"I've never seen anything as beautiful as that, not even in heaven."
I first heard this line back in 1989, when Julian Lennon released his single "Now You're in Heaven." I've listened to that song over and over in the years since; it was a favourite from the moment I first heard it. I didn't know the source of the sampled line of dialogue, but I felt it worked in the context of the song.
This morning, while watching the Best Picture-nominated fantasy film Here Comes Mr. Jordan, I heard the sampled line in its original context: It was first uttered by actor Robert Montgomery who, as recently-deceased boxer Joe Pendleton, says the line when he first sees Evelyn Keyes as Bette Logan. A strange romance blooms, overseen by the magnificent Claude Rains as the titular Mr. Jordan.
I love little connections like this--bits of popular culture intersecting backwards and forwards through time.
The name of Lennon's 1989 album, from which the single originated, was, of course, Mr. Jordan.
