''On Borrowed Time'' is a 1939 film about the role death plays in life, and how humanity cannot live without it. It is adapted from

Paul Osborn Paul Osborn (September 4, 1901 – May 12, 1988) was an American playwright and screenwriter. Osborn's original plays are '' The Vinegar Tree'', ''Oliver Oliver'', and ''Morning's at Seven'' and among his several successful adaptations, ''On Borr ...

's 1938

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

hit play. The play, based on a novel by

Lawrence Edward Watkin Lawrence Edward Watkin (December 9, 1901 – December 16, 1981) was an American writer and film producer. He was known primarily as a scriptwriter for a series of 1950s Walt Disney films. Life Watkin was born in Camden (town), New York in 1901. ...

, has been revived twice on Broadway since its original run. The story is a retelling of a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

fable Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular mo ...

in which Death is tricked into climbing a pear tree which had been blessed by Saint

Polycarp Polycarp (; el, Πολύκαρπος, ''Polýkarpos''; la, Polycarpus; AD 69 155) was a Christian bishop of Smyrna. According to the ''Martyrdom of Polycarp'', he died a martyr, bound and burned at the stake, then stabbed when the fire failed ...

to trap anyone who was trying to steal an old woman's pears. The opening credits attribute the tale to

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...

. "Mr. Chaucer liked the tale and believed it—and so do we. If perchance you don't believe it, we respectfully insist that we and Mr. Chaucer must be right. Because faith still performs miracles and a good deed does find its just reward." According to TCM.com, this probably refers to Chaucer's "

The Pardoner's Tale "The Pardoner's Tale" is one of ''The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. In the order of the Tales, it comes after The Physician's Tale and before The Shipman's Tale; it is prompted by the Host's desire to hear something positive after t ...

". Set in small-town America, the film stars

Lionel Barrymore Lionel Barrymore (born Lionel Herbert Blythe; April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American actor of stage, screen and radio as well as a film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''A Free Soul'' (1931) ...

Beulah Bondi Beulah Bondi (born Beulah Bondy; May 3, 1889 – January 11, 1981)According to the State of California. ''California Death Index, 1940–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. At ...

and

Sir Cedric Hardwicke Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years. His theatre work included notable performances in productions of the plays of William Shakespeare, Shakes ...

. Barrymore plays crotchety wheelchair-using Julian Northrup ("Gramps"), who smokes a smelly pipe, cherishes a smelly dog, prefers fishing to churchgoing, occasionally takes a nip of "tonic" and indulges in mild profanity. (Barrymore had broken his hip twice and was reliant on a wheelchair at the time.) Gramps and his wife, Nellie, played by Bondi, are raising their orphaned grandson, Pud, who adores his grandfather and mimics everything he does. Hardwicke plays Mr. Brink, the elegant and aloof

personification of death Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...

Plot

Mr. Brink takes Pud's (

Bobs Watson Robert Ball Watson (November 16, 1930 – June 26, 1999), credited as Bobs Watson, was an American actor and Methodist minister. Early years Robert Ball Watson was a member of the Watson Family, famous in the early days of Hollywood as being ...

) parents in an auto wreck. Gramps gives generously to the minister who delivered the eulogy, and Pud tells Gramps that because he has done a good deed, he can make a wish. Boys are constantly stealing Gramps' apples. He and Pud chase the latest perpetrator away; he wishes that anyone who climbs up the tree will have to stay there until he permits them to climb down. Later, Pud inadvertently tests the wish, letting go of a branch only when Gramps says he can. Pud's blue-nosed busybody Aunt Demetria (

Eily Malyon Eily Malyon (born Eily Sophie Lees-Craston; 30 October 1879 – 26 September 1961) was an English character actress from about 1900 to the 1940s. She had a stage career in Britain, Australia and America before moving to Hollywood to perfo ...

), known to Gramps and Pud as a "pismire" ("the meanest ant there is"), has designs on Pud and his inheritance. Her condoling drives the boy to tears and Gramps to a near-fatal heart attack. While Pud fetches a glass of water, Mr. Brink comes for Gramps: It is time to go "where the woodbine twineth," the words Gramps used to tell Pud about death. Gramps refuses: Pud needs him. Mr. Brink vanishes when Miss Nellie calls. Pud returns and asks who the stranger was. Miss Nellie feels her age and worries about Gramps' influence on Pud. They quarrel, and Mr. Brink takes her peacefully, just before Gramps comes in to apologize. He is inconsolable until their housekeeper, Marcia (

Una Merkel Una Merkel (December 10, 1903 – January 2, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress. Merkel was born in Kentucky and acted on stage in New York in the 1920s. She went to Hollywood in 1930 and became a popular film ...

), tells him Miss Nellie's last words: "Always see that Julian has his pipe." Reinvigorated, Gramps sees a lawyer about picking a future guardian for Pud, only to learn that Demetria is going to court to adopt the boy now. When Mr. Brink returns for Gramps, the old man knows who it is and, to Pud's delight, tricks Mr. Brink into fetching an apple. While stuck in the tree, he cannot take Gramps—or anyone else. The only way anything can die is by touching the tree—as does their beloved dog, Betty. Gramps has a fence put up around the deadly tree. Demetria plots to have Gramps committed to a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

when he claims that Death, now invisible, is trapped in his apple tree. Only Pud and Gramps can hear him. Gramps proves his story by holding a gun on his friend, Dr. Evans (

Henry Travers Travers John Heagerty (5 March 1874 – 18 October 1965), known professionally as Henry Travers, was an English film and stage character actor. His best known role was the guardian angel Clarence Odbody in the 1946 film ''It's a Wonderful Life' ...

