Heaven Can Wait

Believe it or not, this movie owes a lot to the incredibly long-winded and horrid epic German poem, FAUST. While it is not a word-for-word recreation of this horror, it is very similar--particularly at the very end when the lead character is miraculously transported from Hell to Heaven due to his love for a woman. Do yourself a favor and DON'T read the poem--its tedious and only something pseudo-intellectuals read so they can seem smarter they are. I only read it because I was held hostage by a group of deranged English Lit majors and forced at gunpoint! Anyway, back to the review. 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. Watch it and enjoy--it's a heck of a film.

To some of us, director Ernst Lubitsch, adored for his underlying cheekiness and ironic comic touches, was rather wet when it came to picking material. It isn't that Lubitsch is overrated--on the contrary, he probably was ahead of his time in terms of a visual narrative--yet the projects he became attached to (or, perhaps, was assigned to) are not quite the landmarks of comedy his admirers like to label them. With "Heaven Can Wait", an adaptation of Lazlo Bus-Fekete's play "Birthday", Lubitsch is saddled with sleepy Don Ameche in the lead--and the combination of an anemic plot, a colorless star, and a musty flashback-framework stymies the director. A wicked man at the turn of the century "falls asleep without realizing it," presenting the facts of his life in front of Hell's entrance. Ameche...wicked? That was problem number one. The promising opening sequence (set in the Hades lobby) quickly gives way to dreary whimsy, and the supporting cast is of little help. ** from ****

Each ocasion when I saw it, Isaw for the first time. New details, same mix of joy and laugh and seduction. Gene Tierney and Charles Coburn are , always, the roots of seduction.Don Ameche gives a splendid performance. Eugene Palette and Marjorie Main are the perfect couple from the great Kansas. And, sure, the art, great and admirable art of Ernst Lubitsch. A great romantic comedy. And , sure, more. A film for see. And feel. So, lovely.

I have loved Gene Tierney since Laura and The Ghost and Mrs Muir, and Ernst Lubitsch is a brilliant director, I am especially fond of The Shop Around the Corner and The Merry Widow. Heaven Can Wait is a wonderful film, and another one of Lubitsch's best. The production values are impeccable, with stunning costumes and beautiful photography and sets and the Technicolour is as radiant now as it was then. Alfred Newman's score is wonderful, and the soundtrack choices are perfectly chosen and incorporated. The script is filled with warmth, charm, wit and honesty, while the story is never dull and Lubitsch's direction superb. 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. So all in all, a classic. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Utterly perfect Fox picture with handsome Don Ameche and stunningly beautiful Gene Tierney. It also stars the wonderfully hilarious Charles Coburn as Ameche's grandfather. A well written, well acted and well directed film that is unjustly underrated and should be rediscovered. The entire film is shot in gorgeous full Technicolor and handled by director Ernst Lubitsch capable hands. It details the story of a man, played by Ameche, who thinks that he deserves to go to hell after he dies. He then proceeds to recount his life story to the devil (Laird Creger). A true delight that is not to be missed.

This movie shows how wonderful films were back in the 1940's. Heaven Can Wait is a delightful and very funny romantic comedy about a man who retells his life to see if he belongs in heaven or hell. Don Ameche, as Henry, shows again that he may have been the most underrated actor of his time. Charles Coburn, as Grandfather, is hilarious. Gene Tierney as always is beautiful as always, in my opinion the most beautiful woman in film. Romantic comedies today are not made like this . You actually get a feeling that this relationship is real and can actually happen. Todays romantic comedies seem so contrived. If u want to spend two hours and laugh, cry and just have a great time, watch Heaven Can Wait.

Do NOT confuse this comedic gem with Warren Beatty's 1977 film of the same name -- that was actually a remake of a different 40's classic, "Here Comes Mr. Jordan." But, this is much better, and even more imaginative. Ameche is brilliant, versatile, and amazingly handsome as the protagonist. Laird Creagar is excellent as Lord Satan, and Allyn Joslyn and Eugene Palette head a great supporting cast. One of the wittiest comedies ever made. Don't miss it.