The reason why Allen would treat this theme lies in the great respect he holds the Swedish cinematographer Ingmar Bergman whose work has inspired his own in the dramas he has brought to the screen and in \u201cInteriors\u201d (1978) in particular. Bergman\u2019s momentous film \u201cThe Seventh Seal\u201d (1957) tells the story of a knight returning from the Crusades who challenges death in a game of chess in order to buy the time he needs to see his wife once more before meeting his end. In \u201cDeath Knocks\u201d, chess has been replaced by gin rummy, medieval Sweden transposed to contemporary New York and the profession of knight by that of dress manufacturer. Unsurprisingly, the theme\u2019s treatment by Allen turns out extremely different from Bergman\u2019s.<\/p>\n
The reader is not expressly told that Nat is Jewish. A few hints lead however in that direction, as when is revealed that his full name is Nat Ackerman, that he lives in Kew Gardens or when evidence is given, on several occasions, of his familiarity with Yiddish, as in the story\u2019s concluding words when, retelling his evening\u2019s adventures to his friend Moe Lefkowitz, Nat refers to Death as a \u201cschlep.\u201d<\/p>\n
Common to Bergman\u2019s and Allen\u2019s renditions is that the hero first challenges then outwits Death for a seemingly Pyrrhic victory. The way this is being achieved here by Nat reflects however in a very profound way what Marx called in \u201cOn the Jewish Question\u201d (1843), the \u201cpractical Jewish spirit\u201d (*) Unlike the knight Antonius Block, in \u201cThe Seventh Seal,\u201d who uses his confrontation with Death as a way to ascertain his wrenching doubt in the existence of God, Nat focuses instead on his unpreparedness to die. Talking to Death, he insists: \u201cNow, wait a minute. I need time. I\u2019m not ready to go.\u201d His thinking is logical: evidence is lacking that his time has arrived. As he says with unpretentious words: \u201cYou must be kidding. I\u2019m in perfect health.\u201d<\/p>\n
Death\u2019s visit fails to impress Nat. Death enters Nat\u2019s apartment in an undignified manner, tripping on the windowsill after, as he tells later, having damaged the drainpipe he was climbing on when one of his heels got trapped by a vine. Also, his air of familiarity and obvious acquaintance with Yiddish introduce an element of complicity between the protagonists from the very beginning of their acquaintance. Indeed, Nat tells Death not only that he reminds him of his friend Moe but also of himself as in the following exchange:<\/p>\n
Nat: You look a little like me.
\nDeath: Who should I look like? I\u2019m your death.<\/p><\/blockquote>\nNat succeeds into luring Death into a game. After an unsuccessful attempt to have him engage in a play of chess, which Death denies being able to play, they settle then for a game of gin rummy. Nat notes \u201cI once saw a picture of you playing chess,\u201d most probably referring to the fresco by Albertus Pictor in the church of the Swedish town of T\u00e4by.<\/p>\n
![\"Albertus](\"http:\/\/www.pauljorion.com\/blog_en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/07\/deathandchess.jpg\")
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