A romantic comedy/fantasy is one of the hardest things for any writer/director/producer to pull off with any degree of success, but somehow HERE COMES MR. JORDAN fell into the right hands and it is a remarkably good example of that genre.
ROBERT MONTGOMERY, an actor I was never particularly fond of, is at his best here as the rather dim-witted fighter who finds himself in the clouds talking to heavenly messengers when he's plucked from certain death in an airplane crash. It turns out he shouldn't have been taken to the other side by EDWARD EVERETT HORTON, who was new on the job and is chided by CLAUDE RAINS for being overeager to rescue Montgomery from the jaws of death. Rains decides the remedy is to find another human body for Montgomery to reside in--someone else who is on the point of death.
Sounds a bit like heavy-handed stuff for a comedy, but it works, thanks to a sparkling script that gives fun roles to Montgomery, Horton, Raines and, in particular, two other supporting characters--JAMES GLEASON as Montgomery's bewildered manager and DONALD MacBRIDE as an equally befuddled inspector confused by all the double talk from Gleason about the switching of bodies.
EVELYN KEYES, as a woman infatuated with Montgomery, is excellent, and RITA JOHNSON and JOHN EMERY do well in other supporting roles.
Delightful fantasy, not to be missed--but only if you can accept the highly improbable premise which some might find offensive.
ROBERT MONTGOMERY, an actor I was never particularly fond of, is at his best here as the rather dim-witted fighter who finds himself in the clouds talking to heavenly messengers when he's plucked from certain death in an airplane crash. It turns out he shouldn't have been taken to the other side by EDWARD EVERETT HORTON, who was new on the job and is chided by CLAUDE RAINS for being overeager to rescue Montgomery from the jaws of death. Rains decides the remedy is to find another human body for Montgomery to reside in--someone else who is on the point of death.
Sounds a bit like heavy-handed stuff for a comedy, but it works, thanks to a sparkling script that gives fun roles to Montgomery, Horton, Raines and, in particular, two other supporting characters--JAMES GLEASON as Montgomery's bewildered manager and DONALD MacBRIDE as an equally befuddled inspector confused by all the double talk from Gleason about the switching of bodies.
EVELYN KEYES, as a woman infatuated with Montgomery, is excellent, and RITA JOHNSON and JOHN EMERY do well in other supporting roles.
Delightful fantasy, not to be missed--but only if you can accept the highly improbable premise which some might find offensive.