On Borrowed Time( 1939)

TV-MAComedyDramaFantasy

75%

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Score

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.

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
James Burke
Sheriff Burlingame
Charles Waldron
Reverend Murdock
Ian Wolfe
Charles Wentworth
Phillip Terry
Bill Lowry
Truman Bradley
James Northrup
Dorothy Adams
Florist (uncredited)
Barbara Bedford
Mrs. James Northrup (uncredited)
Sonny Bupp
Boy in Tree (uncredited)
Hans Conried
Man in Convertible (uncredited)
Howard Hickman
Chief Surgeon (uncredited)
Dickie Jones
Boy in Tree (uncredited)
George Lloyd
Chief of Police (uncredited)
Ted Oliver
State Trooper (uncredited)
Doris Rankin
Mrs. Burlingame (uncredited)
Harold Schlickenmayer
First Stretcher Bearer (uncredited)

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Review 1Discussion

A review by barrymost

Written by barrymost on Fri Oct 04 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. ...