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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Possibly one of the best films ever made., December 29, 2004
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.
"The Devil & Daniel Webster" is simply put, a great film with an important moral. It is based on a short story of the same name by Stephen Vincent Benét.
It takes place near the state lines of Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the 1840's. Jabez Stone, a struggling and destitute farmer signs a contract with Satan, offering to give him his soul after 7 years of good fortune. He has money but is very unhappy with his predicament. When the devil comes to collect, Jabez calls on Daniel Webster to help him void the contract.
Note:
Daniel Webster was a real-life historical figure. He was secratary of State a few times and ran for president in 1836
I am reminded of Matthew 16:26
"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" I could almost say that this could be a Christian film. It goes to show that one's soul is more important that their life.
The acting in the film is excellent and a great Oscar® winning musical score. The film also includes the classic folk tune "Devil's Dream" which is a longtime favorite of mine.
The film was remade in 2001 by Alec Baldwin but never released due to budget problems in post production. Quite a shame as a remake would be great for the times we are living in.
The DVD has an excellent assortment of special features also.
There is a recording of Alec Baldwin reading the original short story by Stephen Vincent Benét, production and publicity photos and ephemerma, A comparison between the two versions of the film, a presentation about the music in the film, audio commentary by Bruce Eder and Steven C. Smith, and two audio drama radio shows based on Stephen Vincent Benét's stories "The Devil and Daniel Webster" and "Daniel Webster and the Sea Serpent."
This DVD is one of the best releases by the Criterion Collection and I highly recommend this film.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A marvelous DVD of the American version of the Faust legend, April 12, 2005
William Dieterle was Hollywood's greatest fantasist in the thirties and forties. Whether making marvelous neo-Gothic/Romantic versions of classics such as THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME or one of the greatest ghost stories ever made in America in A PORTRAIT OF JEANNIE, Dieterle, who was famed for his ability at handling crowd scenes, similarly excelled in slightly surreal subjects. One of many highly success German expatriates working in Hollywood, he incorporated into many of his films many techniques found in some of the classics of German Expressionism, none more than in THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER (originally released by the studio as ALL THAT MONEY CAN BUY, based on the Stephen Vincent Benet short story "The Devil and Daniel Webster"). Not surprisingly, this film is most successful on a purely visual level, with one fascinating, almost gothic image after another. "Gothic" is an apt adjective, since Benet's original story was, of course, yet another of an endless succession of Faust tales, a story that stems itself from the late medieval period. The Faust tale has been cast and recast by a host of writers and artists from Marlowe to Goethe to Kierkegaard to Gounod, and this film rightfully takes its place among the more significant versions of the tale.
THE DEVIL AND DANIEL WEBSTER is not a perfect film, but it is a fascinating one. I think the virtues win out over the vices, but the vices are apparent. First, it is an oddly paced film. Usually editors have to take much of the blame for the rhythm and pace of a film, and what is unusual in this film is that the editor was one of the most celebrated in film history, Robert Wise, later a prominent director and previously the editor of CITIZEN KANE. But whatever magic he wrought elsewhere, in this film scenes tend to linger too long, transitions are slow, and the film often feels sluggish. The other great vice is the casting. Although several cast members are outstanding, James Craig in the Faust character, Jabez Stone, is far too wooden, displaying as the old wag pointed out the full gamut of emotions from A to B. Craig displays little or no subtlety in his performance, and one can only imagine how good the film would have been with a Henry Fonda or Jimmy Stewart in the role. As a thought experiment I encourage any viewer to watch any scene with Craig, and imagine Henry Fonda instead. The results will be obvious.
Luckily, the virtues outstrip the vices. Dieterle and his cinematographer Joseph August create an unforgettable look for the film, bathing many scenes in blacks, grays, and garish whites, giving the film an almost noirish quality. The score is among the finest of the era in film, composed by the man many regard as the greatest composer ever for film, Bernard Hermann. For this film Hermann concocts a marvelous blend of themes based on traditional folk tales and original compositions to produce yet another of his many film masterpieces. And, of course, the cast is marvelous, despite Craig's shortcomings in one of the lead roles. The person who steals the movie is the unforgettable Walter Huston as the Devil himself, Mr. Scratch. Over the decades the Devil has had numerous incarnations in film, but this is by far the finest. Huston is able to imbue his Satan with equal amounts of charm, likeability, and repulsiveness. With his chin whiskers, his Robin Hood cap, and devilish grin, Huston manages to make one believe that someone might indeed sell their soul to him. Perhaps another actor could have done as well in this role, but I can't think of who. He pulls off scenes that should be impossible, including the final shot, where Scratch, having been thwarted by Daniel Webster, starts slowly to look for his next victim, initially scanning the distance, until finally seeing his prey, and grinningly points and gazes at the viewer. Huston is one of the great actors cinema has seen, but tragically most of his films are not common fare. Many will know him from his Oscar winning performance from the film his son John Huston directed him in with Humphrey Bogart, THE TREASURE OF SIERRA MADRE. More serious film buffs will know him perhaps from RAIN or AND THEN THERE WERE NONE or DODSWORTH, a group of films that demonstrate his astonishing range as an actor (indeed, it is hard to imagine two characters as unalike as the sanctimonious missionary in RAIN and Scratch in this film). The DVD release of this film gives his potential fans another opportunity to appreciate his particular genius.
