Here Comes Mr. Jordan

Robert Montgomery is Joe Pendleton, an easy-going prize-fighter-pilot-saxophonist on the verge of becoming a boxing champ. When he decides to fly home after a match, his plane crashes and he finds himself face to face with Mr. Jordan (Claude Rains,) the overseer of all that is Divine. It seems that an eager Heavenly Messenger, played by the brilliant Edward Everett Horton, has taken Joe fifty years too early, so a new body must be found for Joe to inhabit. Mr. Jordan first finds an almost murdered millionaire, then brings Joe to his would-be boxing rival. Confusion ensues when the unscrupulous millionaire and the mob-connected boxer become nice guys like Joe. Fine performances are given by Evelyn Keyes, Joe's love interest, and James Gleason, Joe's manager Max. This fantasy/comedy was a big success in 1941 and won two (Best Motion Picture Story and Screenplay) of its six Oscar® nominations. Columbia produced a musical version of the film, DOWN TO EARTH, starring Rita Hayworth, and in 1978 Warren Beatty starred as a football hero in the Paramount remake, HEAVEN CAN WAIT. Montgomery is well remembered for his charming portrayal of the roaming spirit which earned him a Best Actor nomination, but he's also known as the father of Elizabeth Montgomery, Samantha from the Columbia Television series, BEWITCHED.