All That Money Can Buy

Beware of Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing. The Devil and Daniel Webster is directed by William Dieterle and written by Dan Totheroh and Stephen Vincent Benet. It stars Edward Arnold, Walter Huston, James Craig, Anne Shirley, Jane Darwell, Simone Simon and Gene Lockhart. Music is by Bernard Herrmann and cinematography by Joseph H. August. Poor farmer Jabez Stone (Craig) utters in frustration that he would sell his soul to the devil for two cents such is the destitution he and his family find themselves in. So when the mysterious Mr. Scratch (Huston) turns up with the offer of seven years prosperity, Jabez is only to happy too sign away his soul to Scratch’s contract. Prosperity does indeed come, but also a change in Craig alienates his loved ones, and just what will happen when the seven years are up? Dieterle’s Faustian movie was met with decent critical notices upon release but failed to make a hit at the box offices. It was subsequently snipped by the studio and reduced from a 107 minute movie to one that was shown in a sub-standard 85 minute cut. Suffice to say that the original cut is really the only version to see, it’s a no brainer. I’d fight 10,000 devils to save a New Hampshire man. The Devil and Daniel Webster is a film of surreal and ethereal qualities, qualities that sit snugly alongside the moral core of the tale. The story follows the familiar Faust route, man sells his soul but comes to regret it as his character changes for the worse and promptly wants out of the deal before he has to go live with Old Nick and all his hellish instruments. Here there’s the heavy vibe of America’s soul being fought for, so enter famed lawyer Daniel Webster (Arnold) who rocks up to try to save the now frantic Jabez Stone. Not easy since the jury is a roll call of badness and Mr. Scratch himself is of course a wily old fox. The closing court sequences are just one of many great moments in the piece. Others include a ball at the Stone residence that is tinged with supernatural edginess, a barn dance that is borderline demonic, and Belle’s (a stunningly sensual Simon) disarming dance of death. Herrmann crafts an aural sculpture of a musical score that blends ghostly tensions with tongue in cheek slyness, while Huston, Arnold and Simon give terrific performances. On the negative side Craig is way too animated throughout, irritatingly so, while the set design for 1840s New Hampshire barely passes muster for period oomph. Other than those itches this rounds out as thoroughly enjoyable entertainment. 7.5/10

“Jabez” (James Craig) is at his wits end as he is faced with losing the farm he shares with his mother (Jane Darrell) and wife “Mary” (Anne Shirley). In a fit of pique, he declares that he would even sell his soul to the devil if he could keep their home. Miraculously, a dapper gent appears called “Scratch” (Walter Huston). He’s a jovial and engaging chap who suggests that there might be a way out of his predicament. He can have pretty much unlimited funds provided he signs a contract that will transfer ownership of his soul in seven years. Desperate, he agrees and for the ensuing period of feast he pays off all of his debts, manages to share some of his largesse far and wide and his wife bears a son - so all looks perfect. Then “Belle” (Simone Simon) comes onto the scene and the domestic turbulence that now occurs starts to auger badly for a farmer who now has all the trappings of wealth but who is soon going to have to deal with his fast-approaching day of reckoning. All the while, the acclaimed jurist Daniel Webster (Edward Arnold) is doing the rounds and so when “Scratch” shows up for his dues, “Jabez” pleads for him to intercede and save his bacon? Thing is, with such a properly constituted and legally binding contract in his hand, can the devilish “Scratch” be thwarted? Arnold delivers adequately enough, especially towards the end when he goes into a verbally rousing overdrive that is aimed at the USA but that could equally apply to any nation whose heroes might be a little more fallible than they’d care to admit! The others in the cast work well enough too but for me it’s the sparingly used Huston who steals the show with his almost leprechaun-like character who shows us, clearly, the pitfalls of our own venality, mortality and gullibility as this well-meaning family man forgets that old adage about things being too good to be true. It’s quickly paced mixing a little bit of the hoe-down with a strong but entertainingly presented moral and the last scene is positively menacing - in a sort of Santa’s grotto sort of fashion, Faust style!