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"You see he is an eccentric type of chap,
with a lot of peculiar principles that you and I don't understand.
All he wants to do is just make people happy!"
- Actor Jack Carson talking about the Angel played by Ronald Colman.
LUCKY PARTNERS FILM (1940)
Lucky Partners is a film on Michael's "Suggested Reading" page
and could be one of the top, least appreciated
or totally unrecognized Guardian Angel movies of all time.
It's even more fun than the perennial classic
"It's A Wonderful Life" (1944) that came out 4 years later.
PLOT
British actor Ronald Colman, Hollywood’s #2 male earner,
and Ginger Rogers, the top actress overall, shine in Lucky Partners,
directed by Hollywood's #1 filmmaker Lewis Milestone, whose blockbusters include All Quiet on the Western Front, Ocean’s 11 with Frank Sinatra,
Mutiny on the Bounty, and Pork Chop Hill with Gregory Peck.
On a NYC street, Dave (Colman) wishes Jean (Rogers) 'good luck,'
sparking her hot streak that day. Later on, she tracks down Dave, her lucky charm,
to pitch splitting an English horse race sweepstakes bet, if he'll agree.
His lone condition? If they win, she must let him use his winnings
to pay for "their" platonic world-tour honeymoon,
dodging her current fiancé’s (Jack Carson) drab plans.
Lucky Partners is based on Sasha Guitry’s lurid 1935 Bonne Chance! - where a
60-year-old seduces a 20-something in a scandalous, sex-soaked romp.
Milestone keeps it chaste in his film as a jab to the Hays Code,
which left Hollywood with endless censorship
from the 1930's into the early 1970's, via Jack Valenti's MPAA.
The ending? The film's stars wind up in Federal Court with a wild twist!
The judge forces the angel to marry her - a sly censorship dig.
Is Dave her guardian angel? Watch and decide!
ANGELS, TV & ME AT 3 AM
Michael stumbled onto Lucky Partners at 3 a.m., dodging angels
by flipping on the TV - a regular habit of his around 2011.
Often woken gently by Angels, he’d roll over and go back to bed,
unlike his brave cat who would venture out to the living room.
When he made it to his living room, he would often watch "safe" TV,
landing on movies like Lucky Partners one night, Angel-A on another,
and Martin Solveig and Dragonette's music video "Hello."
That music was a gift from his Guardian Angel.
The song's endlessly repeated lyrics? “I just came to say hello.”
Then one night, Michael awoke to a loud heavenly chime like an earthquake.
He ran straight to the living room, looking around wildly.
Had he been more relaxed - Angels said - he would have heard Angels singing,
which others frequently get to hear nowadays!
Angels - funny, gentle, wise - guide when you trust they’re real.
Your heart is the key. Relax, breathe, and BE.
Pop some popcorn, watch Peaceful Warrior, Dan Millman's life story
(Michael’s top pick) - and these films.
Maybe the film's lead actor Nick Nolte is an Angel too?
You never know or do you? Ask Michael for that intro!
Click the TCM Logo to see
a 3:56-minute movie clip
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