An aged Henry Van Cleve enters the opulent reception area of "where innumerable people had told him so often to go", to be personally greeted by "His Excellency". Henry petitions to be admitted, but some doubt exists as to his qualifications. To prove his worthiness, he begins to tell the story of his dissolute life. Born in Manhattan on October 25, 1872, Henry is the spoiled only child of stuffy, clueless, wealthy parents Randolph and Bertha. His paternal grandmother is also doting and naive, although his down-to-earth grandfather Hugo Van Cleve, a self-made millionaire, understands Henry quite well. Henry grows up to be an idle young man with a taste for attractive showgirls. One day, Henry overhears a beautiful woman lying to her mother on a public telephone. Intrigued, he follows her into a Brentano's and pretends to be an employee to get to know her better. Despite learning that she is engaged, he begins making advances, finally confessing he does not work there, whereupon she hastily departs. Later, his obnoxious cousin Albert introduces the family to his fiancée, Martha, and her feuding parents, the Strables. Henry is shocked to find that his mystery woman and Martha are one and the same. It turns out that Albert was the first suitor of whom both her parents approved. Fearful of spending the rest of her life as a spinster in Kansas City, Martha agreed to marry him. Henry convinces her to elope with himself instead. Though everyone is scandalized, eventually they are received back into the family. Henry and Martha enjoy a happy marriage and become the proud parents of a boy. On the eve of their 10th anniversary, however, Martha finds out about Henry's continuing dalliances with other women and goes back to her parents. Henry and Grandpa follow her there. Sneaking into the Strable house, Henry begs her forgiveness and talks her into "eloping" a second time, much to Grandpa's delight. Fifteen years later, Henry meets chorus girlPeggy Nash in her dressing room shortly before her performance. What begins as a courtship is soon revealed as an attempt by Henry to turn her away from his son, who has been dating her. When Peggy reveals her knowledge of his true identity, Henry buys her off, instead, for $25,000. Martha passes away shortly after their 25th anniversary. Henry resumes an active social life much to the amusement of his son. On October 26, 1942, the day after his 70th birthday, Henry dies under the care of a beautiful nurse, having portended her coming in a dream. After hearing Henry's story, His Excellency denies him entry and suggests he try the "other place", where Martha and his grandfather are waiting for him, hinting that there may be "a small room vacant in the annex".
Heaven Can Wait is a remake of an entirely different film, Here Comes Mr. Jordan, which was based on a 1938 stage play originally titled Heaven Can Wait.
