Heaven Can Wait (1978)

Directors:

Warren Beatty
Buck Henry

Writers:

Harry Segall (play)
Elaine May (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

28 June 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance | Sport

Plot:

A Los Angeles Rams quarterback, accidentally taken away from his body by an over-anxious angel before he was supposed to die, comes back to life in the body of a recently-murdered millionaire.

Plot Keywords:

Quarterback | Heaven | Millionaire | Angel | Death

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 8 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Warren Beatty	...	Joe Pendleton
Julie Christie	...	Betty Logan
James Mason	...	Mr. Jordan
Jack Warden	...	Max Corkle
Charles Grodin	...	Tony Abbott
Dyan Cannon	...	Julia Farnsworth
Buck Henry	...	The Escort
Vincent Gardenia	...	Det. Lt. Krim
Joseph Maher	...	Sisk
Hamilton Camp	...	Bentley
Arthur Malet	...	Everett
Stephanie Faracy	...	Corinne
Jeannie Linero	...	Lavinia
Harry D.K. Wong	...	Gardener
George J. Manos	...	Security guard

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Iceland:L | Norway:11 | Norway:12 (1978) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time" in 2006.

Goofs:

Factual errors: During the football scrimmage segment none of the players are wearing knee, thigh or hip pads. In an actual live contact scrimmage most players would not take a chance on an injury by playing without all of their pads.

Quotes:

Joe Pendleton: She loves me, Mr. Jordan!
Mr. Jordan: Joe, you must abide by what is written.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Warriors (1979)

Soundtrack:

Sonata No 3

A very classy movie

I couldn't think of any other way to describe it in the summary - so I used the word "classy". That's right, classy. It probably stems from the fact that the movie is done in such good taste - very appealing and witty humor.

The entire cast does an absolutely perfect job in this movie. From Warren Beatty, to James Mason (is James Mason physically capable of putting in a bad performance ? ), to Buck Henry, to Jack Warden.

Perhaps the two best performances are Charles Grodin (the slimy personal assistant to Leo Farnsworth),and Dyan Cannon as the psycho Julia Farnsworth. They are both brilliant in their roles.

Very worth watching. Also worth more than its IMDB 6.9 rating.