The idea of heaven as an organised version of Earth, with angels in suits and uniforms is a concept, only classic cinema can get right. From the amazing and beautifully constructured world in 'A Matter of Life and Death' with the immense court scene to the airline type set up of 'Here Comes Mr Jordan' where souls are collected and taken to heaven, its a smooth system, yet both these films are about the 0.1% chance of error. Where the court scene in Pressberger and Powell's masterpiece is the heart of the film, in Alexander Hall's film, there is no huge set piece moment, it is all about the characters and stolen moments.
Boxer, amateur pilot and saxophone player Joe Pendleton crashes his plane on the way to a big fight. His soul is accidentally collected and taken enroute to Heaven. When it is revealed it wasn't his time yet, the angel in charge, Mr Jordan takes Joe back to Earth to find that his body has been cremated. He is offered a new and different body to inhabit. At first Joe is reluctant to take the body of wealthy man currently being murdered by his wife and employee but he sees Bette Logan who has come to ask for help and agrees to inhabit the body of Bruce Farnsworth.
Despite being labelled a comedy, murder and death looms over the story of boxer Joe and his quest for a new body. Bruce Farnsworth is being murdered while Joe decides to take over his body and is again murdered by his employee later in the film. The next body Joe takes over is another boxer who was also murdered, by gamblers for not throwing a fight. Murder seems to be the only way for Joe to stay on Earth, where as the romantic element to the story is played up as a larger part of the story. Joe is torn between falling in love with Bette Logan and finding a body that is 'in the pink' so he can continue his life as a boxer. He can't seem to have both despite the fact that nothing that has happened was his fault. Guardian Angels are meant to watch over and protect but just like an organisation, they have rules to follow. Mr Jordan of the title is one of those guardian angels who 'runs things' and seems to have everything in order but the way Claude Rains plays him as an all seeing, all knowing and very laid back, it seems at times that this was the plan all along for Joe Pendleton.
Its easy to see why this theme and story appealed to Hollywood, as its about a dream, falling in love and redemption in ways. 'Here Comes Mr Jordan' inspired other film featuring heaven and guardian angels such as 'Its a Wonderful Life'. The film spawned a sequel 'Down to Earth' in 1947 featuring characters from the previous film and two later films inspired by the original play, 'Heaven Can Wait' by Harry Segall, 'Heaven Can Wait' in 1978 and 'Down to Earth' in 2001. But as always, nothing beats the original Mr Jordan.
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