“Because I could not
stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me; the carriage held but just ourselves
and immortality” – Emily Dickinson
If Death took a holiday,
the guns would go silent in Iraq, the slaughter on our nation’s highways
would cease, and the news media would be compelled to cover positive events
in the humanities, arts, and sciences. Unfortunately, Death has not had
a vacation in recorded history, but Mitchell Leisen’s 1934 fantasy, Death
Takes a Holiday, allows us to consider the possibility. Co-written by Maxwell
Anderson and Gladys Lehman and based on the play "La Morte in Vacanza"
by Alberto Casella, Death Takes a Holiday stars Frederic March as the Grim
Reaper who takes on human form in an attempt to discover why men fear him
so much. Why he has waited 5,000 years to satisfy this curiosity is not
explained.
After a brief tryout as
a shadowy figure who scares the daylights out of those that cross his path,
Death shows up at, of all places, an upscale party at an Italian villa,
posing as the mysterious Prince Sirki. Only one person knows who he really
is, the host Duke Lambert (Guy Standing), and he is sworn to secrecy. Sirki
proceeds to fascinate the guests. Given to bursts of wit and poetry, he
can just as quickly turn sullen and threatening, and some soon find out
that it is better not to look too deeply into his eyes. During the three
days in which the Prince is at the villa, however, people all over the
world miraculously escape death and potential suicides are doomed to frustration.
To see what’s behind all
the conversation about love, the suave but naïve Prince Sirki falls
for the irresistible Grazia (Evelyn Venable), the daughter of one of Duke’s
friends. Grazia knows who Death is but does not fear him, much to the chagrin
of her fiancé, Corrado (Kent Taylor) who has developed a strong
disdain for Prince Charming. More sinister than Brad Pitt in the 1998 remake
Meet Joe Black, March turns in a very convincing performance as the creepy
yet strangely appealing guest. Although the ending is melodramatic, the
emotions are very real and the suggestion that Death may in reality be
a friend disguised as a foe is quite touching.
GRADE: B+
Howard
Schumann