User Reviews

Joel McCrea and Ginger Rogers star with Marian Nixon in "Chance at Heaven," a precode film from 1933.

This is a small film, and there's not much to it.

McCrea and Rogers play Marjorie and Blackstone, two young people who go out together. Blackstone (McCrea) owns a gas station. Marj (Rogers) has been dating him for some time, but he hasn't proposed.

Finally, she drops a few hints and they become engaged.

One day, a wealthy young woman named Glory (Nixon) catches Blackie's eye when her parents drive in for gas. The attraction is mutual; Glory keeps showing up. Marj realizes that Blackie has fallen for Glory and steps away.

Glory and Blackie marry, to the horror of her parents, and settle in his house. Marj, in an attempt to be a good friend, helps Glory with cooking and gives advice on household matters. All seems to be going well. Then Glory becomes pregnant, and her mother shows up.

There was discussion in the different reviews of Marj and what an idiot she is. I actually can see a woman making the best of an uncomfortable situation as Marj did. She loves Blackie and she wants his happiness. However, I don't see Ginger Rogers doing it. Janet Gaynor maybe. Rogers comes off too smart and too strong to not simply have moved on.

One male reviewer made the point that Blackie cared about Rogers but he fell in love with Glory, and he did not love Marj in the same way. I think he's correct. Men do fall in love very quickly, and many have told me, when they meet Ms. Right, they know it right away. It's true - Marj was just there in Blackie's life. He hadn't really fallen in love.

Which brings us to the last point - in the end, after Glory leaves him, Marj is back. Was she a sap? Yes. Would most women have come back? Probably not. Will they marry? Probably. For Marj it would be true love. Blackie would always love and care for her, but not in the same way he did for Glory. Sad but true.

And then, the final point, and the one that made the movie interesting. It's not mentioned even in this precode film, but Glory has an abortion. Her mother tells Blackie, "The doctor was wrong." No he wasn't. When she left to stay with her mother, she was pregnant.

So what did I think of this? Not much of a story made better by two wonderful stars, McCrea and Rogers. McCrea is so adorable, you can't hate him for falling for Glory. And, in spite of acting like a fool, you somehow liked Rogers. Marian Nixon was perfect as the spoiled heiress. I do have to say, for her entrance into the nightclub, she wore the most hideous gown that I've ever seen. I kept the tape to show my sister.

This might have been a stronger film without the Ginger Rogers character, definitely a darker one.

The true star here is Marian Nixon, directed by her future husband William Seiter; they'd marry a year later in 1934. She gives a great performance, looking sexy and beautiful while keeping her shallow character believable. I didn't think she'd have it in her after seeing her as the good girl in "Winner Take All" (1932) and "After Tomorrow" (1932).

The movie seems to be mocking the upper class, showing that their values are not only different from average Americans, but are also shallow, and even downright evil. All this is embodied in the character Nixon plays. Nixon tries to be a wife to average Joe Joel McCrea, but she's can't quite do it; she constantly calls on good girl Rogers to bail her out. I love how her failure is reflected in her dress; from the front, she looks like an average housewife, dressed in a flower-printed frock; from the back, her true self comes out -- she's completely topless, wearing short black bottoms, a sight only to be found in a pre-code movie. It seems clear that her only attraction to McCrea in the first place was physical/sexual. At the end, not only does she fail as a wife, she doesn't even want to be a mother; she gets an abortion and returns to her old life. Perhaps the abortion is a metaphor for the lengths that that class as a whole will go to preserve their privileges and fun.

Personally, I find 1933 -- the year this film was made -- as the breaking point in American cinema. Before 1933, I almost always find old movies way too amateurish, particularly in terms of scripts. Something happened right arond 1933 that made Hollywood films grow up and seem more polished. A few films managed to hit their stride before 1933, and some that came after 1933 seemed to slide back into the dark ages. But 1933 is about the right time. Visually this a pre-1933 film, but the acting is decent...if simplistic, the plot a little too sweet and obvous, but I didn't exactly see holes in the script, either. So for 1933 I can give it a "7" rating. Five years later I'd only give it a "6".

