Customer Reviews

Here Comes Mr Jordan '93 [VHS]

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It is a shame that this delightful comedy isn't better known today. Part of the reason might lie in the fact that the film's star Robert Montgomery (father of Elizabeth Montgomery of BEWITCHED), after a stint in the military in WW II, did very little acting following the war. Therefore, he doesn't have many later films to draw attention to his career as a whole. Also, after the war he because deeply involved in political matters, and was one of Hollywood's more avid Communist hunters. For whatever reason, the film does not today have the reputation it deserves.

There have been two remakes of this film, so some explanation is in order. HERE COMES MR. JORDAN was a film version of a play by Harry Segal titled HEAVEN CAN WAIT. There was a 1944 film by Ernst Lubitsch called HEAVEN CAN WAIT starring Don Ameche, but that movie had nothing in common with HERE COMES MR. JORDAN (apart from being an equally superb comedy). In 1978, Warren Beatty wanted to remake HERE COMES MR. JORDAN using the original play's title with Muhammad Ali in the lead role, but Ali's schedule made this impossible, so he cast himself in the lead and transformed the central character into a football quarterback. Not as good as the original film, this actually wasn't a bad movie at all. In 2001, the film was remade again as DOWN TO EARTH, starring Chris Rock. I often love Chris Rock, but this film is not merely one of the low points of his career: it is a miserable film on every level, with the dreadful decision to make our hero a comic rather than an athlete.

Because of the remakes, the plot is familiar: Joe Pendleton, a boxer with a penchant for playing the saxophone and a shot at the title, is accidentally taken to heaven fifty years too early by an overzealous angel who wrongly assumes that he is about to die. The angel, Messenger 7013 (played marvelously by the inimitable Edward Everett Horton), brings Joe to his supervisor, Mr. Jordan (played magnificently by the ultra-suave and civilized Claude Rains). It is decided to provide Joe with a new body, where upon he tries in his new millionaire's body to get back into shape ("in the pink") in order to get a new shot at the championship. The only trouble is that the millionaire's wife and lover want to kill him so they can get his money and each other. Rounding out a great cast is Evelyn Keyes as the girlfriend of Joe (and the love interest of his subsequent incarnations) and James Gleason, Joe's trainer, who nearly steals ever scene he is in. The scene where Joe, in his new body, hires Gleason and then tries to convince him of his real identity, is just hysterical.

More people need to see this film. It remains one of the finer comedies made immediately before the onset of WW II, and is vastly better than the two films based upon it. It deserves far more attention than it has, in recent years, received.

(January 1, 2007)

A WONDERFUL, WONDERFUL MOTION PICTURE...

Very happy to see that this terrific film will finally be struck to DVD.

But please, Sony, correct the cover art faux pas that has plagued this great film since its VHS release.

The actress pictured next to Robert Montgomery should be Evelyn Keyes, but is NOT!

Instead, actress Rita Johnson is pictured. Rita Johnson played the part of the murdering, adulteress wife of Bruce Farnsworth (Montgomery) in the flim. :-\

This art was obviously created or selected by someone who has never viewed this fine film--or the very beautiful Evelyn Keyes.

Please, Sony, correct this miscue before this DVD's February release date.

Here Come's Mr. Jordan is an intensely romantic fantasy displaying the most extreme example of enduring love that spans human identities, and one of the first and best films of it's kind. It's kind includes Angel on My Shoulder, The Bishop's Wife, That's The Spirit, A Guy Named Joe, and so forth. They don't make movies like these anymore; the closest I've seen recently is The Dust Factory.
Robert Montgomery (They Were Expendable, Lady In The Lake) plays prize fighter Joe Pendleton, who's hobbies include playing the saxaphone and flying. James Gleason (The Bishop's Wife, Suddenly) plays Joe's manager Max Corkle, the only human who knows what really happened. Joe apparently died when his plane dived into the earth. But the angel of death responsible for New Jersey - that is, the one who collects souls from the state, played here by Edward Everett Horton (Top Hat, Pocketful of Miracles) - separated Joe's soul and body before the plane crashed, and Joe maintains he would have pulled it out of the dive.
Mr. Jordan is one of the roles Claudes Rains (The Invisible Man, King's Row) was born to play, the head angel in charge of the death department. When he takes up the case Jordan discovers Joe was meant to win the championship. But Joe's body has been cremated by now. It seems the only solution is to insert Joe's soul into another suitable body - any one about to be vacated that could conceivably become the boxing champion. It turns out not so easy to find an appropriate candidate, but when they're considering millionaire Farnsworth, Joe's immediately enamored with a young lady (Evelyn Keyes) attempting to see Farnsworth and appeal to him on her father's behalf. She claims Farnsworth framed her father, now in prison. But Farnsworth is upstairs being murdered by his wife and secretary as Joe and Jordan discuss the matter. Joe agrees to occupy Farnsworh's body to help the girl, and does, and they fall in love, genuine spiritual eternal love. But he can't use Farnsworth's body to fight - it's destined to die, he's destined to win. If forced to leave and use yet a third body, will she still love him, even know him? He tries to prepare her with one of the most well-delivered romantic monologues in the movies, and a neat plot twist makes things come out right.
Montgomery proves his acting talents here, the spirit showing through the flesh, and the final scene is not to be described in words; see it. The rest of the cast, especially Horton, Gleason, and Donald MacBride, make the movie work as a comedy as well as romantic drama. The film was remade a few decades later as Heaven Can Wait with Warren Beatty, James Mason, Jack Warden, Buck Henry, and Charles Grodin, with some additional humor - especially Grodin's role - but otherwise no better than the original. Both are fine casts, but Montgomery and Rains just can't be beat.

