Heaven Can Wait (1943)

From Oscar nominated director Ernst Lubitsch (To Be or Not to Be), I spotted this film because it starred the actor who voiced Chance in Homeward Bound, it sounded good, and it was rated well by the critics, so I was up for it. 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. So in flashback we see his story that he tells to prove his worthiness, going back to Manhattan in the 19th Century, where Henry grew up as a spoilt and naive child, living with rich parents Randolph (Louis Calhern) and Bertha Van Cleve (Spring Byington), as well as his Grandmother (Clara Blandick) and grandfather Hugo (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' Charles Coburn). Henry becomes a man with an appetite for beautiful showgirls, and he one day overhears the voice of and follows a woman who he finds very beautiful and wants to get to know better, Martha (Gene Tierney). He does find out she is engaged, but he persists in flirting with her, and later when his irritating cousin Albert (Allyn Joslyn) introduces his new fiancée, he is surprised to find out it is her again, but she is only marrying him because she was scared of remaining a spinster in Kansas City. Henry convinces Martha that she does not truly love Albert and that she should marry him instead, everybody apart from supportive granddad Hugo is shocked by the revelation, but eventually they are accepted. They have a son together and remain happy for ten years, but it is on this anniversary that Martha finds out that her husband has been messing about with another woman, so she goes back to her parents, but he and Hugo follow her home and he begs her forgiveness and suggests remarrying. So after this they remain happy together for the rest of their lives, until Martha tragically passes away shortly after their twentieth wedding anniversary party, while Henry remains a few more years and dies in the care of a nurse. After hearing the whole story by Henry there does not seem to be any real evidence that he was ever really bad, His Excellency denies him entry and suggests he should go to the "other place", upstairs, where Martha will be waiting for him. Also starring Marjorie Main as Mrs. Strable and Signe Hasso as Mademoiselle. 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. It was nominated the Oscars for Best Cinematography and Best Picture. Very good!

Having bought this because it had been listed as a comic masterpiece somewhere (I forget where unfortunately), I expected some good laughs but received none. It just never went anywhere in particular, the man Cleve never evolved, except into something more shallow. The movie was just rather boring, although it started out interesting enough. The man playing the "Excellency" in Hell's foyer was a nice exception along with Grandpapa Cleve, from the rest of the bland acting present here. Don Ameches limited repertoire is obvious to me now after having seen this film. As for Tierney... well, pleasant enough, but nothing more. I must agree with those giving the movie 1 or 2 stars, the only reason I stretch to 3 is that it wasn't THAT bad. It just wasn't very good. And not a comedy at all.

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. Figuring he's going straight to hell, he enters and meets "His Excellency" (Laird Cregar) who looks a bit like Satan. His Excellency wants to hear Henry's story and why he thinks he belongs in a hot atmosphere. 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. Henry adores her but he still has an eye for the ladies. At one point, Martha leaves him and returns to her family in Kansas. Henry's grandfather (Coburn) loves Henry, but he realizes that Martha is the best thing that ever happened to him. He insists that Henry go after her and make things right.Filmed in vivid color, this has the Lubitsch stamp of Lubitsch's finesse and charm all over it. It's not uproariously funny, rather, it's a pleasant comedy with an underlying warmth and sweetness.The performances are wonderful. 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. He's delightfully out of it, which somehow makes him all the more appealing. Gene Tierney looks like a goddess and gives a lovely performance as the patient Martha. 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. Here he seems so much like Raymond Burr. Had he lived past the age of 31, he would have had a magnificent career. Unfortunately, his heart couldn't withstand the crash diet he went on, and he died the year after this film's release.Lubitsch films are like champagne - they're bubbly and sublime. This is one of his best.

Outstanding Ernst Lubitsch comedy showcasing a brilliant Don Ameche as a romantic rogue coming up to see his fate after he passes on. He reveals to the devil what his like was life on earth and what a life this rogue had.He had all the earmarks of a man destined to rove the earth for women until he found the love of his life, the lovely Jeanne Tierney. How they fall in love and how she disappoints her intended, Allyn Joslyn, cousin to Ameche is hilarious at best.What a knockout supporting cast. Spring Byington as his mother with that high-pitched voice, but showing the motherly eternal love. Louis Calhern as his doting father who has a background of his own. 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. What a change from Elsa 4 years later in "The House on 92nd Street!"