On Borrowed Time

In point of fact we're all living On Borrowed Time and never know when the Grim Reaper will come calling. But apparently he's got a certain liking for the Northrup family because he makes a lot of calls on them in a short span of time in this film.

His first call is on Truman Bradley who is a doctor and a widower with a small son, Bobs Watson. Bradley's death leaves Watson to be raised by his grandparents Lionel Barrymore and Beulah Bondi. Although they don't know it, they've got a magic apple tree in the Northrup backyard, one where if Barrymore wishes a party is stuck in that tree. When death in the form of Cedric Hardwicke makes another call on the Northrup family, Barrymore tricks Hardwicke into climbing that tree and he's stuck there. So like in Death Takes A Holiday while Hardwicke is stuck in the tree, a lot of people start living more than they should be off their allotted time.

Running for 321 performances during the 1938 season on Broadway, Paul Osborn's play featured Dudley Digges and Frank Conroy in the roles of Grandpa Northrup and Mr. Brink (Death) respectively. Several years earlier Lionel Barrymore did a version of the David Belasco play, The Return Of Peter Grimm for the screen. That part also called for Barrymore to do many scenes with a child actor, in that film George Breakston. Louis B. Mayer must have remembered that film and thought that this play would also provide a perfect role for the curmudgeonly Barrymore's character and a child. In fact the best thing about the film is the on screen chemistry between Watson and Barrymore.

Character actress Eily Malyon who probably is best known for playing the parish housekeeper Mrs. Carmody in Going My Way has a far less sympathetic role here. She's an aunt who would like custody of young Mr. Watson because of the hefty insurance policy that Barrymore and Bondi are using to raise him. Nobody likes her, but considering the characters involved in this particular play, she meets an unusual fate.

After 71 years On Borrowed Time still retains its charm as a fantasy and Lionel Barrymore's performance is as fresh today as it was when it was filmed.

Yessir. Watching this movie was a "right smart piece of time"....as Gramp declared at the end of the movie.

This is my first outing with this movie...I can almost kick myself for not recording it. What a wonderful outing it was!

Lionel Barrymore continually amazes me. He could sure play some interesting parts - and his voice is so perfect for these grandfatherly roles. My favorite of his is "You Can't Take It With You"....which is a great piece of theater, too.

I thought the child actor, Bobs Watson, was perfect in this role. Some here have said he was on the annoying side. But which 10 year-old kid isn't?? He played it to a "T" and his crying episodes were too real for me.

I never knew my grandfathers too well. They both died before I got to know them. One died when I was 4 years old and the other one died back in Cuba and I never got to see him off.

Sure, I had my grandmothers...and I loved them both so dearly. OH....to have had a grandfather like PUD does in this movie! I feel such a sense of loss when I think of what wonderful times I might have had with my grandfathers.

And this movie, sure made this topic hit close to home. I guess I will have to wait until Mr. Brink calls on me to meet my grampses...

Yessir....A Right Smart Piece of Time I spent watching this endearing movie.

***I recommend this movie to anyone who has the sense to know they have a heart __ that beats and loves and cries...but most of all, that lives...and lives on...***

I first saw this jewel on TV as a child in 1950's Missouri... probably some Saturday afternoon when one of the 3 available stations had nothing else to show. It stuck with me, embedded itself in my heart and soul.

I later directed a scene from the published script in college as a Directing Class project.

Many years later when I was between 36 and 40 years old, I showed it to my new life partner (we've been together now for 26 years) and we cherish it together as an important part of our lives.

There's no way to describe the "heart" in this marvel of a film: you have to see it. You'll be left with a feeling of love, fulfillment, joy and a sense of "justice achieved". If you can force your child to sit and watch a Black and White movie (sigh!) he/she will thank you in the future. It will not be forgotten by you or your child.

A top-flight cast helps elevate this entertaining film. It's a far-fetched fable out a Mr. Brink (the Grim Reaper, played by Cedric Hardwicke), calling on people and being opposed by good 'ole grandpa (Lionel Barrymore), through some secret wishing power, banishing him to a tree in the backyard, where he can't do any damage.

Yeah, it's another film with strange theology and super powers and nothing to be taken seriously, just used for entertainment, a la today's Harry Potter films. But it's not trivial nonsense, either: it packs an emotional wallop in the viewer. You WILL get involved in this story.

Barrymore's dialog is tremendous. He's fun to hear and has some great lines directed at Hardwicke, who could also be interpreted as the Devil. He also hurls some funny insults to the evil aunt who wants to take his grandson "Pud," away from him, so she can inherit money in the process.

Bobs Watson, who plays "Pud" (nice name!) is endearing for the most part but he can wear thin on you. Bobs is a little loud and bratty and he definitely overacts. Yet, he's still likable.

Hardwicke is just about as entertaining as Barrymore. He, too, has a lot of good lines. Una Merkel, who usually plays a comedienne, plays a very sweet woman. I wish her role had been bigger in here. I've always been a fan of hers.

This is a very emotional movie. If you're the sensitive type, be prepared to laugh, get mad and even cry at certain things. It's really an unknown and different kind of film that has a lot of charm. Highly recommended.

Mr. Brink (Death) arrives to claim the soul of infirm, elderly Gramps Northrup. A magic trick, however, traps Mr. Brink in an apple tree and he is not able to descend. With all dying ceased around the world, old Gramps truly finds himself living ON BORROWED TIME.

This charming, albeit neglected, film holds many pleasures for the viewer. Aside from philosophical considerations - for instance, why is Mr. Brink intent on wiping out the Northrup clan? - the acting is particularly enjoyable. Lionel Barrymore, cantankerous & crotchety as Gramps, is a veritable volcano of emotions, barely contained in the wheelchair made necessary by the actor's crippling arthritis. Equally excellent, in an elegantly underplayed performance, is Sir Cedric Hardwicke as Mr. Brink. Suave, sophisticated & utterly urbane, he leaves an unforgettable impression.

The rest of the cast is also first rate: Una Merkel, Henry Travers, Nat Pendleton, Ian Wolfe, Grant Mitchell, little Bobs Watson, and especially wonderful Beulah Bondi as Granny & Eily Maylon, in arguably her finest role, as dreadful Aunt Demetria. Movie mavens will spot Hans Conried as the first motorist to pull over for Mr. Brink.

`Pismire,' by the way, is an Archaic Scandinavian word which means `ant urine.'