Soldier Jack or The Man Who Caught Death in a Sack (1989)

Adapted from an Appalachian Jack Tale set in the late 1940s this tale follows a World War II veteran named Jack who in return for an act of kindness receives two magical gifts a sack that can catch anything and a jar that can show whether a sick person will recover or die Jack becomes a national hero when he rescues the presidents daughter from a serious illness by capturing Death in his magic sack However after many years without Death in the world Jack realizes that he has upset the natural order and releases Death to save humankind from perpetual old age and misery