Death on Holiday?

[Rocketeer]

Just watched Meet Joe Black, which was lovely, but perhaps twenty minutes too long (Mrs. R jumped at the sudden accident about fifteen minutes in), and it brought to mind Death Takes a Holiday–which I’ve never seen, but which sounds interesting. But 'taint available on Netflix, curse it all.

…and then I thought it might be fun to have a little “Death on Holiday” film festival of my own, like the time I watched all the Thin Man movies back-to-back one week. What are some other movies with the “Death Takes a Holiday” theme?

[Fiveroptic]

Well, there was that Family Guy episode, “Death is a Bitch.”

From the Family Guy Wiki:

Lois finds a lump on Peter’s breast and worries that the lump could be cancer. Peter sees a doctor. It turns out to be a benign fatty corpuscle, but Peter does not want to pay the hospital bill, so he declares himself deceased on the insurance form. When Death shows up at his house, Peter tries to run away and Death sprains his ankle chasing him. Death demands that Peter say nothing about Death’s injury and the fact that no one can die while Death recovers, but Peter instead blabs about it to his drinking buddies, and inevitably proves it several times by getting shot. The fact that no one can die becomes top news.

Peter is forced to take over Death’s job in order to prove to people they can still die and is assigned by Death to kill the kids from Dawson’s Creek, but fails to do so because he says, “If I do, then I have nothing to watch on Wednesdays.” Instead, Peter unwittingly kills two airplane pilots, proving people are not immortal, and forcing actress Karen Black to land the plane.

Oh, and I recommend that you get your hands on a copy of Death Takes a Holiday as soon as possible. It is touching and enchanting on levels that Meet Joe Black didn’t even come close to.

[Defensive_Indifference]

I have only vague memories now of On Borrowed Time, but I think it meets your criteria. Lionel Barrymore tricks Death so that he gets trapped in a tree and can’t claim his (Barrymore’s) life. I remember liking it quite a bit, but I haven’t seen it in probably 20 years. But, hey, Lionel Barrymore!

As a subversive touch, you could end with the Twilight Zone episode “Nothing in the Dark” in which a young Robert Redford plays Death. However,

He emphatically does not take a holiday. He ends up easing the old woman’s transition into death. Kind of touching, really.

[FriarTed]

There was also a 1971 made-for-TV version of DTaH, which I know I saw but don’t recall much about. The reviews on IMDB are few but all positive. Of course, it’s not available on VHS or DVD.

[Johnny_L.A]

Totally unrelated to the OP, but for some reason I keep thinking of the ‘found a peanut’ scene in Tromeo And Juliet. (Kind of seems like a family on holiday.)

[Horatio_Hellpop]

Prairie Home Companion, perhaps?

[Snooooopy]

There is an episode of the 2002 revival of The Twilight Zone called “One Night at Mercy” featuring Jason Alexander as a depressed Death who wants to retire. I don’t know if it’s any good; I read a synopsis.

[Yorikke]

@Rocketeer

Just watched Meet Joe Black, which was lovely, but perhaps twenty minutes too long (Mrs. R jumped at the sudden accident about fifteen minutes in), and it brought to mind Death Takes a Holiday–which I’ve never seen, but which sounds interesting. But 'taint available on Netflix, curse it all.

FYI, Meet Joe Black is an actual remake of DTAH, not just a similar movie…

Joe

[garygnu]

Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey

[Bryan_Ekers]

You’d bloody well need a holiday if you had to spend your day dealing with bloody twits who won’t shut up and keep asking oh-so-stupid questions, cor blimey!

[Rocketeer]

Thanks for the suggestions, everybody. Netflix doesn’t list Death Takes a Holiday, so I suppose I’d have to go eBay or some little shady outfit.

I have actually seen the Robert Redford Twilight Zone episode, which I remember as being quite touching. And I own Tromeo & Juliet, which was, um, weird.

