主演：弗雷德里克·马奇,伊夫琳·维纳布尔,盖伊·斯坦丁,凯瑟琳·亚历山大,吉尔·帕特里克,凯瑟琳·霍华德,肯特·泰勒,亨利·崔佛斯,G·P·亨特利,莫洛尼·奥尔森,赫克托·萨尔诺,菲利普斯·斯莫利,Helen Westley,Anna De Linsky,Otto Hoffman,Frank Yaconelli
简介：Because I could not stop for Death, he kindly stopped for me; the carriage held but just ourselves and immortality” – Emily Dickinson If Death took a holiday, the guns would go silent in Iraq, the slaughter on our nation’s highways would cease, and the news media would be compelled to cover positive events in the humanities, arts, and sciences. Unfortunately, Death has not had a vacation in recorded history, but Mitchell Leisen’s 1934 fantasy, Death Takes a Holiday, allows us to consider the possibility. Co-written by Maxwell Anderson and Gladys Lehman and based on the play La Morte in Vacanza by Alberto Casella, Death Takes a Holiday stars Frederic March as the Grim Reaper who takes on human form in an attempt to discover why men fear him so much. Why he has waited 5,000 years to satisfy this curiosity is not explained. [Spoiler] After a brief tryout as a shadowy figure who scares the daylights out of those that cross his path, Death shows up at, of all places, an upscale party at an Italian villa, posing as the mysterious Prince Sirki. Only one person knows who he really is, the host Duke Lambert (Guy Standing), and he is sworn to secrecy. Sirki proceeds to fascinate the guests. Given to bursts of wit and poetry, he can just as quickly turn sullen and threatening, and some soon find out that it is better not to look too deeply into his eyes. During the three days in which the Prince is at the villa, however, people all over the world miraculously escape death and potential suicides are doomed to frustration. To see what’s behind all the conversation about love, the suave but naïve Prince Sirki falls for the irresistible Grazia (Evelyn Venable), the daughter of one of Duke’s friends. Grazia knows who Death is but does not fear him, much to the chagrin of her fiancé, Corrado (Kent Taylor) who has developed a strong disdain for Prince Charming. More sinister than Brad Pitt in the 1998 remake Meet Joe Black, March turns in a very convincing performance as the creepy yet strangely appealing guest. Although the ending is melodramatic, the emotions are very real and the suggestion that Death may in reality be a friend disguised as a foe is quite touching. (Howard Schumann, talkingpix.co.uk) In this wearisome and predictable plot line, Death falls in love and bores us to death talking about it. (Dennis Schwartz, homepages.sover.net) I've heard DRACULA was advertised with the tag line The Weirdest Love Story ever told! (this is probably a paraphrase), but at heart, I've never felt that you could honestly call that movie a love story. The tag line would be much more appropriate for this one, since it ultimately boils down to what amounts to a love story. This movie is very good indeed, particularly if you consider that it is built around a concept that could have easily been handled in a cute or facile manner. Instead, it is handled as seriously as possible, with some real thought put into how death would try to come to terms with a life and an outlook that was to that point totally unfamiliar to him; much of the credit does go to Fredric March in the title role. It's quite scary when it needs to be, particularly during the first twenty minutes. From then on, it deals with its themes with subtlety, a quiet wit, an enduring sadness, and an everpresent tension on how Death might react if crossed. It's not perfect; some of the dialogue is self-conscious and artificial, as if the writers knew they were dealing with weighty issues and were trying to be profound. But I am certainly glad they didn't try to turn it into a musical comedy of sorts. (Dave Sindelar, scifilm.org) See also the remake Death Takes A Holiday (1971)
简介： 哈里斯（迈克尔·雷德格瑞夫 Michael Redgrave 饰）是一位教授古典文学的教师，他温文尔雅极具气质，一生都勤勤恳恳地工作做人。然而，某一日，他竟然遭到了解雇，美其名曰“提前退休”，而他的学生们竟然完全不以为意。与此同时，哈里斯亦发现，自己毕生研究的古典文学，如今毫无价值，而自己则变成了一个无人问津的老古董。 糟糕的不仅仅是这些，哈里斯本以为自己和妻子米莉（简·肯特 Jean Kent 饰）之间的感情十分要好，然而，实际上，米莉早就和一名化学老师暗度陈仓许久，对于这一切，哈里斯竟然一无所知。人至暮年，哈里斯逐渐失去了对于生活的信心和希望，就在这时，他曾经的一名学生送给了他一本勃朗宁翻译的《阿伽门农》，正是这本书帮助哈里斯找回了勇气和自我。《白朗宁版本》（The Browning Version）是一部于1951年上映的英国电影，由安东尼·阿斯奎斯执导，泰伦斯·拉提根编剧。影片改编自特伦斯·拉提根的同名舞台剧，故事发生在英国的一所公立学校。主角安德鲁·克罗克（迈克尔·雷德格瑞夫饰）是一位备受尊敬的古典语言教师，但他的教学生涯即将结束，因为他即将退休。他的教学方法和严格的态度导致他与学生和同事之间存在隔阂，缺乏亲近和温暖的关系。在故事的背景中，安德鲁面临着一系列挑战和个人危机。他的妻子米莉（简·肯特饰）对他感到失望和冷漠，与一位年轻的体育教师弗兰克（奈吉尔·帕特里克饰）有着暧昧关系。此外，安德鲁还受到学生塞克斯顿（维尔弗雷德·海德-怀特饰）的羞辱和欺凌。随着退休日的临近，安德鲁开始重新审视自己的人生和教育理念。他渴望得到他人的认可和尊重，同时也渴望与妻子重建起他们的婚姻。这个过程中，安德鲁逐渐展现出人性的柔软和温情，他通过一次重要的演讲表达出自己内心的真情实感。《白朗宁版本》以其深情而触动人心的故事和精湛的演技而著名。迈克尔·雷德格瑞夫在片中饰演的安德鲁·克罗克展现了出色的表演功力，将角色的内心情感和挣扎刻画得淋漓尽致。影片通过细腻的情感描写和生动的人物形象，深入探讨了人性的复杂性和教育的力量。
简介：Steve and Susan Ireland are about to celebrate their 4th wedding anniversary by re-enacting their first date. When Susan's meddling mother interrupts and injures herself. Steve is left to take care of her and when he meets an old flame in the elevator--Susan's mother takes the opportunity to break-up their marriage. She convinces Susan that Steve is cheating on her-Susan files for divorce. Steve has one solution to save his marriage...Pretend he is insane. Written by Kelly