DEATH TAKES A HOLIDAY (1934) B/W 79m dir: Mitchell Leisen

w/Fredric March, Evelyn Venable, Guy Standing, Katherine Alexander, Gail Patrick, Helen Westley, Kathleen Howard, Kent Taylor, Henry Travers, G.P. Huntley Jr.

From The Movie Guide: "Fredric March, as Death, becomes bored with his usual grim-reaping job and is puzzled that humans fear him so. To learn how he is perceived, he takes on human form as a handsome young prince and becomes the houseguest of an Italian nobleman (Guy Standing). Several guests are quickly repelled by the strange, mysterious prince who bluntly talks of their 'meeting with Fate,' but a lovely, mystical young woman (Evelyn Venable) is drawn to him. Not a living thing dies as Death dallies with love, and so his stay must be brief. But the unusual visitor fears that his new love will be repelled once he reveals his true identity.

"March is riveting as Death, and Standing is also fine as the nervous host. Surprisingly, Paramount assigned the direction of this film to Mitchell Leisen, who had only one previous credit, CRADLE SONG. He was given a sumptuous budget and made the most of it. His background as a set designer for Cecil B. DeMille is evident in the magnificent villa in which March frolicked with Venable. Leisen, who would go on to make HOLD BACK THE DAWN and LADY IN THE DARK, rarely equaled the splendor of this film. He let March have his head, and the actor played his part with ironic vigor, wearing a monocle and delivering his lines in a Balkan accent with great arrogance. Of course, March could do almost no wrong, having won an Oscar only two years earlier for his arresting performance in DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. (He would win his second for THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES.) The 21-year-old Venable, appearing in her second film, had previously starred in CRADLE SONG."