Heaven Can Wait (1943 film)
Heaven Can Wait | |
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Directed by | Ernst Lubitsch |
Written by | Leslie Bush-Fekete |
Based on | Birthday/Születésnap 1934 play by Leslie Bush-Fekete |
Produced by | Ernst Lubitsch |
Starring | Gene Tierney Don Ameche Charles Coburn |
Narrated by | Don Ameche |
Cinematography | Edward Cronjager |
Edited by | Dorothy Spencer |
Music by | Alfred Newman |
Production company | 20th Century Fox |
Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date |
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Running time | 112 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $1,115,400[1][2] |
Box office | $2.5 million (rentals)[3] or $2.8 million (US rentals)[4] $3,963,600[2] |
Heaven Can Wait is a 1943 Technicolor American comedy film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay was by Samson Raphaelson based on the play Birthday by .[5][circular reference] The music score was by Alfred Newman and the cinematography by Edward Cronjager.
The film tells the story of a man who has to prove he belongs in Hell by telling his life story. It stars Gene Tierney, Don Ameche, and Charles Coburn. The supporting cast includes Marjorie Main, Laird Cregar, Spring Byington, Allyn Joslyn, Eugene Pallette, Signe Hasso, Louis Calhern, Tod Andrews, and Clara Blandick.
Plot[]
An aged Henry Van Cleve enters the opulent reception area of "where innumerable people had told him so often to go", to be personally greeted by "His Excellency". Henry petitions to be admitted (fully aware of the kind of life he has led), but some doubt exists as to his qualifications. To prove his worthiness (or rather unworthiness), he begins to tell the story of his dissolute life.
Born in Manhattan on October 25, 1872, Henry is the spoiled only child of stuffy, naive, wealthy parents Randolph and Bertha. His paternal grandmother is also doting and naive, although his down-to-earth grandfather Hugo Van Cleve, a self-made millionaire, understands Henry quite well. Henry grows up to be an idle young man with a taste for attractive showgirls. One day, Henry overhears a beautiful woman lying to her mother on a public telephone. Intrigued, he follows her into a Brentano's bookstore and pretends to be an employee to get to know her better. Despite learning that she is engaged to marry, he begins making advances, finally confessing he does not work there, whereupon she hastily departs.
Later, his obnoxious cousin Albert introduces the family to his fiancée, Martha, and her feuding parents, the Strables. Henry is shocked to find that his mystery woman and Martha are one and the same. It turns out that Albert was the first suitor of whom both her parents approved. Fearful of spending the rest of her life as a spinster in Kansas City, Martha agreed to marry him. Henry convinces her to elope with him instead. Though everyone except Grandpa Van Cleve is scandalized, eventually they are received back into the family.
Henry and Martha enjoy a happy marriage and become the proud parents of a boy. On the eve of their tenth anniversary, however, Martha finds out about Henry's continuing dalliances with other women and goes back to her parents. Henry and Grandpa follow her there. Sneaking into the Strable house, Henry begs her forgiveness and talks her into "eloping" a second time, much to Grandpa's delight.
Fifteen years later, Henry meets chorus girl Peggy Nash in her dressing room shortly before her performance. What seems to be an attempt at courtship is soon revealed as an attempt by Henry to turn her away from his son, Jack, who has been dating her. When Peggy reveals her knowledge of his true identity, Henry buys her off, instead, for $25,000 ($374,000 today). Jack later reveals he was glad to have got rid of her so easily.
Martha passes away shortly after their 25th anniversary. Henry resumes an active social life much to the amusement of his son. On October 26, 1942, the day after his 70th birthday, Henry dies under the care of a beautiful nurse, her coming having been portended in a dream. After hearing Henry's story, His Excellency denies him entry and suggests he try the "other place", where Martha and his grandfather are waiting for him, hinting that there may be "a small room vacant in the annex".
Cast[]
- Gene Tierney as Martha
- Don Ameche as Henry Van Cleve
- Charles Coburn as Hugo Van Cleve
- Marjorie Main as Mrs. Strable
- Laird Cregar as His Excellency
- Spring Byington as Bertha Van Cleve
- Allyn Joslyn as Albert Van Cleve
- Eugene Pallette as E.F. Strable
- Signe Hasso as Mademoiselle
- Louis Calhern as Randolph Van Cleve
- Helene Reynolds as Peggy Nash
- Aubrey Mather as James
- Tod Andrews as Jack Van Cleve (as Michael Ames)
- Scotty Beckett as Henry Van Cleve, age 9
- Dickie Moore as Henry Van Cleve, age 15
- Clara Blandick as Grandmother Van Cleve
- Clarence Muse as Jasper, the Strable's butler
- Anita Sharp-Bolster as Mrs. Cooper-Cooper
- Doris Merrick as Nellie Brown - Registered Night Nurse
- Edwin Maxwell as Doctor (uncredited)
Reception[]
The film made a profit of $1,286,200.[2]
Awards[]
It was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Cinematography – Color, Best Director, and Best Picture.
In 2019 the movie won the 1944 Retrospective Hugo Award in the category of Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form.[6]
Preservation[]
Heaven Can Wait was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2015.[7]
[]
Heaven Can Wait (1978) is a remake of an entirely different film, Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941), which was based on a 1938 stage play originally titled Heaven Can Wait.
References[]
- ^ Solomon, Aubrey (1989). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, p. 241, ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Mank, Gregory William (2018). Laird Cregar: A Hollywood Tragedy. McFarland.
- ^ Solomon, Aubrey (1989). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, p. 220, ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1.
- ^ "Top Grossers of the Season", Variety, January 5, 1944, p 54
- ^ de:Ladislaus Bus-Fekete
- ^ "1944 Retro-Hugo Awards Announced". The Hugo Awards. August 15, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
- ^ "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.
External links[]
- Heaven Can Wait at IMDb
- Heaven Can Wait at AllMovie
- Heaven Can Wait at the TCM Movie Database
- Heaven Can Wait at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Heaven Can Wait at Rotten Tomatoes
- Heaven Can Wait at Box Office Mojo
- Heaven Can Wait: The Simple Act of Living an essay by William Paul at the Criterion Collection
- Bowman, James. Diary of June 29, 2011 introductory address on the film
Streaming audio
- Heaven Can Wait on Lux Radio Theater: October 11, 1943
- Heaven Can Wait on Screen Guild Theater: May 7, 1945
- Heaven Can Wait on Theater of Romance: August 21, 1945
- 1943 films
- English-language films
- 1940s fantasy comedy-drama films
- 20th Century Fox films
- American films
- American fantasy comedy-drama films
- Films scored by Alfred Newman
- Films about the afterlife
- American films based on plays
- Films directed by Ernst Lubitsch
- Films set in 1872
- Films set in 1881
- Films set in 1887
- Films set in 1898
- Films set in 1908
- Films set in 1923
- Films set in 1932
- Films set in 1942
- 1943 comedy films
- 1943 drama films
- Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form winning works