nomoons11 Lemme say my eyes weren't dry after seeing this. Every performance was noteworthy. What an absolute gem.If you wanna have a good cry and have a little insight about death, you can't go wrong with this beautiful little film. This is one of those lost treasures that won't inspire you, it'll make you think. It'll help chip away that fear about death and make you laugh and feel all good inside.Watch out for the crotchety grandpa played perfectly by Lionel Barrymore. If your granddad ain't like him, after seein' this, you'll go to him and say.."Grandad, I want you to be just like Gramps in the film On Borrowed Time..he was the best". Every person who doesn't have kids or has kids and never they never let their kids see their grandparents, should see this film. You'll see why grandparents can be so important in their lives. It's crucial.If your havin' a bad day or your health isn't too good and your down in the dumps, find this and pop it in. I promise you'll feel better when it's over. It's a syrupy sweet, sad, funny and inspirational ride till the end. With all these ingredients, how can you go wrong?

bkoganbing 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.

FriscoJoe 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.

bornyesterdayandtomorrow When I first watched this movie, I was expecting Lionel to be a mean old man, but he wasn't. He was a nice old man who loved his wife, his grandson, and hated Death.I loved Death, though. Not to be mean, but he was so clever! I also loved how they captured him in the tree and wouldn't let him down. Anyone who touched the tree would die. Other than that, death just didn't exist. Brilliant. Of course, they had to let him down--eventually.THE ENDING:Death kills all of them (their time has come--that sort of thing--nothing vile). They go walking off. The movie goes off. MY REACTION:I'm crying. I didn't know that this movie was made in 1939! A great film. A must see!