HERE COMES MR. JORDAN (1941) B/W 93m dir: Alexander Hall

w/Robert Montgomery, Evelyn Keyes, Claude Rains, Rita Johnson, Edward Everett Horton, James Gleason, John Emery, Donald MacBride, Don Costello, Halliwell Hobbes

A boxer in a plane crash discovers his time isn't up yet, so the celestial powers have to find him a new body. This is one of the most unusual and original fantasies to come out of Hollywood, and it's also fine entertainment. Remade twice: in 1947 as DOWN TO EARTH, minus the sports angle; and in 1978 as the disappointing HEAVEN CAN WAIT, with Warren Beatty as a football player who dies too soon.

From The Movie Guide: "Full of hilarious plot twists and blessed with brilliant performances from a stellar cast, HERE COMES MR. JORDAN is a thoroughly beguiling fantasy with a boxing subplot."

HERE COMES MR. JORDAN won two writing Oscars, for Best Original Story (Harry Segall) and Screenplay (Sidney Buchman, Seton I. Miller). It was also nominated for Best Picture, Director, Actor (Montgomery), Supporting Actor (Gleason), and Cinematography (Joseph Walker).