Rent The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)
3.7 of 5 from 79 ratings
1h 46min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Jabez Stone (James Craig) is a hardworking farmer trying to make an honest living, but a streak of bad luck tempts him to do the unthinkable: bargain with the devil himself. In exchange for seven years of good fortune, Stone promises "Mr. Scratch" (Walter Huston) his soul. But when the troubled farmer begins to realize the error of his choice, he enlists the aid of the one man who might save him: the legendary orator and politician Daniel Webster (Edward Arnold).
- Actors:
- Edward Arnold, Walter Huston, Jane Darwell, Simone Simon, Gene Lockhart, John Qualen, H.B. Warner, Frank Conlan, Lindy Wade, George Cleveland, Anne Shirley, James Craig, Frank Austin, Walter Baldwin, Eddie Borden, Hazel Boyne, Sonny Bupp, Bob Burns, Horace B. Carpenter, Tex Cooper
- Directors:
- William Dieterle
- Producers:
- William Dieterle
- Writers:
- Stephen Vincent Benet, Dan Totheroh
- Others:
- Bernard Herrmann
- Aka:
- All That Money Can Buy / A Certain Mr. Scratch / Daniel and the Devil / Here Is a Man / Mr. Scratch
- Studio:
- Screenbound Pictures
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama
- Collections:
- Remembering Robert Towne, Top 10 Films of 1972, Top Films
- Awards:
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 08/04/2024
- Run Time:
- 106 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Full Screen 1.37:1
- Colour:
- B & W
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Audio commentary by film historian Bruce Eder and Steven C. Smith, biographer of composer Bernard Herrmann
- New restoration demonstration
- Reading by actor Alec Baldwin of the short story by Stephen Vincent Benet on which the film is based
- Episode of the Criterion Channel series Observations on Film Art about the film's editing
- Comparison of the differences between the July 1941 preview version of the film, 'Here Is a Man', and the film's 1943 rerelease as 'The Devil and Daniel Webster'
- The Columbia Workshop's radio adaptations of Benet's short stories "The Devil and Daniel Webster" and "Daniel Webster and the Sea Serpent", both featuring music by Herrmann
- Trailer
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Reviews (2) of The Devil and Daniel Webster
1941 US Dr Faustus-type B&W period fantasy - The Devil and Daniel Webster review by Mr Aquarium
Set in the 1840s, a New England farmer and husband, on the edge of bankruptcy, is successfully tempted by the devil to sell his soul for 7 years of riches. Strangely, a [real-life] orator and politician [Daniel Webster] becomes involved. This is a pleasing restoration, with good-quality visual detail for the time. The music and supernatural special effects won awards at the time. This version restores the episode where the devil points out the longevity of his American credentials; he was there on the first North American-bound slave ships. Daring for the time, and not included for showing in the Southern states! Conventional plot in some ways, and yet - because of the period setting - curiously fascinating in other ways. [For example, the farmer's impregnation of his wife is delicately yet clearly signalled - avoiding censorship by using rural metaphors and a romantically gauzy close-up... Also, if you follow the references to the "Grange" - a farmers' union - you'll see it's set in quiet but noble opposition to the devil's use of greed and rampant individualism. That makes it part of FDR's New Deal ideology, and anti-Reagan before its time.]
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The Devil And Daniel Webster - The Devil and Daniel Webster review by LJ
The preachy story comes across as wooden. It feels as if this fantasy would have benefitted from the Capra touch.
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