Heaven Can Wait

Plot synopsis:
Joe Pendleton, a backup quarterback for the American football team Los Angeles Rams, is looking forward to leading his team to the Super Bowl. While riding his bicycle through the older west side of tunnel one on Kanan-Dume road in Malibu, he collides with a truck. An over-anxious guardian angel, known only as The Escort, on his first assignment plucks Joe out of his body early, in the mistaken belief that his death is imminent, and Pendleton arrives in the afterlife.
Once there, he refuses to believe that his time was up and, upon investigation, the mysterious Mr. Jordan discovers that he is right: he was not destined to die until much later (10:17 am on March 20, 2025, to be exact). Unfortunately, his body has already been cremated, so a new body must be found. After rejecting several possibilities of men who are about to die, Joe is finally persuaded to accept the body of a millionaire industrialist. Leo Farnsworth has just been drugged and drowned in his bathtub by his cheating gold digger wife Julia Farnsworth and her lover, Farnsworth's personal secretary, Tony Abbott.
Julia and Tony are naturally confused when Leo reappears, alive and well. Leo buys the Los Angeles Rams to lead them to the Super Bowl as their quarterback. To succeed, he must first convince, and then secure the aid of, long-time friend and trainer Max Corkle to get his new body in shape. At the same time, he falls in love with an environmental activist, Betty Logan, who disapproves of the original Farnsworth's policies and actions.
With the Rams about to play in the Super Bowl, the characters all face a crisis. Mr. Jordan informs Farnsworth that he must give up this body as well. Farnsworth resists, but hints to Betty that she might someday meet someone else and should think of him. Julia and Abbott continue their murderous plans, and Abbott shoots Farnsworth dead. The Rams are forced to start another quarterback, Tom Jarrett, in the climactic game. A detective, Lt. Krim, interrogates the suspects while they watch the game on TV. With the help of Corkle, he gets Julia and Abbott to incriminate one another.
After a brutal hit on the field, Jarrett is himself killed. With Mr. Jordan's help, Joe then occupies his final body. He is shown snapping to life in Jarrett's body, then leading the Rams to victory. During the team's post-game celebration, Mr. Jordan removes Joe's memory of his past life and departs. Joe becomes Tom Jarrett and the cosmic balance is restored. The one left crestfallen is Corkle, who understands what really happened. Jarrett bumps into Betty while leaving the stadium. They strike up a conversation, and Betty suddenly experiences a realization who he really is.

Tags: prank, flashback

Review:
"Heaven Can Wait" lies among Ernst Lubitsch's best movies, and that's largely enough to ensure that it is a masterpiece.It is the exquisite story of the women-devoted life of a never-repenting Casanova, from childhood through old age, death, and even after-death.
There is also a rather deep, though cheerful, representation of common, typical sides (faults, to say better) of a male character: shallow sentiments, selfish approach to a woman's true love, childish refuse to accept years passing.The stars Don Ameche, Gene Tierney, Charles Coburn make a superb work.
Does this girl actually exist?" Honestly, I felt dizzy for the remainder of the movie.Only after repeated views of "Heaven Can Wait" I was able to distract my eyes from Gene, and fully appreciate the great merits of this magnificent, highly-recommended Lubitsch's masterpiece..
Credit must go to the great Lubitsch who shows his light touch on this delightful comedy.Since the film is based on the play "Birthday", by Leslie Bush-Fedeke, the main idea behind the action is to present us Henry Van Cleve as he ages.
Ultimately, Henry himself, a mere mortal, dies after a long life that has been spent alone, living dedicated to his own son."Heaven can Wait" is a lovely film.
Ms. Tierney's beauty adorns this film and Mr. Ameche is seen at his suavest self.The supporting cast was a director's dream come true: Charles Coburn, Marjorie Main, Eugene Palette, Spring Byington, Louis Calhern, Laird Cregar, among others, give the film the elegance that Mr. Lubitsch used so well to enhance the movie.A classic that will live forever!.
It is the engaging story of wealthy would-be playboy Henry Van Cleeve, magnificently played by Don Ameche, whose heart is captured by Gene Tierney.
Since he always had a bit of the rogue in him, and acted mischievously at times, upon death Henry goes directly to see Satan (played winningly by Laird Cregar) to accept his fate of eternal damnation.
Ernst Lubitsch, the great European director who immigrated to America and changed movies for the better shows his true light touch in this very original yet very charming story about one man's life and the changes and problems he faces.
