Heaven Can Wait

Joe Pendleton is a professional quarterback on the verge of leading his team to the Super Bowl when a road accident claims him ahead of time. An angel has taken him to heaven too soon, and back on Earth his body has already been cremated, so returning to his old life is impossible. A substitute is found in the body of a wealthy businessman who has just been murdered by his unfaithful wife and his accountant. Joe takes over the dead man's identity and his fortune, then uses it to buy the Los Angeles Rams so he can play quarterback again. The killers cannot understand why the man they disposed of is suddenly buying a football team, and Joe finds himself drawn to a woman whose home is threatened by the corporation he now controls.

Warren Beatty directs and stars as Joe Pendleton, and he shares directing duties with Buck Henry. This was Beatty's first turn behind the camera; Reds followed in 1981, then Dick Tracy, Bulworth and Rules Don't Apply. Beatty produced the film and wrote the screenplay with Elaine May. Julie Christie plays Betty Logan, James Mason is Mr. Jordan, and Jack Warden, Charles Grodin and Dyan Cannon round out the cast of sixty-four credited performers.

Made for about 15 million dollars, the film took in roughly 82 million worldwide, a strong return on its budget. On IMDb it holds 6.9 from around 26,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.7 from some 457 votes. A critics' rating of 7.5 from 50 reviews places it above both audience scores, indicating that reviewers at the time rated it higher than general viewers have since.