Down to Earth | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | Alexander Hall |
Screenplay by | |
Based on | Characters from It Was Like That (1938 play) by Harry Segall |
Produced by | Don Hartman |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Rudolph Maté |
Edited by | Viola Lawrence |
Music by |
|
Production company | |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Box office | $2.5 million (US rentals) [1] |
Down to Earth is a 1947 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Alexander Hall and starring Rita Hayworth and Larry Parks. It is a sequel to the 1941 film Here Comes Mr. Jordan , also directed by Hall. While Edward Everett Horton and James Gleason reprised their roles from the earlier film, Roland Culver replaced Claude Rains as Mr. Jordan.
Terpsichore, one of the Nine Muses of Olympus, is annoyed that popular Broadway producer Danny Miller is putting on a play which portrays the Muses as man-crazy tarts fighting for the attention of a pair of Air Force pilots who crashed on Mount Parnassus. She asks permission from Mr. Jordan to go to Earth and fix the play. Jordan agrees and sends Messenger 7013 to keep an eye on her. Terpsichore uses the name Kitty Pendleton and quickly gets an agent, Max Corkle, and a part in the show. As the play is being rehearsed, Kitty convinces Danny that his depictions of the Muses is wrong. Danny, who has fallen madly in love with Kitty, soon agrees with her point of view and alters the play from a musical farce to a high-minded ballet in the style of Martha Graham, scored by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.
The revised play debuts on the road and is a complete flop. Danny, who is in debt to gangsters who will kill him unless the show is a success, is forced to go back to his original concept. He and Kitty quarrel over this, and Kitty plans to leave when Jordan shows up and explains the situation. Despite her argument with Danny, Kitty still loves him and decides to save him at the expense of her and her sisters' reputation. Overhearing the exchange, Corkle realizes that Jordan is the same heavenly messenger he had heard about some time ago when his friend Joe Pendleton had died and switched bodies. [lower-alpha 1] Corkle reveals that Joe, now living his life as K.O. Murdock, is happily married with two children.
Kitty returns to the musical and performs Swingin' the Muses in Danny's original vision. When the musical becomes a hit, Kitty learns her time on Earth is up and she must return to Heaven, despite her pleas to stay with Danny. She manages to convince Corkle to tell the police about the gangsters before finding herself becoming invisible to mortals. Though he cannot see her, Danny discovers her coat that she left behind and becomes devastated at her sudden departure. He recasts the Terpsichore role to chorus girl Georgia Evans, who hires Corkle as her new agent. In Heaven, Jordan assures Kitty that she will see Danny again and grants her a vision of their eventual reunion in the afterlife.
The title "Down to Earth" was used for the comedy film Down to Earth (2001) starring Chris Rock, which is a remake of Here Comes Mr. Jordan .
Down to Earth is cited as an inspiration for the film Xanadu (1980) starring Olivia Newton-John, Michael Beck and Gene Kelly.
Here Comes Mr. Jordan is a 1941 American supernatural romantic comedy film directed by Alexander Hall, in which a boxer, mistakenly taken to Heaven before his time, is given a second chance back on Earth. It stars Robert Montgomery, Claude Rains and Evelyn Keyes.
In Greek mythology, Terpsichore is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word "terpsichorean", which means "of or relating to dance".
Heaven Can Wait is a 1978 American sports fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry about a young man being mistakenly taken to heaven by his guardian angel, and the resulting complications of how this mistake can be undone, given that his earthly body has been cremated. It was the second film adaptation of Harry Segall's play of the same name, the first being Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941).
Xanadu is a 1980 American musical fantasy film written by Richard Christian Danus and Marc Reid Rubel and directed by Robert Greenwald. The film stars Olivia Newton-John, Michael Beck and Gene Kelly in his final film role. It features music by Newton-John, Electric Light Orchestra, Cliff Richard and the Tubes. The title is a reference to the nightclub in the film, which takes its name from Xanadu, the summer capital of Kublai Khan's Yuan Dynasty in China. The city appears in Kubla Khan by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an 1816 poem quoted in the film.
James Austin Gleason was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter born in New York City. Gleason often portrayed "tough-talking, world-weary guys with a secret heart-of-gold."
