1941 – Robert Montgomery
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
OK, Let me just say, I’ve never been a huge fan of this movie, in general. It has a few good moments, but they seem to be few and far between. For me, the best part of the movie was Claude Rains. That’s not to say Robert Montgomery did a bad job. I just mean that the role, as it was written was a little one-note, and as a result, the character of Joe Pendleton was a little dull to watch on the screen. He basically had two gears. He had the fast-talking mook, and the soft-spoken guy in puppy-love. Those two faces got a little old by the end of the film.
OK, so the guy is a professional boxer. He is always in control of his situation, even when he isn’t. He is almost obnoxious in his arrogance and self-confidence, and that remains a constant through most of the film. Then he turns shy and gentle at the drop of a hat whenever the girl he fancies enters the room. In my book, that means the actor didn’t have to stretch himself. I mean, really, the film is a supernatural rom-com. The problem is that, the way Montgomery played him, he was barely amusing, and only mildly romantic.
But I know he’s a good actor. I’ve seen him in other films that proved it, films like 1937’s Night Must Fall or 1945’s They Were Expendable. Here, his forced New York attitude was just annoying. I couldn’t take him seriously. I mean, maybe I’m missing the point. Was that supposed to be a source of light-hearted comedy in the movie; the fact that he kept forgetting that he was dead or that he kept trying to boss Mr. Jordan and Messenger 7013 around? I’m sorry, but it wasn’t funny.
Still, as I mentioned, he was a different person whenever Bette Logan came within sight. Then, for those brief moments, he was a likeable person because he stopped acting like a big palooka, and became a real person. Now, I realize I’m really oversimplifying his performance. I mean there was actually a third persona he adopted once in a while. And that was the confused guy who couldn’t figure out what was going on. But even those moments were few and far-between. This isn’t my first time watching the movie, and I still don’t get why his performance got so much attention. At best, I’d call it average for the distinguished actor.