Here Comes Mr. Jordan

When a boxer (Robert Montgomery) is accidentally called to Heaven 50 years before his time, it's up to celestial executive extraordinaire Mr. Jordan (Claude Rains) to straighten out the matter. When Columbia Pictures' financial advisors read the screenplay for the fantasy comedy Here Comes Mr. Jordan, they had their doubts as to its box-office potential. Screenwriter Sidney Buchman went directly to studio president Harry Cohn in an effort to convince him to make the film. Cohn liked the script's uniqueness and, saying that all his bankers wanted was "what sold last year," told Buchman he'd make the picture. To play the saxophone-playing boxer Joe Pendelton, Cohn decided to borrow Robert Montgomery from MGM. Although Montgomery had some initial doubts about his part, he delivered what was to become an Oscar® -nominated performance. The film, which received a total of seven 1941 nominations, including Best Picture, won two (Best Motion Picture Story, Best Screenplay). Here Comes Mr. Jordan was so successful, it inspired a semi-sequel (1947's Down To Earth, which starred Rita Hayworth) and was eventually remade in 1978 as Heaven Can Wait.