Death Takes a Holiday (1934) 79m
It doesn't seem possible in the 21st century to recapture the charm of this
filmed adaptation of Alberto Casella's play 'La Morte in Vacanze' because
the people we see onscreen are the genuine article - i.e. inhabitants of the
1930s - which makes the theatricality of the production easier to accept.
Not exactly a comedy or drama, and with a supernatural premise, DEATH TAKES
A HOLIDAY doesn't need much more than its title to sum up the story: the
Grim Reaper leaves his domain to spend a few days in a villa on Earth in
order to gain some understanding of the living. But while Death is
investigating life, the story's heroine (Evelyn Venable) contends that there
is "something more to life", which turns out to be...death.
The traditional image of Death as a cowled, skeletal figure bearing a scythe
was well established in cinema from the silent days (he got a makeover - and
a chessboard - that became popularised in the public consciousness after
Bergman's SEVENTH SEAL which has since been hard to shake) but in HOLIDAY he
is presented more as a 'Constant Companion' represented at first as a shadow
that cannot be shaken off, and embodied later as a house guest that can't be
gotten rid of. Introducing himself to the company at the villa as Sirki, a
prince from an unidentified country, it's clear that Death is the ultimate
'foreigner abroad'. His naivete in such simple matters as wine are handily
explained with the excuse that he is unfamiliar with Western niceties, and
his odd proclamations (which are amusing to the audience in the know) are
dismissed as exotic eccentricities.
As Death/Sirki, Frederic March is required to walk a fine line - he has an
appreciation of irony even if he doesn't quite understand humor and
maintains a befuddled aloofness that seems appropriate, but loses his grasp
at the end when he displays the distinctly human qualities of self-sacrifice
and empathy. It was a smart choice to have March play the part as a
foreigner, which constantly reminds us that he is separated from others (the
mere mortals) in the cast; also, some of his fruitier lines don't seem as
silly as they would if he'd been playing the part as a native English
speaker. It's also right to place Death among the idle rich - how different
this story would have been if he had surrounded himself with blue-collar
workers - who don't have a care in the world and seem ripe for the plucking
(the opening scene, with cars racing along precipitous mountain roads, has
many possible outcomes). By keeping the story in a lavish villa with society
types, director Mitchell Leisen is able to move March around a setting of
evening dress, medals, and carefully-laid tables as if death was just
another formality; has him waltz to the wistful strains of Sibelius' 'Valse
Triste'; gives him the opportunity to share philosphies about the nature of
life and death with the elder guests; and puts him in the place most likely
to meet Venable, a child of literature whose romantic notions give her a
mysticism not normally found in movie heroines of the period. Fantasy was
generally treated in a whimsical, fluffy manner in 30s cinema (especially
anything involving ghosts or the devil), so HOLIDAY's final scene must have
caused some discussion among moviegoers in 1934 as they exited the theater.
The story was remade, in concept only, as MEET JOE BLACK in 1998, in which
Brad Pitt pulled off the difficult feat of playing Death not as a foreigner,
but as an Average Joe.
sburridge.DeleteThis@hotmail.com
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