''For Heaven's Sake'' is a 1950

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction ...

starring

Clifton Webb Webb Parmelee Hollenbeck (November 19, 1889 – October 13, 1966), known professionally as Clifton Webb, was an American actor, singer, and dancer. He worked extensively and was known for his stage appearances in the plays of Noël Coward, i ...

as an

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles ...

trying to save the marriage of a couple played by

Joan Bennett Joan Geraldine Bennett (February 27, 1910 – December 7, 1990) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She came from a show-business family, one of three acting sisters. Beginning her career on the stage, Bennett appeared in more t ...

and

Robert Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as '' The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in ...

. It was adapted from the play ''May We Come In?'' by

Harry Segall Harry Segall (April 10, 1892 – November 25, 1975) was an American playwright, screenwriter and television writer. Segall was born in Chicago. Harry Segall's writing career spans 1933 to 1959. Segall's plays, including '' Lost Horizons'', a ...

Plot

Angels Charles and Arthur try to convince a young

cherub A cherub (; plural cherubim; he, כְּרוּב ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'', likely borrowed from a derived form of akk, 𒅗𒊏𒁍 ''karabu'' "to bless" such as ''karibu'', "one who blesses", a name for the lamassu) is one of the ...

named Item to stop waiting to be born to Lydia and Jeff Bolton, her parents who she has personally selected. The Boltons are too busy with their theater work to start a family and are also drifting apart, as Lydia wants to have a child but Jeff convinces her to put their careers first. When Item proves adamant, Charles tries to help by taking human form as "Slim" Charles, a supposedly rich Montanan, and encountering the Boltons at a racetrack. Jeff sees a potential financial backer (an "angel" in theatrical slang) for his next play, so he asks his playwright Daphne Peters to try to convince Charles to invest in the production, not knowing that Charles does not have any money. Jeff's usual backer Tex Henry appears and draws cards with Charles to determine who will make the investment, and Tex wins. Charles begins to enjoy human vices. When Daphne's former actor boyfriend Tony Clark returns for her, Charles punches him. Charles also starts playing modern music on his harp and drinking, but Arthur disapproves. Charles has not completely forgotten his mission. He arranges a lavish party to celebrate the Boltons' eighth anniversary, but it does not work as planned. The Boltons decide to break up, and Charles is taken to the mental hospital, where he admits that he is an angel. When Lydia develops a sudden craving for peanuts, Jeff realizes that she is pregnant (with Item), and they reconcile.

Cast

as Charles / "Slim" Charles *

as Lydia Bolton *

as Jeff Bolton *

Edmund Gwenn Edmund Gwenn (born Edmund John Kellaway; 26 September 1877 – 6 September 1959) was an English actor. On film, he is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas film ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), for which he won th ...

as Arthur *

Joan Blondell Joan Blondell (born Rose Joan Bluestein; August 30, 1906 – December 25, 1979) was an American actress who performed in film and television for 50 years. Blondell began her career in vaudeville. After winning a beauty pageant, she embarked on ...

as Daphne Peters *

Gigi Perreau Gigi Perreau (born February 6, 1941) is an American film and television actress. Early years The daughter of French-born Robert and Eleanor Child Perreau-Saussine, she was born Ghislaine Elizabeth Marie Thérèse Perreau-Saussine. Career Perrea ...

as Item * Jack La Rue as Tony Clark *

Harry von Zell Harry Rudolph von Zell (July 11, 1906 – November 21, 1981) was an American announcer of radio programs, and an actor in films and television shows. He is best remembered for his work on ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show''. Life and ...

as Tex Henry * Tommy Rettig as Joe Blake *

Hal Baylor Hal Harvey Fieberling (born Hal David Britton); December 10, 1918 – January 15, 1998 known professionally as Hal Baylor, was an American actor, probably best known for his role as Pvt. 'Sky' Choynski in the film ''Sands of Iwo Jima''. In 1 ...

as an Expectant Father(uncredited) * Whit Bissell as a Doctor(uncredited)

Production

The film was to have starred

Anne Baxter Anne Baxter (May 7, 1923 – December 12, 1985) was an American actress, star of Hollywood films, Broadway productions, and television series. She won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, and was nominated for an Emmy. A granddaughter of Fr ...

, but she withdrew and Joan Bennett assumed the role. Filming began in June 1950.JOAN BENNETT GETS LEAD IN FOX MOVIE: New York Times 14 June 1950: 40.

Release

In a contemporary review, critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote: "Mr. Webb, need we say, is an actor with an urbane sense of the grotesque and a thoroughly cultivated talent for farcical mimicry. So his broad travesty of a rancher 'from God's country,' whose particular line is 'sheep' and whose weakness is wine and women, is very amusing to see. But we have to advise that the whimsies with which this picture begins and in which it dissolves at the climax are far on the sticky side—the sort of stuff that may seem poignant if you're a softie, but nauseous if you're not."

References

External links