Joe cremated ergo there is no 'body' for him to inhabit. This, of course, is where purists/pedants will come into their own; presumably there would be only a split second between Joe dying in the crash (which, of course, he survived) and his 'soul' being shipped to Heaven, hardly time for Corkle to 1) locate the crashed plane and 2) complete the necessary paperwork for the cremation which would take at least two or three days and 2) if Mr. Jordan has the power to return Joe to earth then surely it is not beyond him to reverse Time the necessary few seconds. Cavilling of this nature apart, the film delivers solid entertainment as Joe - who has the power to choose - selects first the body of millionaire Richard Farnsworth, just as he has been drowned in his bath by his wife and his secretary, and then the boxer he had, as Joe Pendleton, been scheduled to fight, and who is subsequently killed in the ring. If you're not too fussy about plot lines and relish the likes of Claude Rains walking away with the picture you'll enjoy this one.

DKosty123 Robert Montgomery & Claude Rains carry this film. There are several other good people in the cast but the main stars are the glue. The story here has been redone twice now, Chris Rock the latest & Heaven Can Wait earlier. Neither remake has the charm of this one.The story here is one of the strengths. It relies on light comedy & romance plus situations to carry the film. They do so quite well as the actresses in this are not as well known now as the actors, & they are clearly in support. This film has had a recent restoration which pretty much has made it as originally released.Claude Rains is an angel here, but he could play almost any role. It isn't too long after this that he is memorable in Casablanca. While it is obvious Rains worked hard in perfecting all the roles he played, he often brings them off making it look easy. In this case, he makes the angel role believable enough that you wonder if he might be there now, waiting for all of us when we go.

Jem Odewahn I really liked this fun romantic comedy-fantasy. I'm not big on Robert Montgomery, and his first scenes boxing in the ring (with a little paunch!)and then speaking in that trying-to-be-low-class accent made him seem miscast, but he grew on me as the film went on, and I really enjoyed his performance. It's one of his best.I just love the the premise of the film, and the fantasy-yet-reality of it all. The script, taken from the hit stage play HEAVEN CAN WAIT, is sharp, witty and runs along with a nice pace. Claude Rains gives an excellent performance as the title character, he is completely memorable and it's another one of his classic supporting roles. Gleason and Everett Horton also do some good work, and even if Rita Johnson is a bit stiff as Mrs Farnsworth (and why on earth is she is on the front cover of the Columbia DVD with Montgomery and Rains when it is the lovely Evelyn Keyes who is the leading lady? Were they too lazy to correct this glaring error?) she sure makes you detest her! Keyes, who I'm only familiar with as Suellen O'Hara, gives a nice performance in a role that doesn't really ask for her to do much except look pretty and slowly fall for Montgomery.It's a great oft-overlooked classic, with important, thought-provoking, moving themes of life, death and love. Above all, it's just great fun, mixing light comedy with romance and questioning our existence without being heavy-handed at all.