Film Snail

6.9

Heaven Can Wait

NR·1943·112m

Comedy

Romance

Fantasy

Drama

Comedy

Romance

Fantasy

Drama

Summary

Spoiled playboy Henry van Cleve dies and arrives at the entrance to Hell, a final destination he is sure he deserves after living a life of profligacy. The devil, however, isn't so sure Henry meets Hell's standards. Convinced he is where he belongs, Henry recounts his life's deeds, both good and bad, including an act of indiscretion during his 25-year marriage to his wife, Martha, with the hope that "His Excellency" will arrive at the proper judgment.

Cast

Don Ameche

Henry Van Cleve

Gene Tierney

Martha Strabel Van Cleve

Charles Coburn

Hugo Van Cleve

Marjorie Main

Mrs. Strabel

Laird Cregar

His Excellency

Spring Byington

Bertha Van Cleve

Allyn Joslyn

Albert Van Cleve

Eugene Pallette

E.F. Strabel

Signe Hasso

Yvette ("Mademoiselle")

Louis Calhern

Randolph Van Cleve

Helene Reynolds

Peggy Nash

Aubrey Mather

James

Tod Andrews

Jack Van Cleve

Florence Bates

Mrs. Edna Craig (uncredited)

Scotty Beckett

Henry Van Cleve - Age 9 (uncredited)

Clara Blandick

Grandmother Van Cleve (uncredited)

Leonard Carey

Flogdell (uncredited)

James Conaty

Man in Park with Top Hat (uncredited)

Jack Deery

Party Guest (uncredited)

Claire Du Brey

Miss Ralston - Jack's Secretary (uncredited)

Jay Eaton

Book Store Clerk (uncredited)

James Flavin

Policeman (uncredited)

Bess Flowers

Party Guest (uncredited)

Gary Gray

Boy in Park (uncredited)

Alfred Hall

Albert's Father (uncredited)

Grayce Hampton

Albert's Mother (uncredited)

Marlene Mains

Mary - Age 9 (uncredited)

Trudy Marshall

Jane Van Cleve - Jack's Wife (uncredited)

Edwin Maxwell

Doctor (uncredited)

Michael McLean

Henry Van Cleve - as Baby (uncredited)

Doris Merrick

Nellie Brown - Registered Nurse (uncredited)

Harold Miller

Party Guest (uncredited)

Dickie Moore

Henry Van Cleve - Age 15 (uncredited)

Bert Moorhouse

Party Guest (uncredited)

Clarence Muse

Jasper (uncredited)

Monty O'Grady

Party Guest (uncredited)

Anne O'Neal

Day Nurse (uncredited)

Gerald Pierce

Elevator Operator (uncredited)

Nino Pipitone Jr.

Jack Van Cleve - as Child (uncredited)

June Preston

Jack Van Cleve daughter (age 13) (uncredited)

Maureen Roden-Ryan

Bediliah - Nurse in Park (uncredited)

Anita Sharp-Bolster

Mrs. Cooper-Cooper (uncredited)

Gerald Oliver Smith

Smith - Van Cleve's Second Butler (uncredited)

Crew

Director

Ernst Lubitsch

Screenplay

Samson Raphaelson

Theatre Play

Leslie Bush-Fekete

Reviews

Geronimo1967

December 22, 2024

I kept seeing Clifton Webb in the role of "Henry Van Cleve" here, but Don Ameche manages it well enough as he arrives in the waiting room "downstairs" for an interview with Laird Cregar. He thinks he has lived his successful life in such a fashion as to merit refusal up where Mozart and Beethoven still play, but his interviewer decides to let him tell his own story and that's where we come in. "Henry" comes from a wealthy New York family where he is expected to conform to society rules by his father "Randolph" (Louis Calhern) and mother "Bertha" (Spring Byington). Well suffice to say he doesn't ever really want to play that game, but nobody quite expects him to pinch his cousin's bride-to-be "Martha" (Gene Tierney) just as they get engaged. What now ensues sees the couple's trials and tribulations as they bring up their own son "Jack" with the assistance of their grandpa "Hugo" (Charles Coburn) before sadness tinges his life. At the start we all make assumptions about "Henry", but gradually we realise that he's actually quite a decent cove whose instinctive behaviour is refreshing amongst the formality and pseudo-snobbishness of a society that's long since forgotten it's own shoot from the hip roots. Coburn is on good form, Eugene Palette - and his instantly recognisable tones - turns in a few fun cameos as her father and though maybe a bit long, it tells us a story of true love in a gently amiable, quite personable fashion that allows the chemistry between Ameche and Tierney to gently simmer.