Death Takes a Holiday (1934)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Mitchell Leisen

Writers:

Alberto Casella (play)
Walter Ferris (English adaptation of play)
(more)

Release Date:

30 March 1934 (USA)

Genre:

Romance | Fantasy

Tagline:

HE LIVED FOR THREE DAYS...AND LOVED FOREVER! (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

Death decides to take a holiday from his usual business to see what it is like to be a mortal. Posing as Prince Sirki...

Plot Keywords:

Prince | Guest | Love | Death | Holiday

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Fredric March	...	Prince Sirki / Death
Evelyn Venable	...	Grazia
Guy Standing	...	Duke Lambert (as Sir Guy Standing)
Katharine Alexander	...	Alda, La Contessa di Palma
Gail Patrick	...	Rhoda Fenton
Helen Westley	...	Stephanie
Kathleen Howard	...	Princess Maria
Kent Taylor	...	Corrado
Henry Travers	...	Baron Cesarea
G.P. Huntley	...	Eric Bagley (as G.P. Huntley Jr.)
Otto Hoffman	...	Fedele - the Butler (as Otto Hoffmann)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anna De Linsky	...	Dora - the Maid (uncredited)
Hector Sarno	...	Pietro - the Gardener (uncredited)
Phillips Smalley	...	Manager of Casino (uncredited)
Frank Yaconelli	...	Flower Vendor (uncredited)

Directed by
Mitchell Leisen

Writing credits
Alberto Casella		(play "La Morte in vacanza")
Walter Ferris		(English adaptation of play)
Maxwell Anderson		(screenplay) and
Gladys Lehman		(screenplay)

Produced by
Emanuel Cohen	....	associate producer (uncredited)
E. Lloyd Sheldon	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Bernhard Kaun		(uncredited)
John Leipold		(uncredited)
Milan Roder		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Charles Lang

Art Direction by
Hans Dreier		(uncredited)
Ernst Fegté		(uncredited)

Costume Design by
Travis Banton		(uncredited)
Edith Head		(uncredited)

Sound Department
Harold Lewis	....	sound recording engineer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Gordon Jennings	....	technical effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Music Department
Karl Hajos	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
W. Franke Harling	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures (as Paramount Productions Inc.)

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1934) (USA) (theatrical) (as Paramount Productions Inc.)
• MCA/Universal Pictures (1958) (USA) (TV)

Also Known As:

Strange Holiday (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

79 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | USA:Unrated

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Quotes:

Death: Perhaps you can tell me what I have been doing.
Grazia: I think I can, almost.
Death: Tell me.
Grazia: I think you've been holding life in your hands, as I do some times. I think you've been a little afraid of its beauty.
Death: Oh, you do know.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Dead Like Me: Dead Girl Walking (#1.2)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Wein, Weib und Gesang (Wine, Women and Song), Op.333

Death Takes A Holiday (1934) ***1/2

Despite some stilted dialogue and acting, this is an exquisitely opulent fantasy about the meaning of life which seamlessly mixes elements of comedy, romance and horror and emerges as an unjustly neglected minor classic - so much so that dear old Universal has deemed it fit to only give it a DVD release by proxy, unceremoniously slapping it onto their "Ultimate Edition" DVD of its overblown and unnecessary remake, MEET JOE BLACK (1998). Fredric March is superb in the lead and only confirms his position as one of Hollywood's finest, most versatile and consistent character actors (despite being blessed with matinée idol looks); March himself considers this to be one of his favorite roles. This was only Mitchell Leisen's second film as director, and his production designer past is still much in evidence, but he would go on to make several accomplished films - particularly EASY LIVING (1937), MIDNIGHT (1939), ARISE, MY LOVE (1940) and KITTY (1945) - before his career gradually petered out in the late 40s. A strikingly similar film to DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY which I also would love to watch is Harold S. Bucquet's ON BORROWED TIME (1939) with Sir Cedric Hardwicke playing Death and Lionel Barrymore as his unwilling "client" - but it never seems to get shown on TV in my neck of the woods!