HERE COMES MR. JORDAN (1941)

MGM star Robert Montgomery resented being loaned to Columbia, one of the lesser majors, for this romcom with supernatural overtones. But he came out a winner in the end. This tale of a boxer sent to heaven before his time and given a return visit in the body of a murdered millionaire was a box-office winner and brought Montgomery an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. He had to contend with a trio of top scene stealers: Edward Everett Horton as the angel who mistakenly harvests his soul, Claude Rains as Horton’s boss (the eponymous Mr. Jordan) and James Gleason (also Oscar nominated) as the trainer Montgomery returns to so he can get back into boxing. Alexander Hall’s film has been remade three times, most notably as Heaven Can Wait (1978), with Warren Beatty. It also inspired a sequel — sort of — with Gleason and Horton reprising their roles in the otherwise unrelated Down to Earth (1947), also directed by Hall.

d: Alexander Hall, 94m, DCP

DCP courtesy of Sony Pictures.