Death Takes a Holiday (1934)

Director:

Mitchell Leisen

Writers:

Maxwell Anderson (screenplay) and
Gladys Lehman (screenplay) ...
(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 | Holiday | Guest | Death | Love

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Fredric March	...	Prince Sirki / Death
Evelyn Venable	...	Grazia
Guy Standing	...	Duke Lambert (as Sir Guy Standing)
Katharine Alexander	...	Alda
Gail Patrick	...	Rhoda
Helen Westley	...	Stephanie
Kathleen Howard	...	Princess Maria
Kent Taylor	...	Corrado
Henry Travers	...	Baron Cesarea
G.P. Huntley	...	Eric (as G.P. Huntley Jr.)
Otto Hoffman	...	Fedele (as Otto Hoffmann)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anna De Linsky	...	Cora - 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
Maxwell Anderson		(screenplay) and
Gladys Lehman		(screenplay)
Alberto Casella		(play "La Morte in vacanza")
Walter Ferris		(english adaptation)

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		(photographed by)

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

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1934) (USA) (theatrical) (as Paramount Productions Inc.)
• MCA/Universal Pictures (1958) (USA) (TV)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1997) (USA) (VHS) (For MCA Home Video)
• Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Universal Vault Series)

Also Known As:

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

Filming Locations:

Paramount Studios - 5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

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:

Baron Cesarea:I think you're all wrong to be afraid. I talked to him about dying, and he said "Has it ever occurred to you that Death may be simpler than Life and infinitely more kind?"
Duke Lambert:He said that?
Baron Cesarea:Yes... and when he spoke, I had a curious feeling that somehow he knew.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Gossip Girl: The Wrong Goodbye (#4.22)" (2011)

Soundtrack:

Wiener Blut (Vienna Blood), Op.354

A Little Dance With Death

Based on an Italian play that performed on Broadway in 1929, the 1934 DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY would be the inspiration for the 1998 Brad Pitt film MEET JOE BLACK--but whereas MEET JOE BLACK proved a highly literal interpretation of the theme, DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY is unexpectedly lyric in tone.

The story is a fantasy. Death has grown weary of the fear he inspires in human beings, and in an effort to understand the tenacity to which they cling to life he decides to take a three day "holiday." He accordingly presents himself at the house of an Italian nobleman as "Prince Sirki," and soon discovers that human beings pass their lives in games, none of them of any great importance or interest. But there is one "game" he has yet to play: love.

Like many films of the early 1930s, the script is a bit talky and the cinematography a bit static; with the exception of Evelyn Venable (as Grazia) and Henry Travers (as Baron Cesarea) the cast, including the usually subtle Frederic March, tend to play in a somewhat theatrical manner. Even so, the overall tone of the film is unexpectedly touching, lyrical, and strangely lovely. It is also, on occasion, gently humorous. And before Death resumes his true identity and returns to the business of mortality, we receive unexpected food for thought.

The film is not widely available on either DVD or VHS, nor is it frequently televised. That is unfortunate, for fans of 1930s cinema will find it darkly charming. Worth seeking out!

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer