Heaven Can Wait (1943 film)

For other uses, see Heaven Can Wait (disambiguation).

Heaven Can Wait
Theatrical poster
Directed byErnst Lubitsch
Written bySamson Raphaelson
Based onBirthday/Születésnap
1934 play
by Ladislaus Bus-Fekete
Produced byErnst Lubitsch
Starring
Narrated byDon Ameche
CinematographyEdward Cronjager
Edited byDorothy Spencer
Music byAlfred Newman
Production
company
20th Century Fox
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • August 11, 1943 (1943-08-11)
Running time
112 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
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 supernatural comedy film produced and directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The screenplay was by Samson Raphaelson based on the play Birthday by Ladislaus Bus-Fekete. 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.

The film has no connection to the fantasy-based stage play of the same title that was adapted as the film Here Comes Mr. Jordan (itself also a Best Picture nominee), nor remakes of Mr. Jordan using the play's original title, including the 1978 film, Heaven Can Wait.

  1. ^ Solomon, Aubrey (1989). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, p. 241, ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1.
  2. ^ a b Mank, Gregory William (2018). Laird Cregar: A Hollywood Tragedy. McFarland.
  3. ^ Solomon, Aubrey (1989). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press, p. 220, ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1.
  4. ^ "Top Grossers of the Season", Variety, January 5, 1944, p 54