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6/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Chance at Heaven remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a soft spot for pre-code dramas where everyone is impossibly polite while making the absolute worst decisions, Chance at Heaven might just kill an hour for you. It is definitely not for the modern viewer who needs a fast pace or a coherent moral center. If you like old-school soap operas with a bit of grit, you might actually dig it.
Joel McCrea plays the mechanic with this sort of blank, handsome confusion that I honestly found kind of endearing. He’s stuck between a stable, lovely girl and this absolute whirlwind of a rich debutante who just wants a new toy to play with for the weekend. The way he just lets himself be led around by the nose is frustrating, but hey, we have all been there, right? 🙄
There is a scene near the garage that goes on for way too long. The dialogue gets so thin you can practically see through the screen. You can tell the actors are just waiting for the cue to walk off-set. It’s not great, but it’s real.
Ginger Rogers is in this, and she’s doing the heavy lifting while everyone else just kind of stands around looking worried. She brings a spark that the rest of the movie is clearly missing. Without her, this would be a total slog.
The pacing is all over the place. One minute they are having a serious conversation about their future, and the next, they are speeding off to a party that looks like it was filmed in a broom closet. It reminds me of the chaotic energy in The Lariat Kid, where you just sort of hope the plot finds its way back home eventually.
I found myself staring at the background extras more than the leads. There’s one guy in a hat who walks past the same window three times in the span of two minutes. I don’t know why I noticed that, but once you see it, you can’t look away.
The whole thing feels like it wants to be a serious look at how money ruins people, but it keeps tripping over its own feet. It doesn't quite get there, but it tries, and that's usually enough for me on a rainy Tuesday.
It’s not a masterpiece. It’s barely a movie, really. But it has this weird, dusty charm that keeps you watching even when you know you should probably just go do the dishes instead.
