Death Takes a Holiday (1971)

          If the title of this telefilm seems familiar, it’s because the play upon which this picture was based also provided source material for the Frederic March melodrama Death Takes a Holiday (1934) and the Brad Pitt romance Meet Joe Black (1998). In all iterations of the story, Death briefly assumes human form in order to investigate why humans cling so dearly to life, only to fall in love with a woman while spending time among the living. While not as impressive as the other Hollywood adaptations, the 1971 version on Death Takes a Holiday is palatable because the underlying storyline is so intriguing and because supporting performances elevate the experience. Also worth mentioning is the florid but sensitive script by veteran TV script Rita Lakin—even though her style tends toward soapy breathlessness intermingled with ornate speechifying, she connects with a handful of poignant moments. Sometimes neutralizing her work is graceless direction by Robert Butler, a three-time Emmy winner who did better work elsewhere; one assumes Butler was constrained by a meager budget and schedule.

          In the waters off a private island, Peggy Chapman (Yvette Mimieux) seemingly drowns, only to wake on shore alongside mysterious David Smith (Monte Markham), whom she assumes saved her life. Peggy invites David to her family’s nearby compound, where the large clan has gathered for a celebration. Some of the Chapmans welcome David warmly, but Peggy’s aging father, retired judge Earl (Melvyn Douglas), senses danger. As David and Peggy become more enamored of each other, Earl learns about something bizarre happening on the mainland—since the time of David’s arrival, no one on Earth has died. This causes Earl to realize that he’s seen David before during near-death experiences. Thus begins a strangely compelling cycle of philosophical discussions on the place mortality occupies in the universe, leading eventually to Earl’s attempts at changing his family’s destiny. Without Douglas and Myrna Loy (who plays his character’s wife), Death Takes a Holiday would be nearly disposable because Markham and Mimieux are, respectively, mannered and shallow. (Rendering equally perfunctory work is costar Bert Convy, whose character competes with David for Peggy’s affections.) Nonetheless, Douglas and Loy lend so much gravitas that their scenes cast a regal glow across the entire movie.

Death Takes a Holiday: FUNKY

One Is a Lonely Number (1972)

         Several years before Paul Mazurzky made An Unmarried Woman (1979), now generally considered one of the definitive studies of how females experienced the ’70s divorce spike, MGM released this competent but vapid drama about a woman in her twenties whose ordered world is rocked when her husband abruptly quits their marriage. Over the course of the story, the heroine attempts to find herself in romance and work, all the while convinced her husband will take her back. In principle, there’s nothing wrong with this subject matter, and the screenplay by David Seltzter—though unrelentingly trite in many important regards—approaches the heroine’s crisis with respect. Unfortunately, there’s so little substance to this journey that One Is a Lonely Number disappears from the memory at the same moment it’s unfolding. This ephemeral quality is exacerbated by Trish Van Devere’s stiff performance in the leading role. Although Van Devere is lovely in an understated, East Coast blueblood sort of way, she delivers all of her dialogue with such formality that she botches this shot at an iconic performance.

          Van Devere plays Amy, the housewife of a San Francisco college professor. After the professor dumps Amy in the opening scene, she finds work as a lifeguard at a public pool, and the position comes complete with a lecherous employment-office staffer who makes passes at her. Amy consoles herself with the company of friends including elderly grocer Joseph (Melvyn Douglas), and eventually she meets gentle-mannered stud Howard (Monte Markham) at a party. While enjoying her new romance with Howard, Amy contrives with her lawyer to force her husband into returning to San Francisco from Reno, where he’s establishing residency for divorce. She also commiserates with gal pals Madge (Jane Elliot) and Gert (Janet Leigh), the latter of whom runs a support group for divorced women. (The movie would have benefited from a lot more Leigh, who plays her character as a likably saucy broad.) Director Mel Stuart shoots One Is a Lonely Number smoothly, employing the loping hills of San Francisco for atmosphere, and the picture captures a fashion moment with its cavalcade of awful polyester clothes. Alas, the only real emotion in the picture stems from Douglas’ poignant turn, especially since the main character is a doormat for most of the story. By the time Amy grows a spine in the movie’s final scenes, it’s hard to care much what happens, even though her plight should be highly relatable. FYI, MGM made a pathetic attempt at re-releasing this middling movie after its initial box-office nonperformance by reconfiguring the title as Two Is a Happy Number.

One Is a Lonely Number: FUNKY