''Heading for Heaven'' is a 1947 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

starring

Stuart Erwin Stuart Erwin (February 14, 1903 – December 21, 1967) was an American actor of stage, film, and television. Early years Erwin was born in Squaw Valley, Fresno County, California. He attended Porterville High School and the University of Ca ...

and

Glenda Farrell Glenda Farrell (June 30, 1904 – May 1, 1971) was an American actress. Farrell personified the smart and sassy, wisecracking blonde of the Classic Hollywood films. Her career spanned more than 50 years, and she appeared in numerous Broadwa ...

. The film was directed by Lewis D. Collins and is based on the 1929 play ''For the Sake of the Family'' by Charles Webb and Daniel Brown. Made by Pathe Industries for release by the

Producers Releasing Corporation Producers Releasing Corporation (generally known as PRC) was the smallest and least prestigious of the 11 Hollywood film companies of the 1940s. It was considered a prime example of what was called " Poverty Row": a low-rent stretch of Gower St ...

. The film was later picked up for distribution by

Eagle-Lion Films Eagle-Lion Films was the name of two distinct, though related, companies. In 1944, UK film magnate J. Arthur Rank created an American distribution company with the name to handle his British films. The following year, under a reciprocal distrib ...

after PRC's demise. It was one of several films of the time depicting fraudulent

spiritualism Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at leas ...

such as '' Nightmare Alley'' (1947), '' The Spiritualist'' (1948) and ''

London Belongs to Me ''London Belongs to Me'' (also known as ''Dulcimer Street'') is a British film released in 1948, directed by Sidney Gilliat, and starring Richard Attenborough and Alastair Sim. It was based on the novel ''London Belongs to Me'' by Norman Collins ...

'' (1948).

Plot

Henry Elkins has been left a large parcel of land by his father and grandfather in what is now the eastern part of the city of Elkinsville. Having been told never to sell the property by his ancestors, Henry has refused several lucrative offers wanting to purchase the land for a cemetery, incinerator or the city dump in favour of wishing to develop a housing estate. Henry lives with his wife Nora Elkins who passionately believes in a fraudulent Swami who conducts seances, a snappy housekeeper, a lazy brother in law, a daughter and a cat who all give him problems, Henry dreams the land will someday bring him both great fortune and self-respect. Henry's life changes when he overhears information about one of his Doctor's patients who is terminally ill that he thinks is his own diagnosis when he goes for a physical for an insurance policy. He agrees to sell his land to an airline wishing to build an airport giving his wife and family the money as a legacy but several people in Elkinsville attempt to give Henry fraudulent information to lower his price or intend to acquire it for themselves. One of them uses the swami to convince Henry to sell the land to them who will then sell it to the airlines for a profit for themselves. Surrounded by problems Henry goes to a peaceful lake to meditate. He falls asleep where nightmares wake him up causing him to fall in the water. As he is drying his clothes they also fall in the water and float away leading policemen who find his clothes containing a note to his wife that Henry has taken his own life. Henry's return to his home is delayed when he has to steal the clothes of a

scarecrow A scarecrow is a decoy or mannequin that is often in the shape of a human. Humanoid scarecrows are usually dressed in old clothes and placed in open fields to discourage birds from disturbing and feeding on recently cast seed and growing crops. ...

leading him to a pair of

hobo A hobo is a migrant worker in the United States. Hoboes, tramps, and bums are generally regarded as related, but distinct: a hobo travels and is willing to work; a tramp travels, but avoids work if possible; a bum neither travels nor works. Et ...

es who befriend him and get him drunk. He returns in time to find a real representative from the airline making Henry a direct substantial offer for his property that will include a housing estate, but first Henry decides to teach the swindlers and his gullible family a lesson by crashing a seance they have planned.

Cast

as Henry Elkins *

as Nora Elkins *Russ Vincent as Swami *

Irene Ryan Irene Ryan (born Irene Noblitt, Noblett, or Noblette; October 17, 1902 – April 26, 1973) was an American actress and comedienne who found success in vaudeville, radio, film, television, and Broadway. She is most widely known for her po ...

as Molly the Maid *

Milburn Stone Hugh Milburn Stone (July 5, 1904 – June 12, 1980) was an American actor, best known for his role as "Doc" (Dr. Galen Adams) on the Western (genre), Western series ''Gunsmoke''. Early life Stone was born in Burrton, Kansas, to Herbert Stone an ...

as Elwood Harding *

George O'Hanlon George O'Hanlon (November 23, 1912 – February 11, 1989) was an American actor, comedian and writer. He was best known for his role as Joe McDoakes in the Warner Bros.' live-action ''Joe McDoakes'' short subjects from 1942 to 1956 and as the voic ...

as Alvin Ponacress *

Janis Wilson Janis Mae Wilson (February 9, 1930 – November 17, 2003) was an American child actress of the 1940s. She is probably best known for her roles in ''Now, Voyager'' and ''Watch on the Rhine'' opposite Bette Davis as well as for the films ''The S ...

as Janie Elkins *Ralph Hodges as Danny Wingate *

Dick Elliott Richard Damon Elliott (April 30, 1886 – December 22, 1961) was an American character actor who played in over 240 films from the 1930s until the time of his death. Early years Elliott was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Career Elliott p ...

as Roger Wingate * Charles Williams as Eddie Williams *

Selmer Jackson Selmer Adolf Jackson (May 7, 1888 – March 30, 1971) was an American stage film and television actor. He appeared in nearly 400 films between 1921 and 1963. His name was sometimes spelled Selmar Jackson. Jackson was born in Lake Mills, Iowa ...

as Doctor

Home media

''Heading for Heaven'' was released on DVD on February 22, 2005.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heading For Heaven 1947 films 1940s English-language films American black-and-white films 1947 drama films Producers Releasing Corporation films American films based on plays Films directed by Lewis D. Collins Eagle-Lion Films films American drama films 1940s American films English-language drama films