I liked Joel McCrea in these types of roles, rather than when he got mostly into Westerns. He does fine here, even though he does play a bit of a sap. Ginger Rogers is fine, as well, although her character is a bit too nice.

There were two things I didn't like about the film. One was Andy Devine. I've simply never understood the attraction. The other was that this was supposed to be taking place in Massachusetts...according to the telegram. Yet in front of one of the houses in the background, there's a palm tree. That's sloppy.

To really like this film I think you have to really like Rogers and McCrea. Otherwise, both performers have better films to choose from.

We get a glimpse of Ginger Rogers' delightful trademark skill at off the cuff humor and plenty of opportunities to enjoy the massive boy next door appeal of Joel McCrea; and if you're fascinated by 1930's home decor and/or old timey gas station design, there's that in here too. However, despite Rogers and McCrea bringing to it what they are able amid the lame plot line and general not so great writing, this movie won't be worth watching to most.

The writers made sure we knew Blackie married Glory for love and not money and this was fine--makes sense because all round good guys like Blackie do things like that. And having Blackie fall hard for a ridiculous piece of fluff like Glory was only too true to life. We've all seen it happen: Good guy loses his mind over shallow, silly girl. But what I absolutely could not swallow was the behavior of Margie. Okay maybe somewhere on the planet there could be a woman this noble and selfless; so that when her man marries someone else she takes it in stride and even tries to help them along to give the man she still loves his "chance at heaven". But to welcome him back with open arms when he comes limping home after being dumped by his spoiled little rich girl wife? Nope, cannot buy that. To me, it is beyond far fetched and serves as the fatal flaw in this been done to death story.

Chance At Heaven is for rabid, gotta see every movie they were in Ginger Rogers and Joel McCrea fans only.

... that of how the snobby rich can use the poor, and to them EVERYONE who isn't rich is poor, and how a man's head can be turned by an obvious goofball, there is something to learn here about how men fall in love. I'm going to say upfront that I spoil the plot completely here, but the rather simple plot is not really the point of my review.

'Blacky' Gorman (Joel McCrea) owns a gas station in a small town, and even in the midst of the Great Depression is doing well enough that he is thinking of opening a second station and he owns a modest bungalow nearby. His best girl is Marje Harris (Ginger Rogers). She invites him over to her family's house for Sunday dinner, she helped him figure out a financial plan that got him on the road to success, and decorated his bungalow for him. When there is a social function in town, they go together, but that's just the problem. They've been going together but nowhere in particular for three long years. For a man who makes his living off of other people using roads, Blackie himself seems to have no roadmap when it comes to romance.

Marje is impatient. She asks him "Is there anyone else?" The answer is a truthful "No". But that's the problem there is NOBODY else - as in no competition at all. Blackie says, and I think he means it, that she should know how he feels, that when he gets just a little bit more money of course they'll get married, etc. And then it happens...competition shows up in the person of the extremely helpless and wealthy Glory Franklyn (Marian Nixon). Her only real talent is running into inanimate objects with her car, and she apparently let's snobby mom do all of her thinking for her and doesn't seem to mind. Mom has even picked out a future husband for her.

Now for a guy who has seemed slow and deliberate when it comes to love before, Blackie is bowled over by Glory, and it's not the money. They elope within days after meeting, and both seem happy living in Blackie's modest bungalow, although Glory wants to redecorate it to make it her own. The problem is Marje doesn't just go on with her life, she hangs around to help Glory, since I doubt she could open a can of paint without adult supervision, and Marje even cooks up Blackie's favorite meal and lets Glory take the credit.

