''Down to Earth'' is a 1947 musical comedy film starring

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...

Larry Parks Samuel Lawrence Klausman Parks (December 13, 1914 – April 13, 1975) was an American stage and film actor. His career arced from bit player and supporting roles to top billing, before it was virtually ended when he admitted to having once been ...

, and Marc Platt, and directed by

Alexander Hall Alexander Hall (January 11, 1894 – July 30, 1968) was an American film director, film editor and theatre actor. Biography Hall acted in the theatre from the age of four through 1914, when he began to work in silent movies. Following his milit ...

. The film is a sequel to the 1941 film '' Here Comes Mr. Jordan'', also directed by Hall. While

Edward Everett Horton Edward Everett Horton Jr. (March 18, 1886 – September 29, 1970) was an American character actor. He had a long career in film, theater, radio, television, and voice work for animated cartoons. Early life Horton was born in Kings County ...

and

James Gleason James Austin Gleason (May 23, 1882 – April 12, 1959) 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." Life and career Gleason w ...

reprised their roles from the earlier film,

Roland Culver Roland Joseph Culver, (31 August 1900 – 1 March 1984) was an English stage, film, and television actor. Life and career After Highgate School, he joined the Royal Air Force and served as a pilot from 1918 to 1919. After considering other c ...

replaced

Claude Rains William Claude Rains (10 November 188930 May 1967) was a British actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in ''The Invisible Man'' (1933), he appeared in such highly regarded films as '' ...

as Mr. Jordan.

Plot

Terpsichore In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (; grc-gre, Τερψιχόρη, "delight in dancing") 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". Appearance ...

, one of the Nine Muses of Olympus, is annoyed that popular

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

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 Mount Parnassus (; el, Παρνασσός, ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is and historically has been especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers ...

. 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 Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. Graham danced and taught for over seventy years. She wa ...

, scored by

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (3 April 1895 – 16 March 1968) was an Italian composer, pianist and writer. He was known as one of the foremost guitar composers in the twentieth century with almost one hundred compositions for that instrument. In ...

. 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. 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.

Cast

/Kitty Pendleton (singing voice dubbed by Anita Ellis) *

as Mr. Jordan *

as Danny Miller (singing voice dubbed by

Hal Derwin Hal Derwin or Hal Derwyn (July 14, 1914 – February 9, 1998) was an American dance bandleader, principally active in the 1940s. Early in his career, Derwin was a member of a vocal trio with Lee Gillette (later a talent scout for Capitol Records) ...

) *

as Max Corkle *

as Messenger 7013 *

Adele Jergens Adele Jergens (November 26, 1917 – November 22, 2002) was an American actress. Early life and career Born in Brooklyn, New York, as Adele Louisa Jurgens (some sources say Jurgenson), she rose to prominence in the late 1930s when she was named ...

as Georgia Evans/New Terpsichore (singing voice dubbed by

Kay Starr Katherine Laverne Starks (July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016), known professionally as Kay Starr, was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multip ...

) *

William Haade William Haade (March 2, 1903 – November 15, 1966) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1937 and 1957. He was born in New York City and died in Los Angeles, California. Haade was a construction boss until ...

as Spike * James Burke as Detective Kelly * Marc Platt as Eddie *

Kathleen O'Malley Mary Kathleen O'Malley (March 31, 1924 – February 25, 2019) was an American film and television actress, who was the daughter of vaudevillian and actor Pat O'Malley. Her screen debut came during the silent film era as a thirteen month old bab ...

as Dolly * Arthur Blake as Nathaniel Somerset *

Frank Darien Frank Darien (March 18, 1876 – October 20, 1955) was an American actor. He appeared in 225 films and between 1915 and 1951. Filmography References External links * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Darien, Frank 1876 births 1955 deaths American ...

as Janitor (uncredited) *

Ethan Laidlaw Ethan Allen Laidlaw (November 25, 1899 – May 25, 1963) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 350 films and made more than 500 appearances on television, mainly uncredited in Westerns, between 1923 and 1962. Laidlaw was bor ...

as Stagehand (uncredited)

Remakes

The title "Down to Earth" was used for the comedy film '' Down to Earth'' (2001) starring

Chris Rock Christopher Julius Rock (born February 7, 1965) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and filmmaker. Known for his work in comic film, television and stage, he has received multiple accolades, including three Grammy Awards for best come ...

, 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 Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

Michael Beck John Michael Beck Taylor (born February 4, 1949), commonly known as Michael Beck, is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Swan in '' The Warriors'' (1979) and Sonny Malone in '' Xanadu'' (1980). Early life Beck was born in Memphis, T ...

and

Gene Kelly Eugene Curran Kelly (August 23, 1912 – February 2, 1996) was an American actor, dancer, singer, filmmaker, and choreographer. He was known for his energetic and athletic dancing style and sought to create a new form of American dance accessibl ...

. The film ended up performing poorly at the box office but has since become a

cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1947 films 1947 musical comedy films 1947 romantic comedy films 1940s romantic musical films 1940s fantasy films American fantasy comedy films American musical comedy films American musical fantasy films American romantic comedy films American romantic fantasy films American romantic musical films Columbia Pictures films Films directed by Alexander Hall Films scored by Heinz Roemheld Films scored by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco Greek and Roman deities in fiction 1940s English-language films 1940s American films

Plot

Cast

Remakes

See also

References

External links