Down to Earth (1947) is a musical comedy starring Rita Hayworth, Larry Parks, and Marc Platt, and directed by Alexander Hall. The film is a sequel to the 1941 film Here Comes Mr. Jordan, also directed by Hall. While Edward Everett Horton and James Gleason reprise their roles from the earlier film, Roland Culver replaces Claude Rains as Mr. Jordan.
Plot
Hayworth stars as the Muse Terpsichore who is annoyed that popular Broadway producer Danny Miller (Parks) 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 (in mythology, the Muses lived on Mount Helicon). She asks permission from Mr. Jordan to go to Earth and fix the play. Jordan agrees and sends Messenger 7013 (Horton) to keep an eye on her.
Terpsichore uses the name Kitty Pendleton and quickly gets an agent, Max Corkle (Gleason), and a part in the show. As the play is being rehearsed, Kitty takes every chance she gets to tell Danny that his depictions of the Muses are wrong. Danny, who has fallen madly in love with Kitty, is soon persuaded to her point of view and alters the play from a musical farce to a high-minded ballet in the style of Martha Graham.
The revised play debuts on the road and is a complete flop. Danny, who is in debt to gangsters who will kill him if the show isn't a success, has no choice but to go back to his original concept. He and Kitty quarrel over this, and Kitty is ready to leave when Mr. Jordan shows up and explains the whole situation. Despite her argument with Danny, Kitty still loves him and decides to save him even if it means damaging her and her sisters' reputation.
Max Corkle hears Kitty talking to Mr. Jordan and realizes this is the same heavenly messenger he had heard about in Here Comes Mr. Jordan. (Corkle makes a reference to the previous movie and tells Mr. Jordan that his old friend Joe Pendleton, now living his life as K.O. Murdock, is doing just fine - and has a wife and two children.)
Kitty returns to the musical and performs "Swingin' the Muses" the way the producer had intended. When the musical becomes a hit, Terpsichore learns her time on Earth is up and she must return to heaven. After getting Corkle to tell the police about the gangsters, she says she wants to stay with Danny - but she is now invisible to mortals. Mr. Jordan says that she will see Danny again and grants her a vision of their eventual reunion in the afterlife.
Cast
- Rita Hayworth as Terpsichore / Kitty Pendleton (singing voice was dubbed by Anita Ellis)
- Roland Culver as Mr. Jordan
- Larry Parks as Danny Miller (singing voice was dubbed by Hal Derwin)
- James Gleason as Max Corkle
- Edward Everett Horton as Messenger 7013
- Adele Jergens as Georgia Evans & New Terpsichore (singing voice was dubbed by Kay Starr)
- James Burke as Det. Kelly
- Marc Platt as Eddie
Remakes
Down to Earth has not, itself, been remade, but the title was used for the 2001 film Down to Earth, which is a remake of Here Comes Mr. Jordan.
Down to Earth inspired the 1980 film Xanadu.
External links
- Down to Earth at the Internet Movie Database
- Down to Earth at AllMovie
- Photos of Rita Hayworth in 'Down To Earth' by Ned Scott