This film received a full restoration and that's always a good sign. The picture quality Is very good and so Is the sound as well. As Noted, there Is no menu so this release waste's no time getting straight to the point, and that Is fine with me. Another quality Classic DVD.

Here Come's Mr. Jordan is an intensely romantic fantasy displaying the most extreme example of enduring love that spans human identities, and one of the first and best films of it's kind. It's kind includes Angel on My Shoulder, The Bishop's Wife, That's The Spirit, A Guy Named Joe, and so forth. They don't make movies like these anymore; the closest I've seen recently is The Dust Factory.
Robert Montgomery (They Were Expendable, Lady In The Lake) plays prize fighter Joe Pendleton, who's hobbies include playing the saxaphone and flying. James Gleason (The Bishop's Wife, Suddenly) plays Joe's manager Max Corkle, the only human who knows what really happened. Joe apparently died when his plane dived into the earth. But the angel of death responsible for New Jersey - that is, the one who collects souls from the state, played here by Edward Everett Horton (Top Hat, Pocketful of Miracles) - separated Joe's soul and body before the plane crashed, and Joe maintains he would have pulled it out of the dive.
Mr. Jordan is one of the roles Claudes Rains (The Invisible Man, King's Row) was born to play, the head angel in charge of the death department. When he takes up the case Jordan discovers Joe was meant to win the championship. But Joe's body has been cremated by now. It seems the only solution is to insert Joe's soul into another suitable body - any one about to be vacated that could conceivably become the boxing champion. It turns out not so easy to find an appropriate candidate, but when they're considering millionaire Farnsworth, Joe's immediately enamored with a young lady (Evelyn Keyes) attempting to see Farnsworth and appeal to him on her father's behalf. She claims Farnsworth framed her father, now in prison. But Farnsworth is upstairs being murdered by his wife and secretary as Joe and Jordan discuss the matter. Joe agrees to occupy Farnsworh's body to help the girl, and does, and they fall in love, genuine spiritual eternal love. But he can't use Farnsworth's body to fight - it's destined to die, he's destined to win. If forced to leave and use yet a third body, will she still love him, even know him? He tries to prepare her with one of the most well-delivered romantic monologues in the movies, and a neat plot twist makes things come out right.
Montgomery proves his acting talents here, the spirit showing through the flesh, and the final scene is not to be described in words; see it. The rest of the cast, especially Horton, Gleason, and Donald MacBride, make the movie work as a comedy as well as romantic drama. The film was remade a few decades later as Heaven Can Wait with Warren Beatty, James Mason, Jack Warden, Buck Henry, and Charles Grodin, with some additional humor - especially Grodin's role - but otherwise no better than the original. Both are fine casts, but Montgomery and Rains just can't be beat.

If you really want to get depressed, watch the Warren Beatty remake of this classic.

If you wish to save the tylenol...dont even watch the remake. Catch this wonderful film with all its great supporting players.

This is one of Robert Montgomery,s best films. Claude Rains and Edward Everett Horton add their own magic to the proceedings. In addition, the blue ribbon supporting cast includes; Donald MacBride, Rita Johnson, James Gleason and John Emery.

Sometimes its absurd, sometimes its dated, sometimes a bit whimsical..however at the end of the final reel..all will be set right ..with the characters and the audience. Alas, most of the actors who who brought this film to life are gone...they were all endowed with " The Right Stuff" in more subtle ways imaginable.