Don Ameche is perfect as the lead character, Henry Van Cleeves, a man spoiled rotten as a child but grows up and learns many things, mostly from his beautiful wife Martha, played by Gene Tiereny.
However, the best role goes to Charles Coburn who plays the rough, frank, outspoken yet lovable grandfather who sympathizes with Henry and strives to make his life better.The kind of material here could have been used to make an epic story on the level of films like Gone With the Wind or Giant.
Possibly my first true screwball comedy, definitely my first Ernst Lubitsch film, Heaven Can Wait lived up to the reputation of being a well made, laughter filled time.
Henry Van Cleve has passed away and knowing that he would probably have too much trouble getting into heaven, he decides to go to the place many have told him to go during lifehell.I really enjoyed the rapport between Don Ameche (Van Cleve) and Laird Cregar (His Excellency/Satan).
A great script, talented ensemble cast (look for comic genius from Charles Coburn and his baseball bat in heaven) as discussed, and superb make-up work (Don Ameche as eighty actually looks like he did at eighty, see Cocoon and a more cynical take on his character here in Trading Places) are molded deftly together to create a nostalgic look on life and those that one touches during his time on earth..
It is a light hearted tale of a decessed man that goes straight to hell and has to convince the devil, or his excellancy as he is called in the movie, why he deserves to be there, and not in heaven.
Ninotchka (1939), The Shop Around the Corner (1940), That Uncertain Feeling (1941), To Be or Not To Be (1942), and this one, Heaven Can Wait (1943), make up the core of a very successful body of work for one of Hollywood's finest directors.If there is one phrase to characterize the "Lubitsch touch," then I would say "light romantic comedies," the kind made popular by Hollywood in the late years of the Depression.
His films didn't have the subtle commentary on American life that Capra's did, but were more along the lines of old fashioned entertainment.Heaven Can Wait is based on a play written by a Hungarian (all of Lubitsch's films during this period were written by European emigrés like himself, and as such have a more cosmopolitan flair than most American films).
It follows the life of a Victorian playboy, Henry Van Cleve, of Fifth Avenue, New York, and is told in retrospective by the hero as he explains his life to His Excellency, the Devil.Don Ameche is the main character and delivers a fine performance as the boyish rogue who falls in love with a beautiful girl from Kansas City, played by Gene Tierney.
It's a sentimental journey told with much levity.The film has a number of terrific character actors in it, the most notable performance coming from Charles Coburn, who plays the grandfather everyone wishes they had - quick witted, caring, and always supportive of his grandson.
Playboy Henry van Cleve (Don Ameche) is waiting in Hell to see whether he can get in or not as he doesn't think Heaven will accept him.
Satan (or "His Excellency" played by Laird Cregar) isn't convinced that Van Cleeve belongs in Hell, so Henry tells him the story of his life.
Through flashbacks, the story of his life is told from way back when he was born.Heaven Can Wait is a truly magnificent film - witty at times, but also quite sad.
Ernst Lubitsch does a fantastic job as director - I would say one of his best films.Heaven Can Wait is a beautiful film, glorious to see and entertaining to watch.
Heaven Can Wait is a very bad movie that can be summarized as follows:Strengths: Excellent production values; lavish, over-the-top decor and costumes; glorious technicolor photography; scene of Eugene Palette and Marjorie Main at tableWeaknesses: Characterless, watery, stone-age, middlebrow humor; lame, stilted dialogue; very stereotyped and completely shallow family dynamics driving all of the action; some *Really* bad acting (especially the teenaged versions of the male characters and the voice of the stupendously irritating "mademoiselle" character)The first half hour and the last 15 minutes were especially painful and I was very tempted to walk out but, somehow, suffered through the whole thing.
The Devil (Laird Cregar), elegantly attired in a double-breasted suit, tells recently deceased Henry Van Cleve (Don Ameche) politely to get the hell out of his place of business.
In Ernst Lubitsch's romantic comedy, Heaven Can Wait (1943), the flashback tale of Henry's life and loves is told with charm and flourish.
And so follows a light-hearted, quite frivolous, and somewhat entertaining story of why he should think that.I'd seen Don Ameche in other movies, but this was the youngest Don I've seen, playing the part of the dead man, Henry Van Cleve.
Gene Tierney appears as his true love, Martha  whom Henry does love  and suffers his transgressions, leaves him once, but of course he wins her back, thereby adhering to the (self-administered) film code of that time.Charles Coburn, appearing as Henry's grandfather, Hugo, practically steals every scene he is in and, for my money, is the most effective actor in the film; while Louis Calhern as Henry's father, Randolph, is suitably urbane, buffoonish and a bore, and as only Calhern can do it.
