吉尔·帕特里克

　　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)

　　上世纪40年代初期，德国攻占英国前夕，瑞士的里克特男爵向英国大使凯利建议采取和平态度，因为抵抗纳粹无异于以卵击石，而凯利却拒绝接受他的建议，并宣称英国将抗战到底。英国当时的处境极其险恶，陆军在刚刚结束的法兰西战役中损失惨重，英国本土仅剩下780门火炮、160门反坦克炮和200辆坦克。空军也在战役中受到重创，损失了约1000架飞机，牺牲了435名富有经验的飞行员。英国皇家空军上将道丁已经察觉到一场大战迫在眉睫，他需要更多的飞机和飞行员。不久之后，丘吉尔首相宣布大不列颠之战正式开战。

　　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。

　　《我的高德弗里》由一处破败的垃圾场开始，尖锐地嘲笑了贵族们无聊透顶的“狩猎”游戏，同时也把平民化的男主角高非里带进了一个有趣但完全颓废的布尔乔亚家庭。那里充满了对立，姐姐厌恶他，想方设法地陷害他；而妹妹善良正直，偏偏对这位穷管家心有独衷。其实这位管家毕业于名牌高校，他用主人家的钱偷偷投资,最终使得这个家庭免于破产，并且为流浪汉修建了一个“垃圾场”俱乐部。当然，美人入怀也是必不可少的。男主角威廉·鲍威尔仪态儒雅，凭借侦探喜剧《瘦人》系列蜚声好莱坞；妹妹扮演者卡罗尔·隆巴德更是美国少有的天才喜剧演员，她嫁给盖博，并于1942年出演了刘别谦的反战名作《生死问题》。可惜，该片尚未公映，隆巴德不幸在拉斯维加斯坠机身亡。

　　千金小姐特里·兰多（凯瑟琳·赫本 Katharine Hepburn 饰）家境殷实地位高贵，然而性格倔强的兰多却不想依靠家族的关系登上百老汇的舞台。怀揣梦想满怀抱负的兰多住进了一个带有戏剧色彩的俱乐部。兰多从而结识了她的室友珍·梅特兰（金格尔·罗杰斯 Ginger Rogers 饰），一个夸夸其谈的女演员。面对残酷的竞争，兰多渐渐发现自己跟其他人的不同，她演戏只是出于热爱，而其他人却是为了生存。兰多的父亲决定暗中帮助女儿的事业，却不曾想过他的暗中帮忙反而对女儿造成了更大的伤害。　　影片荣获1938年第10届奥斯卡金像奖最佳影片、最佳女配角、最佳导演和最佳剧本4项提名。

　　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

　　演员保罗·奥尔曼偶然得知，他订做的燕尾服受到过诅咒，但凡是穿过它的人都会碰上厄运。在接下来连续发生的四个关于燕尾服和它的主人们的故事中，所谓的“厄运”似乎往往将事物真实的一面向人们揭示开。