BBBB
(out of 5)
In this adorable fantasy, a prizefighting boxer is flying his airplane through the skies and, without warning, finds himself in heaven speaking to a celestial bureaucrat (Claude Rains). It seems that an error has been made as soul-collector Edward Everett Horton took Montgomery up on an incorrect impulse, fifty years earlier than he was supposed to go. As his own body is no longer available, Montgomery is placed into the corporeal shell of a billionaire banker who has just been murdered by his scheming wife and secretary. The world is turned on its ear as a selfish money-grubber suddenly becomes a charitable philanthropist, none more charmed than a gorgeous socialite (Evelyn Keyes) whose father was the victim of Montgomery’s new identity’s greed. James Gleason has a delightful supporting role as our hero’s boxing manager whose confusion over the situation drives him nearly batty . This perennial charmer was later remade as Heaven Can Wait with Warren Beatty and Down To Earth with Chris Rock.
USA, 1941
Directed by Alexander Hall
Screenplay by Sidney Buchman, Seton I. Miller, based on the play Heaven Can Wait by Harry Segall
Cinematography by Joseph Walker
Produced by Everett Riskin
Music by Friedrich Hollaender
Production Design by Lionel Banks
Costume Design by Edith Head
Film Editing by Viola Lawrence
The Criterion Collection
Academy Awards
Best Writing (Original Story) (Harry Segall)
Best Writing (Screenplay) (Sidney Buchman, Seton I. Miller)
Nominations
Best Actor (Robert Montgomery as “Joe Pendleton”)
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (James Gleason as “Max Corkle”)
Best Cinematography (Black-and-White) (Joseph Walker)
Best Directing (Alexander Hall)
Outstanding Motion Picture (Columbia)
