Here Comes Mr. Jordan

When Joe Pendleton (Robert Montgomery), a good hearted boxer, looks like he is about to die, Messenger 7013 (Edward Everett Horton) acts too quickly removing his soul from his body to spare him the agony.  This is a huge mistake, as it turns out that Joe was supposed to live for fifty more years.  When Mr. Jordan (Claude Rains), the guy running this foggy afterlife world, hears of the mishap, he sets out to find Joe a new body to inhabit for his allotted fifty years.

Joe is pretty picky over the bodies Mr. Jordan shows him and with good reason.  He had worked hard to get himself into peak physical condition, which he calls “in the pink” and does not want to give up on his boxing dreams.  When Mr. Jordan shows him Mr. Farnsworth, a millionaire who is about to be murdered by his wife, he sees an opportunity to help a young woman in need, Bette Logan (Evelyn Keyes).  Joe goes into Farnsworth’s body, saying that it will only be temporary and starts using the money at his disposal for good.  When sparks start flying between Joe and Bette, it’s hard for him to move onto a permanent body, but Mr. Jordan assures Joe that he will achieve everything in his original destiny.

While Joe’s soul is transported from one body to another, certain things remain constant that make him recognizable.  To us, the viewer, he does not change physically but we understand that his new body has not, but to he characters who knew Farnsworth the personality strangely has.  He still retains his personality and memories from his life as Joe. This comes in handy when he seeks out his old trainer, Max Corkel (James Gleason).  One physical object of his follows him from body to body, his lucky saxophone.  To the people originally around Farnsworth before his death, this saxophone is a mystery, especially when they see Farnsworth playing it.  I guess as Joe’s soul is transported, so is his knowledge and ability to play.

Underneath this quirky story is an attempt to understand the unknown journey of a soul.  Individually, we all have different ideas on what happens to us after death, but it’s hard to find one universal outlook without getting into a messy philosophical debate.  In the film, we are not shown or told about heaven, hell or angles, the only concrete terms used are soul and body.  Mr. Jordan and Messenger 7013 are just shown to be men in suits, pretty un-mystical despite the fact that they transport souls of the recently deceased.  Even more humbling is the fact that even they can make mistakes, like taking Joe away before he has even crashed.

The philosophies men have created over time are simplified to a modern understanding: each person has an allotted time in their life then their soul is transported out of their body, which is simply a physical shell for the soul.  And when a mistake has been made, Mr. Jordan and his messengers will see to it that you get the time and all you were destined for.  These ideas may not satisfy the deeply religious, but it’s not such a bad gig to find yourself caught in, considering the fiery alternatives.

“I’m following that saxophone!”

The Big House

In The Big House, young Kent (Robert Montgomery) has just been sentenced to ten years in prison for manslaughter.  The prison is already overcrowded and he is put in the same cell as the two toughest guys in the joint, Morgan (Chester Morris) and Machine Gun Butch (Wallace Beery).   From them, Kent has to learn the ins and outs of prison life and right away Butch steals his cigarettes.  The food is lousy and the men hold beetle races for fun and bet cigarettes.

The day before Morgan’s parole, Kent pulls a stunt that breaks the prison’s code of honor.  He plants a knife on Morgan, causing Morgan to lose his parole, landing him in the hole and gaining Kent an enemy.  More determined, Morgan breaks out and finds Kent’s sister, Anne (Leila Hyams) at the bookstore.  Instead of turning Morgan in, Anne falls in love with him, but soon he’s back in the clink.  Butch happily greets Morgan and tells him about a big break out he’s got planned, but will someone tip off the guards?

Wallace Beery earned his first acting nomination for his role as Machine Gun Butch.  He’s great at being big and threatening like a wrestler, but when he smiles and laughs he can make the stone walls melt.  We get a sense that his tough side is just a prison survival technique and inside he does have a good heart.  One great example of this is when he receives a letter.  In front of the guys, he pretends its a juicy letter from a girl so he doesn’t have to read it, but still has their respect.  Sadly, the letter is really informing him that his mother has died.

Just like I expected from a thirties prison film, there are plenty of classic lines sprinkled throughout.  There is the repeated dialog in various situations, “Who me?  Yes, you.”  It never seems to get old and has good charm.  Then there’s more pivotal moments with lines like, “I’m warning ya, stay where you are.”  And of course, a classic crime film wouldn’t be complete without, “You dirty double crossers, I’ll get you for this!”

In the end, The Big House feels like a good old cops and robbers film even though the majority is set within the prison walls.  There is plenty of action, double-crossing and sneaking around especially after the big breakout happens.

“Prison doesn’t give a man a yellow streak, but if he had one it’ll bring it out of him.”

The Divorcee

Ah, the sacred institute of marriage.  There’s nothing quite as beautiful as two young people just oozing with love and declaring they’ll stay together forever.  How sweet.  It makes me want to puke.  Give them a few years and they’ll stray like alley cats in heat.  It’s the American way.

Paul (Conrad Nagel) is the nice guy who finishes last.  He and Jerry (Norma Shearer) have always been great friends, but just friends, you know how that is.  Poor Paul watches as Jerry is whisked away by Ted (Chester Morris).  The night Ted and Jerry announce their engagement, Paul keeps a happy face by drowning his sorrows while the happy couple mush around calling each other Romeo and Juliet.  I’d need a good drink to get through that too.  Problem is, Paul drives afterwards, crashes and poor Dorothy (Judith Wood) is hurt pretty badly.  As a sort of apology, Paul marries Dorothy in a unceremonious hospital room while Jerry and Ted have a lavish sun filled church wedding.  Just not fair, is it?

Three years later, Jerry finds out that Ted has been unfaithful.  He downplays it by saying over and over, “It don’t mean a thing.”  That’s no comfort and Jerry nearly drives herself mad, so her friend Don (Robert Montgomery) takes her on the town to help her forget and they sleep together.  Jerry decides to tell Ted and uses the term, “I’ve balanced our accounts.”  An eye for an eye, right?  But Ted is instantly infuriated and feels like a laughing stock, so they divorce.

Once they hit splits-ville, they both go out and play the field for a while.  Then Jerry finds Paul again (yup, we saw that coming).  He’s not happy being with Dorothy since she’s so bitter about the accident and he wants to cheat with Jerry.  At this point I was groaning, knew the ending could only go one of two ways and wondered how far this cycle of unfaithfulness could go.

In relationships between men and women, there will always be double standards.  Men can sow their wild oats and “it don’t mean a thing,” but once their woman strays, she’s labeled and he can’t go on with such a wounded pride.  Oh, cry some more.  Even in 1930 there must have been some pissed off women in the audience.

If you love filling your life with petty drama this one’s for you.  If you can’t stand to watch people do stupid things and wonder why their life is swirling in the toilet, skip this.  Oh, and here’s a great pickup line that’s been around a while, “I’d like to make love to you ’till you scream for help.”  Let me know if you get maced in the face with that one.