The movie left a lot to be desired - and there is no surprise that it wasn't too enthusiastically taken at box office on its release - and it is surprising that - having an element of Ich Klage An (I accuse) - why that wasn't identified ? I haven't seen anywhere that being done - The German movie was on promoting Euthanasia - for terminally ill - which now is almost getting legal - whereas this is on the era which is unlikely to get legalized - suicidal tendency.
The brief plot is - as covered in all other reviews, but I will have to repeat, Death, surprised and dismayed at the way the people of the world fear him, whereas, as he himself mentions, he is gate to the world different and definitely happier (another promotion of suicide) - decides to mix with the people and understand them, for exactly three days. Naturally to get first hand knowledge, he had to become one of them - so he takes a human form, and after sharing his identity and purpose - enters a Baron's home as his guest. There are conditions - breaking them is Death - that the guests living there should stay (his study subjects), and no one else should know his identity - and take him in the Avatar he has assumed - a powerful prince of another land - Prince Sirki (who had very recently, as yet unknown to the people there, entered his realm). There are a few guests - an American society girl Rhoda (Gail Patrick), a flighty Countess, Alda (Katharine Alexander), a man in love with her (Eric), along with the host, Baron (Sir Guy Standing), baroness (Helen Westley) , their son (Kent Taylor), son's fiancee Grazia (Evelyn Venable), Grazia's mother, Princess Maria (Kathleen Howard) and a family friend Baron Cesarea (Henry Travers). Alda and Rhoda -considers the Prince to be a prize catch and compete with each other to bag him. Grazia is attracted, but also slightly discomfited, and the Death, now in human body, gets some human feelings too slowly getting diffused in him. In the end, he falls in love with Grazia, and she reciprocates, and in the climax, when his three days are over, and he has to go back to his shadowy form and world, it is understood that if she accompanies him, that means she is going to die. He magnanimously leaves the choice to her, and the others, including her fiancee, to call her back.
If i leave aside the supernatural element - and look at more human angle, it slightly changes into a story - where a powerful and feared person goes incognito and falls into love with a subject of his empire - and in the end, he has to decide whether taking her to his class would be better for her, or leaving her in her class.
It has some influence of legendary Harun Al Rrashid (the emperor moving incognito to understand subjects) and Cinderella (the prince, while incognito falls in love with a peasant girl). Of course the question in the end, which is relevant, wasn't there in "and the happpily..." Cinderella - how well she would fit in the palace. Will she be happy being away from all the people whom she knew, and cared for (there were others too than her evil steps), just for the sake of one person ? There is no right or wrong answer, many different stories have treated it differently - there was one on Judge - who goes to country and falls in love with a woman, unlike Cinderella, to finally leave her there and go back to his world. He too wasn't wrong in his way of thinking, though most, e.g. Devil and Mrs Jones took the Cinderella path.
The movie was alright, watchable but not extraordinary. And it has something more to do with the controversial ending - both the Hero and heroine were not very convincing. Evelyn was certainly lovely - so lovely that I wonder why she isn't in "the most beautiful actress ever" list, she could be on the top few of it. But that's all, I haven't seen in any movie her emotive prowess. And in a movie like this - the inner conflict of the two are very critical - and could justify the ends - if it isn't there - in this case both failed - the only good performance was from the Duke - the host, and heroine's prospective father in law. Katharine Alexander too was good, but had less presence. Except these two, none other pulled their role through. And that left not a too good taste at the way it ended. A good actress (and actor) could have changed a lot there - by acting it out, not just by looking extremely beautiful / handsome. Had that been there - I would have easily given it another couple of points.
I suspect there is something more to this movie - than just a fairy tale and romance - was it a Propaganda movie ? I find it extremely likely - probably the Hollywood didn't understand it - and may be not many who have watched it. The scare of the powerful unknown, despite it being actually benign - and in the end the beauty falling in love with it (despite being aware of the identity) - was it Communism ? or something similar - which people at that time considered sinister ?
