JLRMovieReviews Lionel Barrymore keeps the Grim Reaper at bay and up a tree in this film, "On Borrowed Time." Sir Cedric Hardwicke plays the gentleman who comes a calling when it's time for people to die. He tries to tell people it's a natural stage of life that's peaceful and is a release of pain; it's just a case of letting go. But old cantankerous Lionel ain't having any of it. He wants to stay here and raise his grandson, Pud, who lost his parents at the beginning of the movie. Some may call this film a charming fable with a tendency to be whimsical. But my history with this film is as follows: I saw this years ago in the late 1990s and don't remember liking it all that much. Feeling it needed another viewing, I saw it around Thanksgiving and had this reaction. It felt too dated to me. Granted, old people act old. But Lionel Barrymore seemed to overdo it, in my opinion. He always did have a tendency to ham things up a bit, along with his brother John. Plus, I think the writing had a lot to do with it. Had this been made in the last few decades, I don't think it would accentuated on his confounded exasperations all the time and wouldn't have kept calling people pismires. The film mired itself down with old-man eccentricities, making itself feel old. The predicament of the old man and boy only gets worse, despite the fact Lionel tricked Death into going up a tree. With Death up a tree, no one in the film could die. All at the hospital would be at death's door but not going any further. When Lionel convinced others that Death was up his tree, he was told people needed death. Some people want it, need it; it's a comfort to them. But cantankerous Lionel won't budge. Only when certain events happen, does he give in and the ending is far from happy. For such a family or holiday film as it may be purported to be, this certainly has a downbeat ending. All in all, one's enjoyment of this film depends entirely on the old man's grouchy disposition and his growl towards those around him. "On Borrowed Time" is a well-meaning but otherwise downbeat film that doesn't really fit in with other family films seen this holiday season or really for any time.

utgard14 After his parents die in a car accident, a young boy goes to live with his grandparents. When the grandmother also dies, the boy's shrewish aunt tries to gain custody of him so she can get her hands on the money his parents left him. As the grandfather fights to keep the boy, Death comes calling for him. But Gramps has a trick up his sleeve and manages to trap Death up a tree (!), thus preventing him from claiming any lives.In many ways, the movie does feel like a filmed play (it is based on one). But the story is so involving and the cast so extraordinary that things stay lively and interesting throughout the picture. Lionel Barrymore, an expert at making crotchety lovable, is in rare form here. The boy is played by Bobs Watson, a child actor who specialized in being cute and crying on cue. Some of you may remember him from being hit by a car in Boys Town. His scenes with Barrymore are all golden. Cedric Hardwicke plays Death, named here Mr. Brink (get it?). Hardwicke always brought class to every film he was in and this is no exception. Fine support from Beulah Bondi as the loving grandmother and Eily Malyon as the meddlesome aunt. The rest of the cast includes greats like Henry Travers, Grant Mitchell, Nat Pendleton, and Una Merkel. Despite the bizarreness of the story (and maybe because of it), this is a very entertaining picture. It has several fun twists and a leisurely pace and pleasant tone that belies its rather dark subject matter. I guess whether you call it dark or not is part of the movie's message. It's a fantastic fable where death is (literally) around every corner. A curious mix of heartwarming and heartbreaking, this is a one of a kind film.

jarrodmcdonald-1 I thought Una Merkel's character and her fiancé should have been given custody of Pud. That would have been the correct happy ending; then we could have seen Pud join his relatives later in the after-life. The way the story plays now, it is as if Gramps commits suicide and also kills Pud before he goes. Most viewers will realize early in the story that Pud is going to die, because he hears AND sees death, while the other characters who are not yet about to die, do not. Nonetheless, the story attempts to look at mortality in a creative way. If you have ever had a special bond with your grandparents, then the heartwarming relationship between a boy and his Gramps will mean something to you. Based on a stage play, the film's action does tend to be a bit limited to the house and backyard. The drama does not pick up till after the grandmother dies and everyone thinks Gramps is crazy. The scene where Gramps shoots the man who is trying to take him to the asylum is great, and I did like the scene where he looks out at the tree and hopes that the man did not die, or he has a devil of a problem

wes-connors Appearing as the personification of "Death", well-groomed hitch-hiker Cedric Hardwicke (as Mr. Brink) passes on a convertible ride with coughing Hans Conried. You may be thinking tuberculosis, but it must only a cold and not yet Hans' time. The real target is a physician and his wife, who quickly die in a car crash. This leaves orphaned "Bobs" Watson (as John Gilbert "Pud" Northrup) in the care of loving grandparents Lionel Barrymore (as Julian "Gramps" Northrup) and Beulah Bondi (as Nellie "Granny" Northrup). However, they are both getting older, and closer to death...On the brink, Mr. Barrymore receives one special wish. He uses it on an apple tree in his back-yard...This parable is surprisingly effective, and blurs the perception of "good" (god) and "evil" (devil) in a manner uncommon in films of the era. It's better to see this for yourself, and not read anymore about it here. Meanwhile, pis-mired aunt Eily Malyon (as Demetria "Demmy" Riffle) wants to take young Watson from Barrymore, desiring the lad's $50,000 inheritance. Barrymore learns she plans to send the boy to a school for girls and fears this will "make a sissy out of Pud," which must have been considered a fate worse than death, considering this film's startling but satisfying outcome...******** On Borrowed Time (7/6/39) Harold S. Bucquet ~ Lionel Barrymore, Bobs Watson, Eily Malyon, Cedric Hardwicke