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For romantic comedy director Ernst Lubitsch the term “the Lubitsch Touch” was created. I’ve seen his films THE SHOP AROUND THE CORNER and NINOTCHKA, which I found marvelous. NINOTCHKA is one of the best romantic comedies ever made. Based on a stage play, HEAVEN CAN WAIT does not disappoint either.

“The Lubitsch Touch” is kind of abstract, but for me it’s a sly and skilled subversion that adds a naughty tone underneath the airy romance on the surface. The film begins with an old Henry Van Cleve (Don Ameche, COCOON) in Hell, talking with His Excellency (Laird Cregar, THE BLAKC SWAN) about why he thinks he should spend the rest of time in damnation. He starts from his birth and works his way to his death.

It’s clear from an early age that women… many women… will play a huge role in Henry’s life. Henry is from a very wealthy family and exploits it as much as he can. His mother Bertha (Spring Byington, 1951’s ANGELS IN THE OUTFIELD) and his father Randolph (Louis Calhern, NOTORIOUS) are pretty stuffy about their son’s partying ways, but are pushovers to his charm. However, his grandfather Hugo (Charles Coburn, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES) doesn’t fall for his lines for a second and admires him for doing everything he wished he would had done when he was younger.

But the one girl — Martha Strabel (Gene Tierney, LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN) — that finally steals Henry’s heart just happens to be the fiancée of his ultra-conservative and nerdy cousin Albert (Allyn Joslyn, ONLY ANGELS HAVE WINGS). Bet you can’t guess what happens or how Martha’s feuding parents — played by Marjorie Main (MA AND PA KETTLE series) and Eugene Pallette (MY MAN GODFREY) — react. Other key characters in the film include Henry’s beautiful au pair Mademoiselle (Signe Hasso, A SCANDAL IN PARIS) and the clever showgirl Peggy Nash (Helene Reynolds, GIRL TROUBLE).

Henry has his ups and downs and tries to use his charm every time to get out of trouble. The film is very slick about Henry’s philandering ways. The dialogue is crisp and the performances are lovable. Ameche is perfect as Henry and Tierney is gorgeous as usual. It’s another solid romantic comedy from Ernst Lubitsch, the master of the genre.