An interesting thought came to my mind, when I looked at the original dramatist, Alberto Casella's life - he was as active fascist - and the fascism was just taking root when this drama was written and staged (around 1920s). Though some literature tells it was his musings during his WW1 experience as a soldier which created the play, but I wonder.
The brief plot is - as covered in all other reviews, but I will have to repeat, Death, surprised and dismayed at the way the people of the world fear him, whereas, as he himself mentions, he is gate to the world different and definitely happier (another promotion of suicide) - decides to mix with the people and understand them, for exactly three days. Naturally to get first hand knowledge, he had to become one of them - so he takes a human form, and after sharing his identity and purpose - enters a Baron's home as his guest. There are conditions - breaking them is Death - that the guests living there should stay (his study subjects), and no one else should know his identity - and take him in the Avatar he has assumed - a powerful prince of another land - Prince Sirki (who had very recently, as yet unknown to the people there, entered his realm). There are a few guests - an American society girl Rhoda (Gail Patrick), a flighty Countess, Alda (Katharine Alexander), a man in love with her (Eric), along with the host, Baron (Sir Guy Standing), baroness (Helen Westley) , their son (Kent Taylor), son's fiancee Grazia (Evelyn Venable), Grazia's mother, Princess Maria (Kathleen Howard) and a family friend Baron Cesarea (Henry Travers). Alda and Rhoda -considers the Prince to be a prize catch and compete with each other to bag him. Grazia is attracted, but also slightly discomfited, and the Death, now in human body, gets some human feelings too slowly getting diffused in him. In the end, he falls in love with Grazia, and she reciprocates, and in the climax, when his three days are over, and he has to go back to his shadowy form and world, it is understood that if she accompanies him, that means she is going to die. He magnanimously leaves the choice to her, and the others, including her fiancee, to call her back.
If i leave aside the supernatural element - and look at more human angle, it slightly changes into a story - where a powerful and feared person goes incognito and falls into love with a subject of his empire - and in the end, he has to decide whether taking her to his class would be better for her, or leaving her in her class.
It has some influence of legendary Harun Al Rrashid (the emperor moving incognito to understand subjects) and Cinderella (the prince, while incognito falls in love with a peasant girl). Of course the question in the end, which is relevant, wasn't there in "and the happpily..." Cinderella - how well she would fit in the palace. Will she be happy being away from all the people whom she knew, and cared for (there were others too than her evil steps), just for the sake of one person ? There is no right or wrong answer, many different stories have treated it differently - there was one on Judge - who goes to country and falls in love with a woman, unlike Cinderella, to finally leave her there and go back to his world. He too wasn't wrong in his way of thinking, though most, e.g. Devil and Mrs Jones took the Cinderella path.
The movie was alright, watchable but not extraordinary. And it has something more to do with the controversial ending - both the Hero and heroine were not very convincing. Evelyn was certainly lovely - so lovely that I wonder why she isn't in "the most beautiful actress ever" list, she could be on the top few of it. But that's all, I haven't seen in any movie her emotive prowess. And in a movie like this - the inner conflict of the two are very critical - and could justify the ends - if it isn't there - in this case both failed - the only good performance was from the Duke - the host, and heroine's prospective father in law. Katharine Alexander too was good, but had less presence. Except these two, none other pulled their role through. And that left not a too good taste at the way it ended. A good actress (and actor) could have changed a lot there - by acting it out, not just by looking extremely beautiful / handsome. Had that been there - I would have easily given it another couple of points.
I suspect there is something more to this movie - than just a fairy tale and romance - was it a Propaganda movie ? I find it extremely likely - probably the Hollywood didn't understand it - and may be not many who have watched it. The scare of the powerful unknown, despite it being actually benign - and in the end the beauty falling in love with it (despite being aware of the identity) - was it Communism ? or something similar - which people at that time considered sinister ?
An interesting thought came to my mind, when I looked at the original dramatist, Alberto Casella's life - he was as active fascist - and the fascism was just taking root when this drama was written and staged (around 1920s). Though some literature tells it was his musings during his WW1 experience as a soldier which created the play, but I wonder.