On Borrowed Time

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On Borrowed Time (1939)

NR 07/07/1939 (US) Comedy, Drama, Fantasy 1h 39m

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The Great Broadway Stage Hit Reaches The Screen

Overview

Young Pud is orphaned and left in the care of his aged grandparents. The boy and his grandfather are inseparable. Gramps is concerned for Pud's future and wary of a scheming relative who seeks custody of the child. One day Mr. Brink, an agent of Death, arrives to take Gramps "to the land where the woodbine twineth." Through a bit of trickery, Gramps confines Mr. Brink, and thus Death, to the branches of a large apple tree, giving Gramps extra time to resolve issues about Pud's future.

Harold S. Bucquet

Director
Lawrence Edward Watkin

Novel
Frank O'Neill

Screenplay
Alice D.G. Miller

Screenplay
Claudine West

Screenplay

Top Billed Cast

Lionel Barrymore

Julian Northrup aka Gramps
Cedric Hardwicke

Mr. Brink
Beulah Bondi

Nellie Northrup aka Granny
Una Merkel

Marcia Giles
Bobs Watson

Pud Northrup
Nat Pendleton

Mr. Grimes
Henry Travers

Dr. Evans
Grant Mitchell

Mr. Pilbeam
Eily Malyon

Demetria Riffle
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Full Cast & Crew

A review by barrymost

90%

Written by barrymost on October 4, 2019

An old man fights to keep his orphaned grandson from being taken away by a scheming relative, and things get even more difficult when Death comes calling...in the form of the wry and gentlemanly Sir Cedric Hardwicke! The film is well-done and packs a definite emotional wallop. There is a very high standard of acting throughout, and the chemistry between Lionel Barrymore, as the crotchety grandfather, and Bobs Watson, as little Pud, is especially good. Even when confined to a wheelchair, Barrymore's thespian talent still shines through.

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