In 1938, a new play called On Borrowed Time became a success on Broadway. This put in on the Hollywood fast-track, as the cinematic adaptation made it to movie theaters only a year later.

In the persona of “Mr. Brink” (Cedric Hardwicke), Death takes the parents of young Pud (Bobs Watson). The orphan ends up with his wheelchair-bound grandfather Julian Northrup (Lionel Barrymore).

Determined to stick around as long as possible to care for Pud, Julian tricks Mr. Brink when the Grim Reaper comes for him. Though this extends Julian’s life, it comes with unintended consequences since now no one can die.

Based on the era of this film’s creation and its subject matter, one could make an easy leap to believe Frank Capra directed Time. Throw in the fact it includes notable Capra collaborators Barrymore, Beulah Bondi and Henry Travers and this seems even more likely.

Nope. Rather than the legendary Capra, we get Harold S. Bucquet.

A look at Bucquet’s filmography shows that he enjoyed a good run with the Dr. Kildare movies. Otherwise, he seems largely forgotten, unlike the still-well-remembered Capra.

A viewing of Time makes me actively wish Capra helmed this project rather than the wholly ordinary Bucquet. Despite a story with ample potential, in Bucquet’s hands, this becomes a dud.

Granted, I can’t blame all the problems on Bucquet, as the screenplay creates many of them. Time evolves at an awfully slow rate, so the plot twist in which Julian seems to conquer death doesn’t occur until halfway into the movie’s running time.

This feels far too long. The movie’s initial 50 minutes or so just plod.

We get necessary exposition and development in that period but these elements become redundant. Time simply drags as it meanders toward its primary narrative gimmick.

Matters do pick up after that, so the flick’s second half fares better than the first. Nonetheless, Bucquet lacked the talent to make the end result as dynamic and engaging as a better director could.

Which brings me back to my belief that Capra could’ve turned Time into a much more compelling movie. As executed here, we get a slow and oddly dull fantasy.

On Borrowed Time appears in an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Warner Archives’ Blu-rays are pretty much money in the bank, and this became another winner.

Sharpness satisfied overall. Only a few instances of softness materialized, so the film usually appeared well-defined and accurate.

Jagged edges and moiré effects caused no problems. Edge haloes remained absent, and with a layer of fine grain, I suspected no issues with noise reduction.

Black levels seemed nicely deep and dark, and contrast was appropriately displayed. The movie showed a good silvery look, and shadow detail was also concise and developed.

Source flaws failed to become an issue. The transfer eliminated those defects and left this as a clean presentation. I felt very happy with this appealing transfer.

As for the film’s DTS-HD MA monaural soundtrack, it replicated the original material with positive quality. Dialogue seemed appropriate for its era, and was relatively crisp and well-defined with no signs of edginess or problems related to intelligibility.

In terms of the score, it was acceptably broad and clear. The material presented little low end but the dynamics were fine for a track of this vintage.

Though effects were similarly dated, they seemed adequately clean and realistic, and no aspects of the mix displayed signs of distortion. Background noise failed to become an issue. All in all, the audio worked well for its age.

Two radio productions appear on the disc. We get an April 1, 1946 Screen Guild Theater (29:55) adaptation of Time as well as an October 29, 1948 broadcast of Great Scenes from Great Plays (25:53).

“Guild” brings back Lionel Barrymore as Julian and uses Vincent Price and Agnes Moore head as Mr. Brink and Demetria, respectively. “Scenes” features Boris Karloff as Julian but leaves the other actors unnamed.

Given their brevity, both adaptations chop out large sections of the story, but they often eliminate different aspects of the narrative. One cut in common: both completely lose any mention of Julian’s wife Nellie.

Otherwise, I’d guess that the two give us the same content about half the time. Does either one fate better than the other?

Not really, though I like some of the new casting. Price and Karloff both create good versions of Mr. Brink, and Moorehead makes for a better Demetria than the movie’s Eily Malyon. Neither makes me think Time delivers a great story, but they’re fun to hear.

Along with the movie’s trailer, we get two vintage shorts circa 1939. The disc includes A Day on Treasure Island (9:55) and Wanted: No Master (7:07).

As implied by the title, Island brings a travelogue the touts the wonders of that San Francisco location. It exists as a form of propaganda but it still brings a decent look at the location circa the late 1930s.

A cartoon, Master features the essentially forgotten characters “Count Screwloose and JR the Wonder Dog”. Indeed, I don’t believe I ever heard of them until a few weeks back when I saw them in a short included on the Blu-ray for the Marx Brothers’ At the Circus.

That short scored some points because it seemed edgier than the usual fare of the era, and that continues here, though Master comes with an unfortunate racist side – well, “racist” by 2025 standards but not as most viewers would’ve felt in 1939. Anyway, it becomes a watchable short despite some of those unpleasant choices.

Despite a clever premise, On Borrowed Time doesn’t quite click. Though it picks up in its second half, it tends to move too slowly and feel too repetitive to connect. The Blu-ray comes with solid visuals, appropriate audio and a few supplements. Chalk up Time as a modest disappointment.