The Title Change Was a Good Idea

 "HEAVEN COULDN'T WAIT ... for Robert Montgomery and Benny Rubin, who returns to the screen in Columbia's highly heralded new comedy "Mr. Jordan Comes to Town," which stars Montgomery with Rita Johnson Evelyn Keyes, Claude Rains, James Gleason and Edward Everett Horton."

A rather interesting view of heaven.  And the look on Bob's face ... reminding himself that the movie meant a lot towards supporting his family while he was in the service.  Hang in there, Mr. Montgomery.

Looks Like Rita Has a Good Hold on Bob

Rita Johnson, Robert Montgomery, and Evelyn Keyes in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

As of today, there will be four Bob movies streaming on TCM:  

                Biography of a Bachelor Girl (1935), until Feb. 28th;

                 Live, Love and Learn (1937), until Feb. 28th;

                 Our Blushing Brides (1930), until March 7th; and

                 Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) first shows today at                          3:15 p.m. PT and then onto streaming.

Oh, and The Secret Land (1948) sneaks in at 4:30 a.m. on Feb. 21.  It's doubtful I will catch that!

Mr. Jordan is Looking at Joe. Bette is Looking at Joe. And Joe is Looking at ____?

  Evelyn Keyes, Bob & Claude Rains in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

Yeah, I'd like to get my hands on him too!

Mr. & Mrs. Farnsworth on the Veranda

 I haven't the foggiest idea what they were striving for in these two publicity shots, but Bob seems to be enjoying it ...  

              

              Rita Johnson & Bob in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) 

Nice to Have Mr. Jordan on Your Side

 It is not that often Bob is paired with only a male co-star in a publicity shot.  Actually, I can't think of any besides this photo for Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) with Mr. Jordan himself, Claude Rains.  Rains did such a great job with the character, giving him just the right amount of gravitas.  

And Bob did such a great job as Joe Pendleton, the nice guy who deserved a second chance.  You can see it in those smiling blue eyes.  

"I want you to stop meddling with my fiancee!"

... exclaims Sir James Felton (Reginald Owen) to Dascom Dinsmore (Bob) as Irene (Myrna Loy) watches in surprise in Petticoat Fever (1936).  A fun movie.  I bet it was a roaring success at the "Tavern Casino" on Friday! 

TCM will be showing Petticoat this Wednesday at 5:00 a.m. EST.  I don't know that I'd be able to make that show time, so I am hoping they show it on demand later.  You can see Night Flight (1933) on demand today, and Rage in Heaven (1941) through Friday.  And three move Bob movies will be shown this Month:  Lady in the Lake (1947) on the 14th; Hide-out (1934) on the 17th; and Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) on the 18th.  That's a lot of Montgomery all in one month!  And so many are my favorites, and I would imagine yours as well.

None of Bob's movies are scheduled on TCM for his birthday on the 21st.  That's kind of a let down after showing nine movies last year.  Six of his better movies in the weeks before will just have to do.

I Would Rather See Letty Lynton, But ...

TCM is showing Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941) this Wednesday the 14th at 2:00 p.m. EST/11:00 a.m. PST.  Yeah, it would be great if some of his other movies were to get some of that rare airtime allotted to Mr. Montgomery.  But, it is an enjoyable movie and Bob, of course, does a great job as Joe the genial boxer and saxophonist.  Lets just hope he retires from the ring before he messes up that beautiful face. 

Lot of Good People Born in May

Besides Bob ...
    May 15 - Constance Cummings, Bob's co-star in Haunted
                  Honeymoon (1940)
    May 17 - Maureen O'Sullivan, Bob's co-star in Hide-Out (1934)
 

                        Lucky shows his farming skills to Pauline

   May 20 - Jimmy Stewart, well, just because!
   May 23 - James Gleason, Bob's very able supporting actor
                   in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

             Mr. Gleason could steal a scene under any circumstance

1941 Was Just Too Good a Year for Movies!

Back in the day, Life magazine would do a feature on a recent movie release.  In the August 18th, 1941, issue, the featured movie was Here Comes Mr. Jordan, a delightful movie worth the attention.  I mean, the cast was great:  Bob as the lovable boxer and the movie's hero; James Gleason as Max Corkle, Joe's trainer and music critic; Evelyn Keyes as Bette***, our heroine; Edward Everett Horton as the ever-frustrated messenger; Rita Johnson and John Emery as the delightful conniving murderers; and Claude Rains as the mysterious Mr. Jordan --- my, but wasn't he a great actor.  A great script and story, winning Oscars for both. And five more nominations:  Best Picture, Best Director (Alexander Hall), Best Actor (Our Bob!), Supporting Actor (Mr. Gleason), and Best Cinematography, Black and White (Joseph Walker).  Not bad.  And Bob had to go to Columbia Pictures to get a good role.  MGM certainly did waste the many talents of Mr. Montgomery.  Such a shame. 

The article contains a brief write-up of the movie and then tells the story in 16 captioned photos.  WARNING:  Spoilers abound! 

***Bob had the heroine's name changed to Bette as a tribute to his wife.  How sweet can you get!

Could I Have Your Autograph Mr. Montgomery, Please?

There's just something special about having someone's autograph, particularly Bob's, of course.  After all, he did have this photo in his hands, and now I have it in mine.  Hey, it's as close as I can get to him.  (And, yes, I would have been a shameless stalker back in the day!) 

             Bob as Joe Pendleton in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

Which do You Prefer - Geometric, Simple Black, Black Silk or Checkered?