CP

Here Come's Mr. Jordan is an intensely romantic fantasy displaying the most extreme example of enduring love that spans human identities, and one of the first and best films of it's kind. It's kind includes Angel on My Shoulder, The Bishop's Wife, That's The Spirit, A Guy Named Joe, and so forth. They don't make movies like these anymore; the closest I've seen recently is The Dust Factory.
Robert Montgomery (They Were Expendable, Lady In The Lake) plays prize fighter Joe Pendleton, who's hobbies include playing the saxaphone and flying. James Gleason (The Bishop's Wife, Suddenly) plays Joe's manager Max Corkle, the only human who knows what really happened. Joe apparently died when his plane dived into the earth. But the angel of death responsible for New Jersey - that is, the one who collects souls from the state, played here by Edward Everett Horton (Top Hat, Pocketful of Miracles) - separated Joe's soul and body before the plane crashed, and Joe maintains he would have pulled it out of the dive.
Mr. Jordan is one of the roles Claudes Rains (The Invisible Man, King's Row) was born to play, the head angel in charge of the death department. When he takes up the case Jordan discovers Joe was meant to win the championship. But Joe's body has been cremated by now. It seems the only solution is to insert Joe's soul into another suitable body - any one about to be vacated that could conceivably become the boxing champion. It turns out not so easy to find an appropriate candidate, but when they're considering millionaire Farnsworth, Joe's immediately enamored with a young lady (Evelyn Keyes) attempting to see Farnsworth and appeal to him on her father's behalf. She claims Farnsworth framed her father, now in prison. But Farnsworth is upstairs being murdered by his wife and secretary as Joe and Jordan discuss the matter. Joe agrees to occupy Farnsworh's body to help the girl, and does, and they fall in love, genuine spiritual eternal love. But he can't use Farnsworth's body to fight - it's destined to die, he's destined to win. If forced to leave and use yet a third body, will she still love him, even know him? He tries to prepare her with one of the most well-delivered romantic monologues in the movies, and a neat plot twist makes things come out right.
Montgomery proves his acting talents here, the spirit showing through the flesh, and the final scene is not to be described in words; see it. The rest of the cast, especially Horton, Gleason, and Donald MacBride, make the movie work as a comedy as well as romantic drama. The film was remade a few decades later as Heaven Can Wait with Warren Beatty, James Mason, Jack Warden, Buck Henry, and Charles Grodin, with some additional humor - especially Grodin's role - but otherwise no better than the original. Both are fine casts, but Montgomery and Rains just can't be beat.

There was no way that actor Robert Montgomery could have known that in starring in the 1941 comedy-fantasy that he was effectively starting a family tradition. Unless of course the angels and departed spirits he was hobnobbing with in this film spilled the beans that some 23 years later, his daugher Liz would rise to world wide fame in a equally charming bit of fluff about love and the supernatural, the TV series BEWITCHED.

HERE COMES MR. JORDAN, currently available only on VHS, is mainly remembered nowadays (if it's remembered at all) as the film that inspired the remakes HEAVEN CAN WAIT with Warren Beatty (1978) and DOWN TO EARTH with Chris Rock (2001). It's a pity that more people haven't seen the original: its innocent charm is almost impossible to recapture in these cynical times--and although Beatty's version was well cast and had a number of good moments, its own sense of innocence and wonder couldn't help but seem a little calculated in the post-Vietnam/post-Watergate era.

Of course, it may well be that the pre-WWII period is wrongly perceived today as being a "more innocent era." (Many of us, it seems, are "nostalgic" these days for a time before we were even born). But I think it's fair to say that in certain significant ways, the culture as a whole was less jaded in those days, and that a bit of whimsy such as MR. JORDAN could be done in a more heart-on-sleeve rather than tongue-in-cheek spirit.

Robert Montgomery, healthy looking if not exactly "buff" by today's standards, makes for a credible enough "in the pink" pugilist. I haven't seen any of his other starring vehicles, but reportedly, the Bowery Boy persona he adopted for this film was a bit of a departure for an actor usually associated with dapper roles in sophisticated comedies. He pulls it off very well.

The rest of the cast is equally good. Claude Rains is perfectly cast in the title role and a foppish Edward Everett Horton is spot on as a bumbling neophyte angel. On the earthly side of things, Evelyn Keyes is lovely and affecting as Montgomery's love interest and James Gleason is a delight as his befuddled trainer and confidante.

I see that many other reviewers have detailed the plot, which those familiar with the Beatty film pretty much know anyway, so I won't belabor the storyline. There are elements of MR. JORDAN that seem a little stagy at times (not too surprising since it was based on a play, and of course, it couldn't begin to rival later versions for special effects. About the only real improvement that the '78 remake had to offer was making the villains (Dyan Cannon and Charles Grodin) more bumblingly comic than sinister. It was also just about equally well cast, which Beatty deserved considerable credit for. After all, about the only actor who could do justice to role Mr. Jordan after Claude Rains would have to be James Mason.

