Here Comes Mr. Jordan

"A picture different from anything ever screened before!"

1941 1h 34m EN

👍

7.0

SOLID

★7.0TMDB · 126

ComedyFantasyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Boxer Joe Pendleton, flying to his next fight, crashes...because a Heavenly Messenger, new on the job, snatched Joe's spirit prematurely from his body. Before the matter can be rectified, Joe's body is cremated; so the celestial Mr. Jordan grants him the use of the body of wealthy Bruce Farnsworth, who's just been murdered by his wife. Joe tries to remake Farnsworth's unworthy life in his own clean-cut image, but then falls in love; and what about that murderous wife?

“A picture different from anything ever screened before!”

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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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alexander Hall
Writers: Sidney Buchman, Seton I. Miller
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

85 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

CRAFT

Did you know

Part of the "Down to Earth" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alexander Hall, shot by Joseph Walker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Friedrich Hollaender. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Viola Lawrence shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Robert Montgomery and Evelyn Keyes and Claude Rains carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A picture different from anything ever screened before!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0033712 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alexander Hall directs. Joseph Walker behind the camera. Friedrich Hollaender scores. Viola Lawrence cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

185 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Part of the "Down to Earth" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
3Directed by Alexander Hall, shot by Joseph Walker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Friedrich Hollaender. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Viola Lawrence shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Robert Montgomery and Evelyn Keyes and Claude Rains carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A picture different from anything ever screened before!".
8IMDB entry: tt0033712 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Joseph Walker
Original score: Friedrich Hollaender
Editing: Viola Lawrence
Costume design: Edith Head
Makeup / hair: Robert J. Schiffer
Runtime: 94 min · 1h 34m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

Awards

Academy Award for Best Story
Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Down to Earth

Alexander Hall’s dilogy

Also by

Alexander Hall

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-12-04
★ 7/10
Robert Montgomery is really quite good in this engaging fantasy story. He's a boxer ("Joe") working with coach "Max" (the frequently scene-stealing James Gleason) for a crack at the world title. Then, suddenly, he is joining a queue to get into Heaven. Surely some mistake, he says - and after a bit of investigation by the eponymous administrator (Claude Rains) it is discovered that he's fifty years too early. Send him back - well unfortunately his friends were a little too zealous on the cremation front so there's no longer a body. "Jordan" concludes that it's best to find him another one - and they alight on millionaire "Farnsworth". It's a bit of a baptism of fire for "Joe" especially when his decision to do the right thing by some small investors earns him the enmity of his board and the need for yet another "host". He's getting fed up, "Jordan" is getting fed up - what's to be done? The story is amiably well written with Montgomery and developing love interest "Julia" (Rita Johnson) working well together as the story gathers an entertaining pace, tempered by a charmingly measured performance from Rains and Edward Everett Horton as the source of all the woes in the first place. It's Gleason, towards the end, that makes me smile - all thanks to some incredulity and a saxophone. Well worth a watch.

Production companies