Gilda is a 1946 American film noir directed by Charles Vidor and starring Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford. The film is known for cinematographer Rudolph Maté's lush photography, costume designer Jean Louis's wardrobe for Hayworth, and choreographer Jack Cole's staging of "Put the Blame on Mame" and "Amado Mio", sung by Anita Ellis. Over the years Gilda has gained cult classic status. In 2013, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".
Cover Girl is a 1944 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Charles Vidor, and starring Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly. The film tells the story of a chorus girl given a chance at stardom when she is offered an opportunity to be a highly paid cover girl. It was one of the most popular musicals of the war years.
Tonight and Every Night is a 1945 American musical film directed by Victor Saville and starring Rita Hayworth, Lee Bowman and Janet Blair. The film portrays wartime romance and tragedy in a London musical show, loosely modelled on the Windmill Theatre in Soho, that determined not to miss a single performance during the Blitz. Hayworth plays an American showgirl who falls in love with an RAF pilot played by Bowman.
My Gal Sal is a 1942 American musical film distributed by 20th Century Fox and starring Rita Hayworth and Victor Mature. The film is a biopic of 1890s composer and songwriter Paul Dresser and singer Sally Elliot. It was based on a biographical essay, sometimes erroneously referred to as a book, by Dresser's younger brother, novelist Theodore Dreiser. Some of the songs portrayed as Dresser's work were actually written by him, but several were created for the film by the Hollywood songwriting team of Ralph Rainger and Leo Robin.
The Strawberry Blonde is a 1941 American romantic comedy film directed by Raoul Walsh, starring James Cagney and Olivia de Havilland, and featuring Rita Hayworth, Alan Hale, Jack Carson, and George Tobias. Set in New York City around 1900, it features songs of that era such as "The Band Played On", "Bill Bailey", "Meet Me in St. Louis, Louie", "Wait Till The Sun Shines Nellie", and "Love Me and the World Is Mine". It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1941 for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture. The title is most often listed beginning with the word The, but the film's posters and promotional materials called it simply Strawberry Blonde.
The Clock is a 1945 American romantic drama film starring Judy Garland and Robert Walker and directed by Garland's future husband, Vincente Minnelli. This was Garland's first dramatic role, as well as her first starring vehicle in which she did not sing.
I'll See You in My Dreams is a 1951 musical film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Doris Day and Danny Thomas.
Gypsy is a 1962 American musical film produced and directed by Mervyn LeRoy. The screenplay by Leonard Spigelgass is based on the book of the 1959 stage musical Gypsy: A Musical Fable by Arthur Laurents, which was adapted from the 1957 autobiography Gypsy: A Memoir by Gypsy Rose Lee. Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics for songs composed by Jule Styne. The film was remade for television in 1993.
Night World is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film featuring Lew Ayres, Mae Clarke, and Boris Karloff. The supporting cast includes George Raft and Hedda Hopper.
Xanadu is a musical comedy with a book by Douglas Carter Beane and music and lyrics by Jeff Lynne and John Farrar, based on the 1980 film of the same name, which was, in turn, inspired by the 1947 Rita Hayworth film Down to Earth. The title refers to Xanadu, the site of the Mongolian emperor Kublai Khan's summer palace.
Clarence Muse was an American actor, screenwriter, director, singer, and composer. He was the first African American to appear in a starring role in a film, 1929's Hearts in Dixie. He acted for 50 years, and appeared in more than 150 films. He was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1973.
Donald Hugh MacBride was an American character actor on stage, in films, and on television who launched his career as a teenage singer in vaudeville and went on to be an actor in New York.
Pot o' Gold is a 1941 American romantic musical comedy film starring James Stewart and Paulette Goddard, directed by George Marshall, and based on the radio series Pot o' Gold. The film was released April 3, 1941, eight months before the NBC radio series came to an end. Paulette Goddard's singing voice was dubbed by Vera Van. The film was known as The Golden Hour in the United Kingdom and was re-released in 1946 by Astor Pictures as Jimmy Steps Out.
Representations or analogues of one or more of the nine Muses of Greek mythology have appeared in many different modern fictional works.
Katherine Joan Greer, known professionally as Jo Ann Greer, was an American singer.