), and Grimes the orderly (

Nat Pendleton Nathaniel Greene Pendleton (August 9, 1895 – October 12, 1967) was an American Olympic wrestler, film actor, and stage performer. His younger brother, Edmund J. Pendleton (1899-1987), was a well-known music composer and choir maste ...

), who has come to take him to the asylum. Gramps demands that the doctor kill a fly. He can't. Gramps shoots Grimes, who wakes up in the hospital hungry instead of dead. Elsewhere in the hospital, three patients are "on the brink, but they're holding their own." Dr. Evans becomes a believer, but he tries to convince Gramps to let Death down so suffering people can find release. Gramps refuses, so the doctor arranges for the local sheriff to commit him. Pud is to be delivered to Demetria. Gramps realizes that sooner or later he will have to give in. He tries to say goodbye to a distraught Pud, who runs away. A bird flies into the tree and dies. With Marcia's help, and over Mr. Brink's protests, Gramps tricks Demetria and the Sheriff into believing they are scheduled to go with Mr. Brink. They beg Gramps to convince Mr. Brink otherwise, and Demetria vows never to bother Gramps or Pud again. Marcia and Gramps search for Pud to tell him the good news. On-Borrowed-Time-1938

Mr. Brink sees Pud in the yard and dares him to look him in the eye. Pud climbs to the top of the fence and falls. His agonizing injuries would be fatal, if Death were there to take him. Holding Pud in his lap, Gramps asks Mr. Brink: "Please come down and take us both." They find they can walk again. They walk together up a beautiful country lane... "Gee it smells good here Gramps." "That's the woodbine, sonny. How long we going to be here Mr. Brink?" "For Eternity" "How long is Eternity, Gramps?" "That's a right smart piece of time, boy." They hear Miss Nellie calling to them from beyond a brilliant light. "Coming Miss Nellie, Coming!" "Coming Grandma!" Betty runs, barking, to meet them. The closing text reads: "And so they lived happily for all eternity—which, as Gramps would say, is a right smart piece of time."

Cast

as Julian Northrup (Gramps) *

as Mr. Brink *

as Nellie Northrup (Granny to Pud, Miss Nellie to Gramps) *

as Marcia Giles, the Northrups' housekeeper *

as John 'Pud' Northrup *

as Mr. Grimes *

as Dr. James Evans * Grant Mitchell as Ben Pilbeam, Gramps' lawyer *

as Demetria Riffle * James Burke as Sheriff Burlingame *

Charles Waldron Charles Waldron (December 24, 1874 – March 4, 1946) was an American stage and film actor, sometimes credited as Charles Waldron Sr., Chas. Waldron Sr., Charles D. Waldron or Mr. Waldron. Early life He was born and grew up in Waterford, New ...

as Reverend Murdock *

Ian Wolfe Ian Marcus Wolfe (November 4, 1896 – January 23, 1992) was an American character actor with around 400 film and television credits. Until 1934, he worked in the theatre. That year, he appeared in his first film role and later television, as ...

as Charles Wentworth *

Phillip Terry Phillip Terry (born Frederick Henry Kormann, March 7, 1909 – February 23, 1993) was an American actor. Early years Terry was born in San Francisco, California, the only child of German Americans, Frederick Andrew Kormann and Ida Ruth Voll. Hi ...

as Bill Lowry, Ben Pilbeam's assistant and Marcia's boyfriend * Truman Bradley as James Northrup * Barbara Bedford as Mrs. James Northrup (uncredited)

Reception

In his July 7, 1939, review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Frank S. Nugent says that the film "isn't nearly so effective on the screen as it was on the stage", pointing out the "

Hays code The Motion Picture Production Code was a set of industry guidelines for the self-censorship of content that was applied to most motion pictures released by major studios in the United States from 1934 to 1968. It is also popularly known as the ...

required the toning down of the salty dialogue that was at once the most comically shocking and endearing virtue" of Gramps and Pud. According to Nugent:

Production

Frank Morgan Francis Phillip Wuppermann (June 1, 1890 – September 18, 1949), known professionally as Frank Morgan, was an American character actor. He was best known for his appearances in films starting in the silent era in 1916, and then numerous soun ...

was originally slated to play Gramps, until Barrymore convinced the studio he could play the part in spite of his disability. Gramps is a veteran of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

—he observes that they told him he was too young to serve—and of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

—he refers to

Battle of San Juan Hill The Battle of San Juan Hill, also known as the Battle for the San Juan Heights, was a major battle of the Spanish–American War fought between an American force under the command of William Rufus Shafter and Joseph Wheeler against a Spanish fo ...

. Early in the film, Mr. Brink tells Gramps he is there to take him "where the woodbine twineth." This is a reference to an 1870 poem by

Septimus Winner Septimus Winner (May 11, 1827 – November 22, 1905) was an American songwriter of the 19th century. He used his own name, and also the pseudonyms Alice Hawthorne, Percy Guyer, Mark Mason, Apsley Street, and Paul Stenton. He was also a teacher ...

(under the pseudonym Apsley Street) euphemizing death, heaven, and the afterlife. Gramps dismissively tells Mr. Brink that's what people say to children. Gramps would have been a child himself around the 1870s, and would likely have heard that phrase in a popular song of that era.

References

External links

* * * *
1952 ''Best Plays'' radio adaptation of original play
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

1946 ''Theatre Guild on the Air'' radio adaptation of original play
at

* {{Harold S. Bucquet 1939 films 1930s fantasy films American fantasy films American black-and-white films Films about wish fulfillment Films scored by Franz Waxman American films based on plays Films directed by Harold S. Bucquet Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Fiction about personifications of death 1930s English-language films 1930s American films