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Heaven Can Wait
While out bicycling, Joe Pendleton (Warren Beatty), star quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, rides into one end of long dark tunnel while a tractor-trailer enters the
other end. A kind-hearted angel (Buck Henry) whose job it is to escort the
soul of the dead to a way station (where the Concorde waits to transport the
souls to Heaven) snatches Pendleton's soul before the impact so he would not
have to suffer the pain and trauma of dying. It turns out that Pendleton was
not supposed to die that day! He was such a great athlete that he could have
avoided the collision. When confronted with that mistake, the angel's
superior, Mr. Jordan (James Mason) orders Pendleton's soul
restored to his body. Unfortunately, Pendleton's body has been cremated, so
another body must be found! The angel finds the body of Farnsworth, a rotten
millionaire who has just been electrocuted in his bathtub by his wife Julia
(Dyan Cannon) and her lover Tony (Charles Grodin). Pendleton reluctantly
agrees to inhabit the new body, much to the dismay of Julia and Tony who
can't understand how he survived their murder attempt. Pendleton proceeds to
buy the Los Angeles Rams and attempts to whip the millionaire's body into
playing shape. He eventually convinces Rams Coach Max Corkle (Jack Warden) that he is, in fact, Joe Pendleton trapped in
another body when he fixes Max's back using a move that only Pendleton would
know. At first, the Rams players rebel and don't block during practice, but
Farnsworth's/Pendleton's determination wins their respect as well as the
affection of reporter Betty Logan (Julie Christie). Farnsworth/Pendleton
falls in love with Logan and tells her the entire unbelievable story
including how he has avoided further attempts by Tony and Julia to kill him.
The Rams make the Super Bowl, but before the big game, Tony gets so
frustrated with the attempts to kill Farnsworth/Pendleton by making it look
like an accident that he just goes ahead and uses a rifle to shoot him in
the back. The body falls into a well, but is eventually discovered, the plot
revealed and Tony and Julia hauled away. During the Super Bowl, the Rams'
quarterback is tackled and fatally injured. Mr. Jordan restores Pendleton's soul
to the player's body and wipes out all memories of Joe's entire life as
Pendleton or Farnsworth. The Rams win, Betty Logan
interviews the QB, but neither have any knowledge of their past
relationship. They leave the stadium together for a coffee.
Thanks, Evil Ed and Marathonsun!
This movie is a remake of "Here Comes Mr. Jordan" (not in out database), but was itself later remade as Down to Earth.
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