Ernst Lubitsch directs Heaven Can Wait with his usual taste and flair, but the film is surprisingly dull and sentimental compared to his best work.
The story of recently deceased Henry Van Cleve recounting his lecherous escapades to "His Excellency" down below in order to gain entrance to Hell seems ripe for a Lubitsch film, and the opening sequence in the amazing art deco lobby of the Inferno shows great promise, but the story has a maudlin quality that it never really escapes.We're never shown any of Henry's love affairs, which, in hindsight, the film could have probably used.
This story of a man's life as told to "His Excellence" (The Lord of the Underworld) by the man himself (Don Ameche) is a delightful adaptation of the play "Birthday" by Leslie Bush-Fekete.Produced and Directed by the master, Ernst Lubitsch, it is not really a comedy but most definitely a romance.Gene Tierney as the wife of Henry Van Cleve is a beautiful wonder to behold.
Heaven Can Wait (1943)Brilliantly rich in color, speeding through decades of a man's life, and tumbling with jokes and situations time and again, this movie has style and sophistication written all over it.
It rises up several notches and truly takes off when the two main leads arrive: Don Ameche who is rather good as the center of the tale and Gene Tierney who is totally wonderful as Martha, the woman of increasing interest.
Henry's grandfather is the always impressively quirky and complex Charles Coburn, who luckily lives through many scenes.The color (true Technicolor) is a character of its own here--the opening scenes of purgatory are like a color version of Mr. Thatcher's famous library in "Citizen Kane," the bedroom of the newly married Martha is a pink and baby blue wonder.
Don Ameche is perfectly cast, Gene Tierney looks gorgeous, Laird Cregar is very effective in his satanic role and Charles Coburn is hilarious as the wise-cracking grandfather.
But I found "Heaven Can Wait" (note: the 1978 Warren Beatty film is not a remake of this movie but rather of the 1941 film "Here Comes Mr. Jordan") to be a bit lacking.Don Ameche plays a man who finds himself in an interview with the devil to find out whether or not he belongs upstairs or down.
There's a melancholy wistfulness to his story as he grows older and begins to realize he should have appreciated the things he had while he had them, but it doesn't have that certain something special that makes other Lubitsch comedies so funny and so sad at the same time.Charles Coburn is entertaining as a wise-cracking grandpa.Grade: B.
However, the film has stood the test of Time, and though not perfect is still beautiful to watch.Dead man Van Cleve played by Don Ameche is ushered into the presence of the august Satan played by Laird Cregar, to recount the terrible details of his awful life and accept his punishment.
It also occasionally displays a regrettably neutral chauvinist attitude to women, but wasn't that also realistic of the time?To make films as seemingly effortlessly charming and as lovely to look at as Heaven Can Wait is now a dead art; what cinema has become over the years might have them all turning over in their graves..
Henry (Don Ameche) turns up at the entrance to Hell and recounts his life story to His Excellency (Laird Cregar).
The story is a long series of flashbacks in Hell as Don Ameche tells his life story to the most erudite and pleasant Satan I have ever seen on film--it makes you kind of look forward to eternal damnation.The story is handled beautifully and extremely artistically--thanks to the great director, Ernst Lubitsch.
Cregar plays a devil like character who sits in judgment of the philandering Don Ameche (1908-1933).One could miss this film and not consider it a major loss..
Heaven Can Wait is a slight and charming film starring Don Ameche and it has no bearing with the film of the same title starring Warren Beatty made some decades later.The story takes place at the turn of the century although it then goes forward in time as the character of Henry Van Cleve ages.
His escapades with his French nanny, his winning relationship with his grandfather, taking his cousin's fiancé for himself then marrying her and later cheating on her.The film is shot in glorious technicolour and we feel for Ameche as the years advance and the old lothario ages.
A young Don Ameche and the beautiful Gene Tierney are both fabulous in the lead roles, in fact, they're one of the finest screen couples in film history.
This movie stars out with Don Ameche telling his life story to the devil, played by Laird Cregar, so he can be accepted into Hell.
I was in my teens when I first saw this film film and it as stayed with me ever since,Don Ameche is brilliant as the leading man and Gene Tieney,as the leading lady is so magical,from start to finish it grips you,make you smile from the moment Ameche steps out of this lift,to tell his life to the Lord Satan to the moment he finish's his story,I would urge any one to see it if they haven't before,and I challenge,you not to be drawn in,the beautiful way this film was made,I'm surprised that no modern director as tried to remake it ,but if they did it would be big task,to even come level,to this masterpiece.Don Ameche was one of the best Actors of our time..
