Heaven Can Wait main backdrop
Heaven Can Wait main poster

Heaven Can Wait

Visit website

6.6/10 • 410

1978-06-281h 41m

FantasyComedyRomance

Joe Pendleton... the only guy who ever raised Hell about going to Heaven.

Joe Pendleton is a quarterback preparing to lead his team to the superbowl when he is almost killed in an accident. An overanxious angel plucks him to heaven only to discover that he wasn't ready to die, and that his body has been cremated. A new body must be found, and that of a recently-murdered millionaire is chosen. His wife and accountant—the murderers—are confused by this development, as he buys the L.A. Rams in order to once again quarterback them into the Superbowl.

Directors
Buck Henry, Warren Beatty
Editors
Don Zimmerman

Top Billed Cast

View Credits
  1. Warren Beatty

    Warren Beatty

    Joe Pendleton

  2. Julie Christie

    Julie Christie

    Betty Logan

  3. James Mason

    James Mason

    Mr. Jordan

  4. Jack Warden

    Jack Warden

    Max Corkle

  5. Charles Grodin

    Charles Grodin

    Tony Abbott

  6. Dyan Cannon

    Dyan Cannon

    Julia Farnsworth

  7. Buck Henry

    Buck Henry

    The Escort

  8. Vincent Gardenia

    Vincent Gardenia

    Krim

  9. Joseph Maher

    Joseph Maher

    Sisk

Reviews1

View Reviews
CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

Nov 23, 2024

6/10

Maybe Warren Beatty was also a fan of Powell & Pressburger as this has shades of "Matter of Life and Death" (1946) to it. Rather than a fighter pilot though, it's quarter-back "Joe" (Beatty) who is erroneously selected to take the Concorde to heaven. He protests to supremo "Jordan" (James Mason) who discovers that his new charge is still supposed to have another fifty-odd years with his mortal coil. OK, let's just put him back. Ah, well no - he has already been cremated. That's just one jigsaw puzzle too much, even for the celestial. "Jordan" decides that he can borrow the body of someone next in the queue, and he settles on millionaire industrialist "Farnsworth". This man has more enemies that he'd care to count, not least his scheming wife (Dyan Cannon) and the pesky British campaigner "Betty" (Julie Christie) who is adamant that her local village isn't going to be demolished to make way for an oil refinery. Now safely ensconced his new body, he only has thoughts of going back to playing ball - only now he can afford to actually buy a team. Re-uniting with coach "Max" (Jack Warden) whom he manages to convince of his true identity, we now embark on a gentle comedy that extols the virtues of team building and environmentally aware business practice. Cannon steals this as the plotting spouse, but Mason doesn't really make much impact and otherwise it's all just a rather blandly predictable offering that has it's moments but just not enough of them. Watchable, though, on a wet afternoon if it's on the telly.

Media

  • Heaven Can Wait poster
  • Heaven Can Wait poster
  • Heaven Can Wait poster
  • Heaven Can Wait poster
  • Heaven Can Wait poster
  • Heaven Can Wait poster
  • Heaven Can Wait poster
  • Heaven Can Wait poster
  • Heaven Can Wait poster

Recommendations

  • The Pride and the Passion main backdrop

    The Pride and the Passion

    5.9

  • Buck Rogers in the 25th Century main backdrop

    Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

    6.1

  • Adiós, cigüeña, adiós main backdrop

    Adiós, cigüeña, adiós

    6.2

  • Sunburn main backdrop

    Sunburn

    5.0

  • Red Planet Mars main backdrop

    Red Planet Mars

    4.7

  • Miss December main backdrop

    Miss December

    4.8

  • Scanners III: The Takeover main backdrop

    Scanners III: The Takeover

    4.4

  • The Four Seasons main backdrop

    The Four Seasons

    6.3

  • Salting the Battlefield main backdrop

    Salting the Battlefield

    6.2

  • Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy main backdrop

    Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy

    6.1

  • The Go-Between main backdrop

    The Go-Between

    6.8

  • Armed and Dangerous main backdrop

    Armed and Dangerous

    5.6

  • Chain of Command main backdrop

    Chain of Command

    5.1

  • Crimes of Passion main backdrop

    Crimes of Passion

    6.3

  • Brother Sun, Sister Moon main backdrop

    Brother Sun, Sister Moon

    7.0

  • Peacock main backdrop

    Peacock

    6.1

  • Why Did I Get Married? main backdrop

    Why Did I Get Married?

    6.6

  • Claire's Knee main backdrop

    Claire's Knee

    7.3

  • Chances Are main backdrop

    Chances Are

    6.6

  • To Sir, with Love main backdrop

    To Sir, with Love

    7.5

Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$15,000,000.00
Revenue
$98,800,000.00
Keywords
infidelitysportsafterlifeamerican footballbased on play or musicalremakelos angeles, californiaquarterbacksuper bowlenvironmental activist