Even in its short, 53-minutes, TV cutdown (NOT 67 minutes as stated on the otherwise very acceptable VintageFilmBuff DVD) version, this is an interesting movie. True, the title is way, way misleading. The movie has absolutely nothing to do with either hell or heaven. It's actually a horse-racing picture in earnest, or a portmanteau movie in thin disguise, distinguished both by its large cast and its remarkably inventive direction by Sidney Salkow of all people, here making his movie debut. Salkow was one of the first of Hollywood's directors to dessert the film industry for TV. Until I saw this movie with Salkow's truly astonishing crowd scenes, I never thought much of his work. I would describe him as a competent but uninspired journeyman director. This movie, however, gives the lie to that description. Even the dialogue episodes, directed by our old, almost always competent (but usually with next-to-no pizazz) friend, Erle C. Kenton, are not bad either.As for the players, even Jack Oakie is reasonably amusing in this one. Alas, David Manners comes across as a bore as usual, but Carole Lombard is lively enough and she has some good scenes with Sidney Blackmer of all people. And although he is billed way way way way way way way down near the bottom of the cast list, Thomas Jackson also has some great scenes; while Clarence Muse, I'm very happy to say, also benefits from a disproportionate amount of footage in the cutdown even though he is billed next to last! But, as I said above, what the script has in common with either "hell" or "heaven" is a total mystery. If ever a movie toted an inappropriate title, From Hell To Heaven leaves other contenders at the starting post!
Review of From Hell to Heaven