Now remember, Glory is a whimsical girl who has the same mindset of whatever dominant personality is around her, and for a few months it has been Blackie. But then Glory finds out she is pregnant and becomes hysterical. Glory's mom - who has always hated the idea of the marriage - comes sweeping back in. She convinces Blackie that Glory would get better medical care in New York, and takes her back with her. Weeks turn to months and Glory does not reappear. When Blackie shows up at the Franklyn New York mansion, he learns from Glory that the marriage was a mistake and that the doctor was wrong - she was never pregnant. The "A" word is never mentioned, but there can be no other explanation for her suddenly empty womb. Mom has regained control of Glory's puppet strings. I'm sure it will come a shock to mom at her life's end when she goes to hell and discovers it is filled with people whose ancestors did not come over on the Mayflower.

So Blackie goes back home, a sadder but wiser guy. Of course Blackie apologizes to Marje for letting his head so easily be turned. Of course Marje takes him back, and the last scene is of them sitting comfortably at his house eating his favorite meal, cooked, of course, by Marje.

How does this film teach us how men fall in love? By showing us exactly how they act when they are not in love. Blackie was not leading Marje on. He found her attractive, accomplished, helpful, and a good companion, but one that he did not love even though I doubt he himself realized it. When men fall in love they do it very quickly - just like he did with Glory. It's just too bad his heart had such bad judgment. Marje would have been wise to just leave Blackie behind after she realized he had feelings for Glory. Instead she hung around until the marriage imploded and is now back where she started - keeping steady company with a man who admires and may even marry her at some point, probably largely out of gratitude, but will never love her.

Highly recommended little B from RKO in the precode era that is heavily laced with interesting themes.

Joel McCrea plays an oblivious guy who works at a gas station. His girl is nice-girl Ginger Rogers and they talk of marrying. Then, out of the blue, rich, spoiled and kooky Marian Nixon appears from no where and Joel is inexplicably infatuated. Now I could understand a guy being in love with her wealth, but she is too ditsy and stupid to interest a guy like Joel who is SUPPOSED to be a nice normal guy. The problem with the script is that Marian's character is supposed to be cute but instead she just seems like a very dangerous and foolish lady who CONSTANTLY drives worse than a drunk chimp or Ray Charles. This aspect of her isn't funny...just annoying and irresponsible. Yet despite this, Joel falls for her like a ton of bricks! This is AFTER he learns that she's had three or four accidents in just a couple days! What's she going to do for an encore--drive her car through an orphanage for laughs?! Why couldn't her character have had SOME depth or something worth wanting (other than money)?! This is one of the worst written characters I've seen in some time! Eventually Joel marries Marian--with Ginger's blessing! While this makes no sense at all, what happens next makes even less sense. Ginger takes this with all the patience and forbearance of a saint. No screaming, crying or threats at retribution--just taking it like a woman too good to be true. You could feel sorry for her but she's such a sap that it's hard to feel that sorry for the character. And, to compound the poor writing, Joel and Marian seem totally clueless that Ginger MIGHT not be thrilled to see them playing kissy-face right in front of her!! Not surprisingly, the marriage eventually falls apart since the wife is an immature child. Now at this point, I would have loved it if Ginger, with Joel on the rebound, had told him where he can go. But, sadly, even this part of the film failed to satisfy. She is, as usual, a doormat.

As a result of consistently poorly written characters, this film is watchable but just barely. Frankly, the stars deserved a lot better than this.

By the way, when you watch the film, doesn't it seem to imply that Marian had an abortion? See it and let me know what you think.

In reading many of the reviews of this movie, a central theme emerges in a number of them, i.e., the total incredulity at the sacrifice of Margie after Blackie's admittedly contra intuitive move to marry the depression era version of a modern day rich, self-absorbed twit. If the ultimate definition of love, as defined by centuries of experience, writing, practice and, most importantly, bolstered by Scripture itself, is sacrifice for the object of the one loved, this isn't so incredulous. What makes this appear so is the almost total jettisoning of any traditional values that sustained civilization until fairly recent times.

