The setup for this romantic fantasy is kind of wonderful, but it immediately trips and falls face-first into the ground when Frederic March appears as Prince Sirki (the human disguise of Death himself). I really like Frederic March for the most part. I'd call his performance in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde one of my all-time favorites. This performance, or perhaps it's just the character as written, is a huge miscalculation. He's supposed to be so darkly romantic that he makes all the younger women he meets swoon, but he comes off more as a cross between Count Dracula and Cousin Balki. The accent is just goofy, and those weird expressions on his face make him look like he's got to take a dump. The movie surrounding him isn't that bad - the dialogue is a little overwritten, maybe. The cinematography is really nice and the lead actress, Evelyn Venable, is gorgeous. Remade as Meet Joe Black with Brad Pitt in 1998 (haven't seen it).

Death Takes a Holiday (1934) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Death (Fredric March), curious to know why people fear him, takes on human form for a three day vacation. Things get a bit complicated when he falls in love with a woman who also loves him. This is a wonderful little film that mixes comedy, drama and various horror elements to a great effect. March is wonderful as usual and blends the perfect amount of caring and horror. His performance here is so much better than in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The actual horror elements of Death are among the best ever from this period.Sadly, Universal has only issued this film on its remake DVD as an extra nnd now that is out of print. Hopefully this film will get the respect it's due.

This movie made my top ten list. All of the actors gave very good performances. The selection of costumes, wardrobes and jewelry were excellent. The special effects (1934) weren't overwhelming or too far-out. The location setting was reasonable for such a low budget firm. The direction, lighting and audio were first rate. Its a shame that someone hasn't done a re-make of this classic film. With the right cast, director and resources this film could win an Oscar. Perhaps, I'll make an attempt with a short version on video. As far as I started to explain, I felt very please, entertained and taken by every line of this film. It would be a worthwhile purchase for someones personal movie library. If not available for sale. Please set your VCR for it the next time its listed on the Classic-Movie cable channels. You and your friends (if you like real-good movies) wouldn't be disappointed...enjoy, Kenny

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!