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Community reviews
From TMDb members · 1 total- barrymost9/10
An old man fights to keep his orphaned grandson from being taken away by a scheming relative, and things get even more difficult when Death comes calling...in the form of the wry and gentlemanly Sir Cedric Hardwicke! The film is well-done and packs a definite emotional wallop.…
Full text & links on TMDb in the reviews section below.
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On Borrowed Time
“The Great Broadway Stage Hit Reaches The Screen”
76%
Movie
1h 39m
AI Analysis
On Borrowed Time (1939) — AI movie analysis
WatchMind AI generated this AI analysis of On Borrowed Time (1939) — a movie tagged as Comedy, Drama, and Fantasy with funny moods and steady pacing.
Story & themes: Young Pud is orphaned and left in the care of his aged grandparents. The boy and his grandfather are inseparable. Gramps is concerned for Pud's future and wary of a scheming relative who seeks custody of the child. One day Mr. Brink, an agent of Death, arrives to take Gramps "to the land where the woodbine twineth."… Our models also surface themes such as family and war from synopsis and genre signals.
Watch context: Best suited for date night and casual background watching. Expect steady storytelling (~99 min).
Community signal: TMDb members rate On Borrowed Time 76% (30 votes) — strong audience scores for this movie.
AI verdict
On Borrowed Time is a film worth prioritising when you want something with strong audience scores — our AI analysis flags it as a strong match for its genre and tone profile.
Preview on this device: 41% match — Matches your funny mood + drama. Sign in to save your profile across devices.
Algorithmic AI analysis from genres, synopsis, pacing heuristics, and TMDb community scores — not a generative chatbot. How WatchMind works.
Insights
Audience & engagement
How WatchMind visitors interact with this title — views, saves, sentiment, and taste match when you're signed in, or a device preview while browsing. Aggregates are anonymous; last 30 days.
Early data — charts fill in as more people explore this title.
TMDb audience score
76%
from 30 TMDb votes
Taste match (this device)
41%match
Preview from browsing on this browser — not saved to an account yet.
Matches your funny mood + drama
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Engagement breakdown
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Views trend (14 days)
Daily title page views on WatchMind
Synopsis
Young Pud is orphaned and left in the care of his aged grandparents. The boy and his grandfather are inseparable. Gramps is concerned for Pud's future and wary of a scheming relative who seeks custody of the child. One day Mr. Brink, an agent of Death, arrives to take Gramps "to the land where the woodbine twineth." Through a bit of trickery, Gramps confines Mr. Brink, and thus Death, to the branches of a large apple tree, giving Gramps extra time to resolve issues about Pud's future.
Quick facts
- Type
- Movie
- Status
- Released
- Release date
- 1939-07-07
- Runtime
- 1h 39m
- TMDB rating
- 7.6
- TMDB ID
- 40730
Watch & discovery tips
- Read TMDb member reviews in the reviews section, and audience tips from other WatchMind visitors in Audience notes.
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Frequently asked questions
Where can I watch On Borrowed Time (1939)?
On Borrowed Time is available for discovery on WatchMind. You can find official links to rent, buy, or stream from licensed digital stores like Apple TV and Amazon in our "Where to Watch" section.
Is there an official trailer for On Borrowed Time?
Yes, you can watch the official trailer for On Borrowed Time directly on this page. We pull the latest video metadata from TMDb and play it via YouTube integration.
What is On Borrowed Time about?
Young Pud is orphaned and left in the care of his aged grandparents. The boy and his grandfather are inseparable. Gramps is concerned for Pud's future and wary of a scheming relative who seeks cust... This is the official synopsis available via TMDb community metadata.
Is there an AI analysis for On Borrowed Time?
Yes. WatchMind publishes an AI analysis on this page — tone, pacing, audience fit, and community scores from TMDb metadata and recommendation models (not a chatbot). Scroll to the AI Analysis section or read the meta description summary.
How long is the movie On Borrowed Time?
The official runtime for On Borrowed Time is approximately 99 minutes.
Cast & crew
Names and photos from The Movie Database (TMDb). Follow links on themoviedb.org for full filmographies.
Directors & writers
Cast
Lionel Barrymore
Julian Northrup aka Gramps
Cedric Hardwicke
Mr. Brink
Beulah Bondi
Nellie Northrup aka Granny
Una Merkel
Marcia Giles
Bobs Watson
Pud Northrup
Nat Pendleton
Mr. Grimes
Henry Travers
Dr. Evans
Grant Mitchell
Mr. Pilbeam
Eily Malyon
Demetria Riffle
James Burke
Sheriff Burlingame
- C
Charles Waldron
Reverend Murdock
Ian Wolfe
Charles Wentworth
Phillip Terry
Bill Lowry
Truman Bradley
James Northrup
Dorothy Adams
Florist (uncredited)
Barbara Bedford
Mrs. James Northrup (uncredited)
Sonny Bupp
Boy in Tree (uncredited)
Hans Conried
Man in Convertible (uncredited)
Audience notes
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Discussion0 notes
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Community reviews
Written by TMDb members — same catalogue as our movie & TV metadata. API terms
An old man fights to keep his orphaned grandson from being taken away by a scheming relative, and things get even more difficult when Death comes calling...in the form of the wry and gentlemanly Sir Cedric Hardwicke! The film is well-done and packs a definite emotional wallop. There is a very high standard of acting throughout, and the chemistry between Lionel Barrymore, as the crotchety grandfather, and Bobs Watson, as little Pud, is especially good. Even when confined to a wheelchair, Barrymore's thespian talent still shines through.
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