Sure, the script was slightly obvious and, admittedly, overly graphic in the depictions of the lengths to which Margie went to demonstrate her love for Blackie, but the overall theme was not lost on many at that time in U.S. history who actually knew people in similar circumstances. My mother told me of a few in her small MA town. Even for a pre-code movie, what is obviously left out is any explicit reference to an abortion, which the script thinly veils with Glory's mother's mordantly informative revelation that "your doctor was mistaken." What should be applauded is the totally courageous, and highly perceptive, Margie who refuses to marry Blackie when realizing he is smitten with the narcissistic Glory, electing to be hurt before the more entangling situation a marriage would involve. Her straightforward dialogue with Blackie about their relationship is very revealing about her character, unlike many of the confected, surrealistic tripe one often finds in other supposedly true to life depictions...final scene dialogue notwithstanding.

It's probably not the worst movie that Joel McCrea, Ginger Rogers, or for that matter William A. Seiter or Marian Nixon were ever involved with, but it's gotta be down there among the bottom five. This dreary little soap opera manages to remain dull while also being ridiculous, a rare accomplishment when you come to think about it. Forgive me, but it's hard reviewing this one without running you through the plot for about the twentieth time.

Joel McCrea owns a gas station in a small town. He's implicitly engaged to middle-class girl Ginger Rogers. In the first scene, Ginger gets him to finally make that engagement explicit. There seems absolutely no sexual chemistry between them (obviously the fault of the script rather than the actors as there would be plenty of sexual chemistry between them in their second film together, PRIMROSE PATH). Soon Joel meets a cute little rich girl (Marian Nixon) whose only notable accomplishment is to run into things with her car. Now she's rich and he runs a gas station while all he knows about her is that she's kinda dumb and is a very bad driver, not especially desirable attributes by any measure of which I'm aware, but I guess there's no accounting for lust. Joel dumps Ginger (really it's more like her making him dump her), Marian dumps some Ralph Bellamy-type fiancée that she has, and Joel and Marian get married.

Ginger takes this rejection with complete aplomb, and rather than getting on with her life, or simply waiting for Joel to come to his senses, or even entering a nunnery, she actually does everything she can to make this marriage succeed. What a pal! As Marian proves to be a klutz in every way, Ginger has her work cut out for her. When Marian becomes pregnant, Ginger is infinitely more happy about it then is the expectant mother. Marian's own mother, always appalled by this marriage, now swoops by to take Marian back to the big city (whichever one it was, I forget), ostensibly to see some better doctors. McCrea doesn't hear from his wife for months. It's finally left to Ginger to tell the big lug that his marriage is on the rocks. He takes off to get his wife and baby back only to discover that she's had an abortion (I think. The editing during this crucial scene becomes so ragged that it's impossible to be sure what has happened. Possibly a re-edit due to censorship considerations?). This ends the marriage once and for all. When he gets home, McCrea is greeted by an all-forgiving Rogers who has prepared him a nice home-cooked meal.

The passivity of the Rogers character, and for that matter, though a bit less obviously so, for the McCrea character, is a wonder to behold. To paraphrase the original New York Times review, these actors give performances far better than their characters deserved. Seiter's direction is no more than functional, and the script is far below that minimal level of competence. CHANCE AT HEAVEN is not a movie that I shall be revisiting for the foreseeable future.

Marrying outside one's social class comes with risk, and when ambitious gas station owner Joel McCrea marries dippy young socialite Marian Nixon over the objections of her snooty mother (Virginia Hammond), he leaves behind the young lady who's loved him all along (Ginger Rogers), gracefully offering her friendship to both parties. Hammond instantly interferes, and it's obvious that while Nixon is infatuated with the rugged but romantic McCrea, the marriage little chance of succeeding, especially with lovelorn Rogers hanging around. Andy Devine adds more comic relief as a coworker of McCrea's.

This marriage definitely has the element of the rather immature Nixon obviously in love with the idea of being in love rather than having genuine feelings for McCrea. The story isn't realistic at all, and as likeable as Roger's character is, I didn't find her believable. After all, what ex-girlfriend hangs out with her ex and his new wife without tension arising? Rogers even cooks for them without McCrea knowing. Hammond barely looks older than Nixon let alone old enough to be her mother and is written to be very one dimensional. The precode elements are barely evident. Definitely a misfire.