Heaven Can Wait

Heaven Can Wait is a classic 1940 comedy by Ernst Lubitsch, a director I have never seen anything by before. Turns out I might be missing out, because this one is pretty damn great.

It stars Don Ameche as Henry van Cleve, who must present his case to the devil himself for what he did in live that might have condemned him to hell. We see flashbacks through van Cleve's entire life. He was from rich stock, spoiled and lazy, never worked a day of his life. But unlike his prim, stiff parents, he had a love for living, and was a bit of a cad.

We see him in his twenties, when he sweeps his own dorky cousin's fiancee off her feet and runs off with her. And we see him, years later, talk her out of divorcing him with the same smoothtalking.

Over all these flashbacks, we learn that although Henry certainly wasn't perfect, he also wasn't that bad of a guy. Even the devil has to acknowledge that.

Heaven Can Wait was thoroughly enjoyable and whip-smart. Even the poster (above) is smart. It looks like a parody of Gone with the Wind and all the other romance posters of the time, with Henry's family in the portrait leering down at him in disapproval. I always knew Don Ameche as the old guy from Cocoon and Harry and the Hendersons. Turns out he was pretty smooth back in the day.

There was one moment in particular that kind of blew me away. At his cousin's engagement party, Henry looks on from a distance to get a glimpse of the fiancee. His butler goes "There she is now, turning around". I would say 99 to 100% of all filmmakers would choose this moment to cut away to a shot of her turning around, possibly in slow motion with an orchestral score swelling up behind her. Lubitsch, instead, doesn't cut away at all, and pushes in on Henry, as he reacts to seeing her. The look you see on his face tells us a much more interesting story than the usual way would have.

So check this movie out if you feel so inclined! It's currently on Netflix Instant watch.