Heading for Heaven (1947)
Article 5858 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 10-6-2020
Directed by Lewis D. Collins
Featuring Stuart Erwin, Glenda Farrell, Russ Vincent
Country: USA
What it is: Comedy

The patriarch of a family is convinced that a tract of land he owns will prove valuable some day, so he refuses to sell it. However, when he mistakenly believes he is going to die in four months, he decides that he needs to find some way to provide for his family…

The above plot description doesn’t touch upon the fantastic content; there’s a subplot involving a swami, and there are scenes in seances where people believe they are speaking with the dead. Yes, the mysticism is being faked, but I’ve seen so many fake haunts for this series that I didn’t see how I could ignore this one. It’s a middling comedy that takes a while to get going; it’s almost half over before the protagonist hears the wrong patient’s prognosis and believes he’s going to die, which drives the rest of the plot. I’ve seen a few episodes of ” The Stu Erwin Show”, and between them and this movie, I find Stu to be a pretty minor talent. Much more fun is the presence of Irene Ryan as a maid who keeps trying to quit. Milburn Stone is also present as an executive seeking to buy the land.