Down to Earth (1947)

Upset about a new Broadway musical's mockery of Greek mythology, the goddess Terpsichore comes down to earth and lands a part in the show. She works her charms on the show's producer and he... See full summary »

Director:

Alexander Hall

Writers:

Edwin Blum (original screen play), Don Hartman (original screen play)

Stars:

Rita Hayworth, Larry Parks, Marc Platt

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Rita Hayworth	...	Terpsichore / Kitty Pendleton
Larry Parks	...	Danny Miller
Marc Platt	...	Eddie
Roland Culver	...	Mr. Jordan
James Gleason	...	Max Corkle
Edward Everett Horton	...	Messenger 7013
Adele Jergens	...	Georgia Evans
George Macready	...	Joe Manion
William Frawley	...	Police Lieutenant
Jean Willes	...	Betty (as Jean Donahue)
Kathleen O'Malley	...	Dolly
William Haade	...	Spike
James Burke	...	Detective Kelly
Dorothy Hart	...	The New Terpsichore (as Dorothy Brady)

Storyline

Upset about a new Broadway musical's mockery of Greek mythology, the goddess Terpsichore comes down to earth and lands a part in the show. She works her charms on the show's producer and he incorporates her changes into the show. Unfortunately, her changes also produce a major flop.

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Plot Keywords:

greek | greek mythology | broadway | redheaded woman | airplane | 

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Taglines:

They Say She Kissed 2,000 Men!

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Alexander Hall later admitted he preferred Roland Culver's performance as Mr. Jordan in this movie to Claude Rains' performance in Here Comes Mr. Jordan.

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Goofs

The same news item about twins getting a two-week tryout keeps appearing in different newspaper columns over the course of several months.

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Quotes

Messenger 7013: Mr. Jordan, you're not going to assign me to Brooklyn again?
Mr. Jordan: Precisely.
Messenger 7013: Oh, dear. The nights are six months long in Brooklyn.

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Connections

Featured in Arena: Screen Goddesses (2012)

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Soundtracks

The Muses Come To Earth
(show finale)
Danced by Marc Platt, Rita Hayworth (dubbed by Anita Ellis) and company

User Reviews

Mr. Jordan, I want to cry.

Miffed about the way a new Broadway musical is portraying Greek mythology, goddess Terpsichore gets herself to Earth and promptly lands a part in the show. As she charms the show's producer, Danny Miller, and he incorporates her ideas into the show, the show becomes a flop, and there may just be a hint of love in the air to further complicate matters.

Down To Earth is like a cake that has been on display in the window all day. It looks nice on the outside but when you get to the inside there really isn't much taste to it. Worthy of a watch primarily because of Rita Hayworth {Terpsichore} in Technicolor {it's easy to accept such beauty as a goddess} Alexander Hall's musical version of his own Here Comes Mr. Jordan is a rather flat and uneventful affair. Not to decry the sweet nature of the story, and it "is" a charming fable, there's too many things wrong to make it fully function as an uplifting musical.

The songs from Doris Fisher and Allan Roberts are weak and uninspiring, and they are further hindered by the overtly evident voice dubbing of the cast. Not normally an issue to me, but when the lyrics are so tepid the focus is drawn to the irritants. Then there is the lack of spark between Hayworth and her leading man, Larry Parks as the show's producer Danny Miller. Parks was riding the crest of a wave after his Oscar nominated turn in Al Jolson the previous year, but here he struggles and looks nothing like leading man potential. The choreography is fine, including a well constructed sequence in a play park, and the set design is easy on the eye. But there is no getting away from it, without Rita Hayworth in the lead, this film would have sank without trace from the musical aficionado's memory bank. A generous 5/10 from me as it looks fabulous on a High Definition TV, where you can see that producer Dan Hartman at least had the vision to put on a glossy show.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 August 1947 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Deusa Desceu à Terra

Box Office

Gross USA:

$5,450,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1