Strangely, the title of this film was used in 1978 to remake another movie, "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" which probably sounded old-fashioned to the filmmakers."Heaven Can Wait" is a 20th Century Fox production directed by the great Ernst Lubitsch and starring Don Ameche, Gene Tierney, Charles Coburn, Laird Cregar, Spring Byington, Marjorie Main, Eugene Palette, and Louis Calhern.
Ameche plays Henry van Cleve, who at the start of the film is an old man who has just died.
The story is then told in flashback, going back to Henry's childhood up until the time he died.A playboy, Henry at the age of 25 fell madly in love with his cousin Albert's fiancée, Martha (Gene Tierney) and marries her.
Don Ameche is a darling Henry, a vain man who worries about how old he looks as he ages and wonders if he's getting a paunch but who is nevertheless lovable because of his adoration for Martha and the love he has for his family.
As Henry's outspoken grandfather, Charles Coburn gives one of his best performances.The film is well cast, with Spring Byington and Louis Calhern as Henry's confused parents, Marjorie Main and Eugene Palette as Martha's disapproving parents, Signe Hasso as a French maid who introduces Henry to some of the wilder parts of life when he's a teenager, and finally Laird Cregar as His Excellency.
It's is the story of Henry Van Cleve (Don Ameche) who wants to persuade Satan (Laird Cregar, who is superlatively smooth in the role) to let him go to Hell.
This lovely film is an example of the movie style called "the Lubitsch touch".
In the old days, they produced a lot of movies that made light of a man's infidelity, such as "The Women" (1939), "The Philadelphia Story" (1940), and, of course, "Heaven Can Wait." Perhaps it was because a divorce was harder to get in those days, or maybe it was that women had a much harder time supporting themselves when they did get a divorce.
As Van Cleve the normally wooden Don Ameche actually gives a performance under the tuition of Lubitsch, one that is matched by leading lady Gene Tierney but this duo is only the tip of an iceberg comprising the cream of Hollywood supporting actors from Charles Coburn through Spring Byington, Clarence Muse, Eugene Palette, Marjorie Main and Allyn Joslyn.
The 1943 "Heaven Can Wait" was based on a stage play entitled "Birthday").The 1943 film opens with an elderly man named Henry van Cleve arriving in Hell, where he is greeted in person by Satan himself, referred to here as "His Excellency".
There are also good supporting performances by Laird Cregar as Satan, played here as an urbane, well-dressed gentleman, and from Charles Coburn as Henry's wicked old grandfather from whom he inherits his roguish tendencies.
This is a wonderful film from the great master Ernest Lubitsch, starring Don Ameche in an engaging performance and Gene Tierney in a role which made great use of her beauty and unique appeal.'Heaven Can Wait' begins with the death of it's main protagonist, played by Ameche.
Don Ameche (Henry Van Cleve) and Gene Tierney (Martha Van Cleve) really do put out excellent performances; but so do Charles Corburn (As Henry's Grandfather!) he is brilliant.I also loved Martha' Parents.
Basically recently deceased and aged playboy Henry Van Cleve (Cocoon's Don Ameche) has entered the reception area of Hell, and is meeting His Excellency - The Devil (Laird Cregar) to see if he qualifies entering into eternal damnation or into Heaven.
Ameche gives a likable performance as the charming and not sure about himself man, and Tierney is also really good as his loving and beautiful wife, the going to Heaven or Hell concept is interesting, the romantic love story element is nicely done, and with the help of bright colour and good scripting the film is very charmingly, warm and honest, a most watchable classic fantasy comedy.
Suave, sophisticated, and decidedly an actor whose prominence is now somewhat overlooked.The female lead is Gene Tierney, perhaps at her most beautiful, and well cast as Ameche's wife.Charles Coburn is along as the grandfather, and he's a hoot...as usual in those roles where he could be humorous.
Charles Coburn steals the show as the grandfather in the know, and Tierney's parents are so capably played by Eugene Palette and a somewhat more subdued Marjorie Main.The film basically tells us what life can be all about, and with a roving eye, a man is to be forgiven.As the upstairs French maid, Signe Hasso showed she had a dimension for comedy.
Based on a play by Leslie Bush-Fekete, Ernst Lubitsch's "Heaven Can Wait" tells the tale of Henry Van Cleve (Don Ameche), a predatory playboy who has a series of adulterous affairs."Heaven" opens in hell, where a mustachioed Satan is confronted by a now deceased Henry.