The ever classy and elegant Mr. Montgomery wore dressing gowns between takes while on set to prevent mussing up his wardrobe.  In late 1933, on the set of The Mystery of Mr. X with Elizabeth Allan and Direct Edwyn Selwyn, he is shown wearing a geometric patterned gown with accompanying white scarf, of course.  Wonder what color it was ... I'm guessing blue and gold.  Or maybe green. 

In Here Comes Mr. Jordan, Bob, as playboy Farnsworth, wears a simple all black gown over his boxing attire.  Below he is shown with co-star Rita Johnson taking a cigarette break.  The bare legs and boxing shoes look a tad out of place in this setting, don't you think.

On the set of The Last of Mrs. Cheyney, Bobs looks superb in classy black silk.  Note the white handkerchief even.  Frank Morgan looks rather natty himself in a checkered gown.  I wouldn't dare play a hand of blackgammon with either of these two gents. 

Oh, Please, Don't Hit Me!

      Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1940) Bob and Director Alexander Hall

Bob Treed by Stalking Fans

                                The Mystery of Mr. X (1934)

Five Bob movies in January!  And some that have not been shown recently.  Very good.  Here's the schedule for TCM, all times EST.

      Jan. 11th at 8:00 p.m.     -   Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

      Jan. 13th at 11:30 a.m.   -  Three Loves Has Nancy (1938)

      Jan. 22nd at 3:30 p.m.   -   No More Ladies (1935)

      Jan. 29th at 8:15 a.m.    -   The Mystery of Mr. X (1934)

      Jan. 29th at 12:15 p.m.  -  Haunted Honeymoon (1940)
                          

Bob Looking Precious (As Always!)

I happened across this photo on eBay under the heading "Clark Gable and Wallace Beery in China Seas."  Something didn't look quite right.  Oh, hey, it's Bob in women's clothing!  Anyway, I purchased it and fervently hoped the vendor wouldn't send me a photo of Clark and Beery.  I'm trying to imagine the roles being reversed ... nah.  Bob, secure in his masculinity, handled the role with ease.  Clark ... I think he'd be quite uncomfortable in a dress. 

                                Forsaking All Others (1934)

November 20th was Evelyn Keyes' birthday.  Although they were not the most compatible duo off stage while filming Here Comes Mr. Jordan,  it doesn't show through in their performances.  I have always liked the scene at the end when the auditorium lights go dark and Joe says to Betty, "Don't be scared."  Did you know that Bob asked to have the female lead's name changed to Betty as a tribute to his wife?  (Or so they say!) 

                               Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

Disconnected?

           Bob and Evelyn Keyes in Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

Makes you wonder who Bob was admiring in the distance ... but they still make a handsome couple.  

One of the Better Scene Stealers

Ah, we have survived Thanksgiving and Black Friday.  That is no mean feat these days.  Of course, this has all been a warm-up to the Christmas season.  Thankfully, the season brings with it a long list of great movies to help us get into the spirit.  One of the better ones is The Bishop's Wife starring Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven.  The supporting cast is just as good, including Monty Woolley as The Professor, Gladys Cooper as Mrs. Hamilton, Elsa Lancaster as Matilda and James Gleason as Sylvester the taxi driver.  Scene stealers all.  Below, Cary eyes Gleason with a look of resignation, no point in competing for a scene with a pro like Jimmy.

                                 The Bishops Wife (1947)

Gleason was 47 years old when he arrived in Hollywood along with the talkies.   After years in stock companies and touring shows, he had already developed the persona which would help him become a highly successful and very busy character actor.  Always older, always balding and always the tough, warmhearted character, Jimmy played variations of the role for 29 years.  His first movie with our Bob was Blondie of the Follies.  He plays 'Pa' McCune, to Marion Davies' Blondie. 

                               Blondie of the Follies (1932)

Nine years later he is Max Corkle in Here Comes Mr. Jordan, the long suffering trainer of Bob's Joe Pendleton.  Max has to put up with Joe's saxophone playing, his reincarnations and the mysterious, invisible Mr. Jordan.  He is just great in the role and is appropriately rewarded with a nomination as best supporting actor. 

                              Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

Jimmy, who was born into a theater family, joined the army at the age of 16 to fight in the Spanish American war and, before serving again in WWI, he marries Lucile.  Lucile was his partner in the theater as well, and became a successful character actress in the movies.  She and Jimmy were two of the 21 founding members of the actor's guild, Lucile becoming the guild's first treasurer.  Jimmy continued to act until a year before his death in 1959.  His last role was as 'Cuke' Gillen in John Ford's The Last Hurrah starring Spencer Tracy.  Quite fittingly, he was one of a superb supporting cast including Pat O'Brien, Basil Rathbone, Donald Crisp, Edward Brophy, John Carradine, Wallace Ford and Frank McHugh.  And does he ever hold his own in his last scene of the movie and his career.  Good job, Mr. Gleason.
 

                                  The Last Hurrah (1958)

Montgomery is Still Tops (As in Always)

                              Filmgoer Magazine (Dec. 27, 1941)

Bob in Sweats & Shorts --- Only in the Movies

  Bob and Director Al Hall on the set of Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

Cause for Celebration - It's Friday!!

Bob Names the Best

I've seen the debate online a few times regarding which film Bob felt was his best or favorite. Well, in this Jan 7, 1955 New York Journal article, he names a few. Mr. Montgomery also notes his thoughts on best actor and actress.

See if you can spot the fact typo in this article. Clue: a Helen Hayes movie.

Thanks to Tracy for digging this up (a while ago, but not forgotten).