Edward Arnold makes a marvelous Daniel Webster, though incredibly he was not the original choice for the role. Filming actually commenced with Thomas Mitchell in the role, and actually still appears in a couple of shots. When Mitchell had to pull out of the film due to being physically incapacitated, Arnold stepped into a role that he would have seemed to be the perfect choice for from the beginning. Arnold doesn't get much of a chance to shine until the end, when he addresses a jury of cutthroats. He becomes as glowing an orator as Webster was reputed to be in his day. Much of the rest of the cast if filled out by staple character actors from the early forties, such as Gene Lockhart, John Qualen (who for once does not speak with a Scandinavian accent), and Jane Darwell. Special note should be made of Simone Simon as Farmer Stone's temptress. Simon arrived in Hollywood in the 1930s with much fanfare, and was instantly hailed on one of the beauties of the century as well a can't-miss star of the screen. Somehow neither in France nor in Hollywood did her career fulfill the promise foreseen for her. She did manage a couple of good roles in France and one low budget masterpiece in the United States in the unforgettable Val Lewton masterpiece CAT PEOPLE. This is one of her better American roles.
This appears in the Criterion collection, which means that it comes loaded with marvelous extras. One can only hope that at some point the kind of care and professionalism that Criterion lavishes on its discs will be matched by the majority of DVD producers.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
funny, scary and poignant, May 16, 2002
This has to be one the most priceless films about the American experience, mixing metaphor and history. The story begins in one chilling scene in which the shadow of the Devil taunts the noble statesman Daniel Webster - you'll never be President if you stick to your pieties, warns Old Scratch. Switching gears, the Devil sets his sights on easier game - a barely solvent New Hampshire farmer named Jabez Stone, the sort of angry everyman who would sell his soul to the devil if things got too rough. (It's the middle of the 19th century, with the every-man for himself mentality that would nearly destroy the Union within the ten years). Stone's greed and desperation get the better of him, and he sells his soul for 7 years of boundless riches and good fortune - with advance paid from a sack of lost Hessian gold. Stone becomes wealthy, but also becomes less of the likeable guy and good neighbor his small New Hampshire town loved - replacing the hated Miser Stephens as the hamlet's chief creditor. The change attracts the attention of Dan Webster himself, New Hampshire's favorite son. Despite having second thoughts now and then, Stone remains steadfast in his ways, and makes no attempt to escape his fated damnation. When Stone appears to flag, Scratch manages to find an inducement - he can always collect immediately if he thinks Stone was trying to break the deal. Scratch hedges his bet, unleashing plagues of hail and other misfortunes for New Hampshire, bad luck that manages not to touch Stone. He also sends a sexy demon, Bel (Simone Simon of "Cat People") with a softer way of guaranteeing Stone's compliance. Where Webster fails to turn Stone on the right path, the sudden passage of seven years succeeds in swaying him. The Devil returns to claim Stone's soul. Seemingly amenable to negotiation, he soon reveals his darker true self, and the claim stands. Only one obstacle remains between the poor farmer and damnation - Webster himself, who pledges to stand up to a dozen devils for any one New Hampshire man. With a court held sway by a jury of the damned (including among others Blackbeard the pirate and Ben Arnold) not predisposed to spare Stone from purgatory, Webster knows he's got an uphill battle. Instead, he argues what essentially amounts to a redemption of America from it's sins - our nation has to an extent been built upon such suffering, but the evil of the past can be redeemed somewhat by not condemning the future (i.e., you're condemned, but you can redeem yourself by giving Stone the shot at salvation that nobody offered you).This was a great film for so many reasons, mostly because of the topnotch acting and the way the script jumps between the metaphorical and historical messages. History-wise, the film speaks of the nobility of the union cause and against the evils that would seek to fragment it on the eve of the civil war; with America still on the fence about entering WWII, the script also spoke to those on the verge of siding with the antidemocratic forces in born of the depression and the improbable triumphs of fascist Europe. But you should really watch this flick for the acting, especially Ed Arnold as the redoubtable Webster and Walter Huston as the insidious Mr. Scratch. As Webster, Arnold is uniformly noble whether standing up to the divisive forces in America or the jury of the damned who made it so. But Huston shines improbably as Scratch who alternates between easygoing and demonic in his praise of America's greed and his search for a place in its history. When Webster argues that neither Stone nor any American can be forced to serve a foreigner, Scratch replies with film's least forgettable speech - who is more American than he is? Wasn't he the master of the first slave ship to America? When the first wrong was done to the Indian, wasn't he there? Isn't the devil a perennial character in the Sunday sermons of every Church in America? ("Now it's true that the South takes me for a northerner and the North for a southerner, and, though I am loathe to admit it, Mr. Webtser, I'm actually more famous here than you.") The devil speaks to the cynical side of our history that he is an American if only because we cannot take the fall for our own episodes of deviltry, a point the script leaves some impression with in its final shot - Scratch himself facing the camera and, with his index finger pointed straight at the audience, doing a chillingly hilarious impression of Uncle Sam. "I want you" he seems to say. A classic film.
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