Chance at Heaven

Chance at Heaven is a 1933 American Pre-Code drama film directed by William A. Seiter and written by Julien Josephson and Sarah Y. Mason based on a 1932 short story of the same name by Vina Delmar. The film stars Ginger Rogers, Joel McCrea, Marian Nixon, Andy Devine and Lucien Littlefield. The film was released on October 27, 1933, by RKO Pictures.[1][2][3]

Chance at Heaven
Theatrical release poster
Directed byWilliam A. Seiter
James Anderson (assistant)
Produced byMerian C. Cooper
Screenplay byJulien Josephson
Sarah Y. Mason
Based onA Chance at Heaven
1932 short story
by Vina Delmar
StarringGinger Rogers
Joel McCrea
Marian Nixon
Andy Devine
Lucien Littlefield
Music byMax Steiner
Roy Webb
CinematographyNicholas Musuraca
Edited byJames B. Morley
Production
company
Distributed byRKO Pictures
Release date
  • October 27, 1933 (1933-10-27)
Running time
71 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Blackie owns a very successful service station in Silver Beach, Massachusetts,[4] a town that is a summer resort for wealthy people. He plans to own a chain of stations someday and to marry his girlfriend, Marje, when the time is right. Glory, a flirtatious, accident-prone debutante whose snobbish mother has just purchased a big summer house, falls for him, and the feeling is mutual. An unlikely friendship develops between Glory and Marje, who sees that Blackie is truly in love with Glory and tells him to follow his heart and marry her.

Glory and Blackie elope and settle into Blackie's bungalow. Weeping, Glory's mother tells her she has ruined her life. The newlyweds are happy, in spite of Glory's attempts at housekeeping and her uncomfortable decorating ideas. (She replaces his big comfy wing chair with a tiny boudoir chair).

When Glory learns that she is pregnant, the news spreads through the town until at last it reaches Blackie, who rushes home to find Glory's mother there. Just before he comes in, Glory's mother tells her very seriously that she is only a child herself, that she has no idea what she will have to go through. She is only thinking of Glory's happiness: “You must go to New York with me.” (This scene and the one in Mrs. Franklyn's New York apartment are cited to support the idea that Glory's mother wants her to have an abortion and did in fact persuade her to terminate the pregnancy.[5])

Blackie is ecstatic at the news, but later Glory's mother persuades him to let Glory go to New York so that she can “have the best of everything”, although the local doctor is a highly qualified obstetrician. The visit lasts several months. When Blackie learns from Marje that Glory' mother wants her trunks sent to California, he rushes to the city.

Blackie arrives at the New York apartment, which is full of furniture draped in dust covers for a long absence. Glory and her mother are going out for the evening. Glory's mother tells Blackie that he will find her “quite grown up”. She has changed. She has learned a great deal in the past few months. She is not going back. They have made arrangements for a divorce.

When Glory enters the room, she pushes him away when he puts his arms around her. Her makeup, clothing and manner are indeed those of an older, more sophisticated—and slightly harder—woman. She apologizes for being a coward, and tells Blackie that the marriage was a mistake. He married the wrong kind of a girl. She doesn't blame him, but she has found herself. She wants a life with her friends—and her mother. When Blackie asks about the baby, Glory stands unmoving, with her head bowed, tapping a cigarette on the case in her hands. Her mother says, icily, “Blackie, your Doctor Jameson was wrong.” In the print streamed by Turner Classic Movies in July 2020, there is a break in the film, with a very brief, badly damaged reaction shot from Blackie, then a cut to a shot of him striding out of the apartment without a word.

After the divorce, Blackie returns home to his bungalow to find his old armchair in place and Marje making his favorite dinner. He keeps trying to speak, but she tells him she knows the story: “Once upon a time, a knight rode away on a cloud with a princess. But one day, the princess pulled the cloud out from under him and he fell right smack dab on his... “ “Funny how a good kick in the pants can make a guy's head work,” he muses. She goes on, “What the boy didn't know was that the local Cinderella loved him, and she wanted him to be happy. And boy, is she happy.” They beam at each other. “Gee, that's the best chicken pie I ever ate.”

Cast

References
  1. "Chance at Heaven (1933) - Overview". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  2. "Movie Review - Chance at Heaven - Ginger Rogers, Marian Nixon and Joel McCrea in a Harmless Domestic Tangle". Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  3. "Chance At Heaven Trailer, Reviews and Schedule for Chance At Heaven - TVGuide.com". TV Guide. Retrieved September 9, 2014.
  4. "Chance at Heaven (1933) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  5. "Chance at Heaven". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved July 22, 2020.


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