I guess Death takes a holiday in Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey–at least he take some time to enjoy himself playing board games…

[TV_time]

Woddy Allen wrote someting about a New York clothier who plays gin with death and gets an extra day of life out of the deal. Of course, this is a take off on the classic Ingamar Bergman scene of playing chess with death for extra time.

[Sigmagirl]

Rocketeer, you don’t say if you’re in the U.S., but I have seen the original (Fredric March) Death Takes a Holiday on TCM. You can watch their listings and I think you can go to their web site and request it. You might get lucky.

[Zebra]

The Seventh Seal, Heaven Can Wait, The Remake of Heaven Can Wait, and the other remake of it with Chris Rock, all feature a delayed death. (well sort of)

[cher3]

If we’re throwing in written things, there’s Pratchett’s Reaper Man, although, IIRC, Death doesn’t take a holiday, exactly, so much as get laid off.

[Sigmagirl]

There is an episode of *Dead Like Me * called “Vacation” in which the reapers get a day off. They sit around doing clerical work, and nobody dies.

[Jophiel]

@cher3

If we’re throwing in written things, there’s Pratchett’s Reaper Man, although, IIRC, Death doesn’t take a holiday, exactly, so much as get laid off.

Or Piers Anthony’s On A Pale Horse where Death goes on strike to avoid having his girlfriend die.

[Rick]

Speaking of death taking a little time off

[CalMeacham]

I have only vague memories now of On Borrowed Time, but I think it meets your criteria. Lionel Barrymore tricks Death so that he gets trapped in a tree and can’t claim his (Barrymore’s) life. I remember liking it quite a bit, but I haven’t seen it in probably 20 years. But, hey, Lionel Barrymore!

I came in to mention that one – I’ve only seen it once, over thirty years ago.

The Seventh Seal has already been mentioned, as has Bill and Ted’s, which parodies it. Another parody is the short De Duva, with a really young Madeline Kahn:

De Düva: The Dove (Short 1968) ⭐ 7.4 | Short, Comedy

It was also parodied in the Woody Allen playlet “Death Knocks” (which hasn’t been filmed AFAIK) and in an ad in an old National Lampoon for the book “Bobby Fischer Teaches You How to Beat Death at Chess” (Obviously, Death eventually learned better). Here are other parodies, from iMDB:

Spoofed in
Woton’s Wake (1962)

• Chess game on beach
  De Düva: The Dove (1968)
  Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
  Love and Death (1975)
  Animalympics (1980)
• The Scandinavian horse works with an “Ingmar Birdman,” a spoof on Bergman, director of the film; in addition, the horse is dressed as Death playing chess with a knight, a Seventh Seal reference.
  The Meaning of Life (1983)
  “The Young Ones: Nasty (#2.3)” (1984)
• The opening scene sees a man play chess with the grim reaper and win, the grim reaper then gets mad, the end sees the scene reprised with them playing mini-golf. It spoofs this film where a man plays chess with the grim reaper.
  Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey (1991)
  “Animaniacs: Meatballs or Consequences/A Moving Experience (#1.19)” (1993)
• The Warner Bros. play checkers with the grim reaper to try and win Wakko’s soul back (he wants to play chess but they don’t know how).
  Yrrol (1994)
  Svarta filmen, Den (1995)
  Juedi fanji (1997)
  The Auteur Theory (1999)
  The Independent (2000)
• Jerry Stiller portrays a b-movie director and one of his earliest films is an army training film about VD. It is a direct spoof of Det Sjunde inseglet, complete with the death character playing chess with a herpes victim.
  Pól serio (2001)
  Late Night with Conan O’Brien: 10th Anniversary Special (2003) (TV)
• Max Von Sydow and Death are parodied in a Swedish language black & white sketch, with Conan seeking the meaning of life.

The Seventh Seal (1957) - Connections - IMDb

[Skywatcher]

I recall an episode of “Night Court” in which a guy claiming to be Death has been locked up; while he’s in jail, nobody dies.