moriarty@uw-june.UUCP (05/02/84)
I saw an extremely interesting movie the other night, which I'd like to recommend to the general group. It was called "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (original title was "All That Money Can Buy", and sometimes titled "Daniel and the Devil"), made in 1941, and had a great deal of the alumni of "Citizen Kane" behind the camera -- and it shows. It is a re-telling of the classic New England folk tale, and there are no great surprises in the script (other than it is good and makes some delightful statements about human nature). It is the camera shots which make it so phenomenal (besides two performances, which I'll get to later). Not as initially striking as the "Kane" shots, but very much on the level of "The Magnificent Ambersons", or better, and some beautiful, atmospheric trick photography for the devil. Robert Wise did the editing (He Who Went On to "West Side Story", "The Day the Earth Stood Still", and "Star Trek: The Motion Picture"), and the special photography was also done by the same person. Bernard Hermann (sp?) did a wonderful score, and it is a beautifully concise movie. The actors: Walter Huston as the devil is one of the finest performances I've ever seen, period, and matches or surpasses anything else Huston has done. He has just enough lechery to make him humourous (as Mr. Scratch), but his incredible grin and voice can make him dramatically frightening at the crack of a whip. An amazing job; you just want to watch him once or twice again to get all the nuances. Edward Arnold is fine as Dan'l Webster... one forgets after all the villanous roles Frank Capra gave him what an interesting hero he makes. When all looks black (and it does, with the threatening clouds and the photography) for the man who sold his soul to the devil, Arnold says "I'd fight 100 devils to save a New Hampshire man!" in such a way as to make it sound just like he'd do it -- a real folk story through and through. If you get a chance to see this at a theatre or on TV, do so... It's great fun (an excellent Halloween picture for those of us who don't do well with blood 'n guts). Trivia Is My Business | Currently residing in | UUCP: -jwm- | {ihnp4,decvax,tektronix}!uw-beaver!uw-june!moriarty | ARPANET: AKA MORIARTY | moriarty@washington