The actions of a man define the character and in the Christian belief this character will come under judgment upon the day of the last breath. The verdict based on character can only bring a person in one of two directions. These directions are, according to common Christian belief, either up or down. Up refers to entering heaven while down brings the person to a scorching situation related to infinite pain. Most people are aware of their actions, but many remain blind to the consequences of their actions. Nonetheless, there are people who have courage to stand up straight and take what they deserve. Henry Van Cleve (Don Ameche) is such a man, who is rather sure about his destination, as he simply takes the stairs down and walks up to the the Devil (Laird Cregar) himself and calls him, "His Excellency."Ernst Lubitsch's tale of Henry who enters the His Excellency's domain while the Devil inquires what he can do for him. After a brief run-in with an acquaintance from the past His Excellency becomes curious about Henry's past, as he also lacks knowledge of Henry's identity. Thus, Henry begins his biography, which he shares with the His Excellency in the light of all the women in his life. The story begins with his mother and grandmother who began quarrelling about when and how much affection to give him as an infant. Henry continues to tell how he kept on running into women through his childhood and adolescence. All of the women were treated with affectionate and tender care while he kept his physical distance in order maintain the fashionable moral conduct of the 1870s in New York City. This is a moral conduct that Martin Scorsese offers an intimate illustration of in his The Age of Innocence (1993), where marriage because of love was thought of a vulgar and indecent act.Henry was growing up amidst the time of Victorian repression when it was fashionable to have a title and etiquette fit for a gentleman. However, as a teen Henry was no gentleman according to the rules of Victorian etiquette at the time. He kissed girls and befriended the family's French maid who also taught him how to drink wine and speak French. A little more than a decade later he met the love of his life, but it also meant that he had to struggle with all the rules of the Victorian etiquette, as he married the girl who he fell in love with who also was engaged. At the time, when the Heaven Can Wait was shot the strict codes of the Catholic Legion of Decency still ruled what was appropriate and inappropriate on the American film front. The Victorian moral codes were similar in their intentions to the policies of the Catholic Legion of Decency and Lubitsch flirted with the line of what was inappropriate in a very intentional manner through his character Henry in the film that does not follow the strict codes of his time. Indirectly and maybe unintentionally, Lubitsch was challenging the censorship policies of the country, as they were absurd and limited what many filmmakers and artists could express through the medium of cinema.Lubitsch, born in German, and was invited to make films in Hollywood in 1922. More than a decade later the Nazi's wiped out his German citizenship, which forced him to stay in the United States. However, he continued to express his concerns with society, which he did with witty subtlety in more than one way in Heaven Can Wait. The film deals with interesting social moral codes inherited from sanctimonious sources that never have been questioned. In the light of freedom, Lubitsch expresses his idea that these rules often restrict people from fully being able to express themselves. Yet, it is within the fear of breaking these rules that he brings out the humor in a timely and brilliant manner. Maybe, Lubitsch's foreign perspective enhanced his ability to visualize some of the awkwardness within the American society, as this cinematic experience challenges the audience to reflect on what is right and wrong, instead of blindly following what has been stated a rule.