What it lacks in pacing and in visuals, HERE COMES MR. JORDAN more than makes up for in heart. See it with your soul mate if possible.

There was no way that actor Robert Montgomery could have known that in starring in the 1941 comedy-fantasy that he was effectively starting a family tradition. Unless of course the angels and departed spirits he was hobnobbing with in this film spilled the beans that some 23 years later, his daugher Liz would rise to world wide fame in a equally charming bit of fluff about love and the supernatural, the TV series BEWITCHED.

HERE COMES MR. JORDAN, currently available only on VHS, is mainly remembered nowadays (if it's remembered at all) as the film that inspired the remakes HEAVEN CAN WAIT with Warren Beatty (1978) and DOWN TO EARTH with Chris Rock (2001). It's a pity that more people haven't seen the original: its innocent charm is almost impossible to recapture in these cynical times--and although Beatty's version was well cast and had a number of good moments, its own sense of innocence and wonder couldn't help but seem a little calculated in the post-Vietnam/post-Watergate era.

Of course, it may well be that the pre-WWII period is wrongly perceived today as being a "more innocent era." (Many of us, it seems, are "nostalgic" these days for a time before we were even born). But I think it's fair to say that in certain significant ways, the culture as a whole was less jaded in those days, and that a bit of whimsy such as MR. JORDAN could be done in a more heart-on-sleeve rather than tongue-in-cheek spirit.

Robert Montgomery, healthy looking if not exactly "buff" by today's standards, makes for a credible enough "in the pink" pugilist. I haven't seen any of his other starring vehicles, but reportedly, the Bowery Boy persona he adopted for this film was a bit of a departure for an actor usually associated with dapper roles in sophisticated comedies. He pulls it off very well.

The rest of the cast is equally good. Claude Rains is perfectly cast in the title role and a foppish Edward Everett Horton is spot on as a bumbling neophyte angel. On the earthly side of things, Evelyn Keyes is lovely and affecting as Montgomery's love interest and James Gleason is a delight as his befuddled trainer and confidante.

I see that many other reviewers have detailed the plot, which those familiar with the Beatty film pretty much know anyway, so I won't belabor the storyline. There are elements of MR. JORDAN that seem a little stagy at times (not too surprising since it was based on a play, and of course, it couldn't begin to rival later versions for special effects. About the only real improvement that the '78 remake had to offer was making the villains (Dyan Cannon and Charles Grodin) more bumblingly comic than sinister. It was also just about equally well cast, which Beatty deserved considerable credit for. After all, about the only actor who could do justice to role Mr. Jordan after Claude Rains would have to be James Mason.

What it lacks in pacing and in visuals, HERE COMES MR. JORDAN more than makes up for in heart. See it with your soul mate if possible.

Here Comes Mr. Jordan is a delightful 1941 fantasy film that would later be remade with Warren Beatty (although not nearly as good) as Heaven Can Wait. Robert Montgomery, father of Elizabeth Montgomery of Bewitched fame, plays boxer Joe Pendleton, who is on the verge of fighting for the title. Joe is plucked out of his airplane just before it crashes by an inexperienced angel played by Edward Everett Horton who wanted to save him the pain of the crash. The Angel's Boss Mr. Jordan (Claude Rains) finds out that Joe isn't supposed to die for another 50 years and orders the over-eager Angel 7013 to put Joe back in his body. Unfortunately, Joe's body has been cremated by his boxing manager.

Now Mr. Jordan, 7013, and Joe scour the world to find a new body for his spirit. But it has to be a body that is in perfect physical shape..."in the pink" as Joe keeps demanding. Joe is offered the wealthy body of Bruce Farnsworth who has just been murdered by his scheming wife and his male secretary. Joe at first refuses until he sees the beautiful Bette Logan who desperately needs Farnsworth's help to get her father out of jail. Joe agrees to take Farnsworth's body for just a short time to help Ms. Logan. His wife and secretary Tony Abbott are more than a little shocked to see Farnsworth come down the stairs after they thought they drowned him in his bath.

Joe soon decides he wants to keep Farnsworth's body as he has fallen in love with Bette and thinks he can get Farnsworth's body into shape to resume his boxing career. But first he has to convince his skeptical manager, Max played by wonderful character actor James Gleason.

Here Comes Mr. Jordan is a great feel-good, comedy fantasy with a fantastic cast. Montgomery is superb as the street-wise boxer, now in control of a vast fortune but still only concerned with his boxing career. The bickering between he and Edward Everett Horton is hilarious. Claude Rains really steals the show as the wise angel Mr. Jordan, always with a knowing, sly smile on his face. Vastly superior to its remakes, this is a great film.

Reviewed by Tim Janson