You can see the problem: McKellen, full of youthful confidence, stuck it out for a bit, then left to join a smaller company where he had a hope in hell of landing a leading role sometime before retirement.
Rather, it implies a preference for policies that have a chance in hell of becoming a practical reality.
Is any party capable of just telling the truth regarding them not having a hope in hell of winning a majority?
It therefore follows that Britain has not got a hope in hell of negotiating a deal that keeps the country in the single market after Brexit.
Two months ago, when final-year students graduated into the real world, this newspaper told them they hadn't a hope in hell of getting a job.
"It's increasingly obvious that hospitals have no option but to rack up such massive debts if they want to have a hope in hell of providing a half-decent service to their patients.
He said that the delays in building a new stadium meant there was now "not a cat's chance in hell" of having a ground ready to host some of the Olympic football qualifying rounds in 2012.
But in the exquisite closed hothouse that is John Doyle's version of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's "Passion" there's not a chance in hell of anyone keeping a distance.
A nice bidding war between Nvidia and Intel would bring in a hell of a payday.
Let's try to make a great five here and see if we can put in a hell of a finish to have a chance.
