As Henry van Cleve reaches the end of his life in “Heaven Can Wait,” his dream of swimming through a sea of whiskey and soda with a blonde bombshell leaves a smile on your face and yet a tear in your eye as he shares this bittersweet moment with us.
Andrew Sarris wrote that this quality was true of all Ernst Lubitsch’s films, saying, “A poignant sadness infiltrates the director’s gayest moments, and it is this counterpoint. between sadness and gaiety that represents the Lubitsch touch.” Continue reading “Rapid Response: Heaven Can Wait (1943)”