The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941) – W. Dieterle

There are moments in this film where the straightforward telling of the tale suddenly becomes a bit woozy and wobbly and the supernatural asserts itself.  Chalk this up to the incredible performances offered by Walter Huston (as Mr. Scratch) and Simone Simon (as his “friend” Belle, from “over the mountain”) – they have their creepy characterizations down pat.  The story itself is one we’ve seen before: a poor farmer sells his soul to the devil and becomes a greedy uncaring bastard.  His suffering wife has no choice but to go to the great orator and legislator, Daniel Webster (played warmly by Edward Arnold, after Thomas Mitchell cracked his head open) to try to get the contract over-turned.  Bernard Herrmann’s score turns intensely weird at times (and won an Oscar).    Did I tell you the film takes place in New Hampshire? Of course, it champions the rugged individualism found there but makes a plea for community solidarity too.

The Phantom Carriage (1921)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

The Phantom Carriage (1921) – V. Sjostrom

The horror in this film comes not from its supernatural elements but rather from the darkness of the human heart itself.  Sjostrom (the director and later star of Bergman’s Wild Strawberries) plays David Holm, a once happily married and a supportive father, who succumbs to demon drink and becomes a hateful consumptive lout.  He purposefully breathes the TB germs into people’s faces, for example.  During one drinking bout, he and his mates discuss the old wives tale that a person who dies at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve will need to drive the phantom carriage to pick up the souls of the dead for the subsequent 12 months.   Of course, it _is_ New Year’s Eve and the night ends with a punch-up leaving Holm dead – at the stroke of 12.  Death arrives and proceeds to review Holm’s life and also to show him the consequences of his actions for a young Salvation Army worker and his estranged wife and children.  These scenes contains some of the best super-imposition work I’ve seen, especially as Holm’s spirit leaves his body and is brought to the Phantom Carriage itself (tinted in spooky blue).  Things get very dark indeed but of course there is a chance to repent – this is a morality tale after all. 

Bed and Board (1970)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Bed and Board (1970) – F. Truffaut

Truffaut’s gently comic return to Antoine Doinel (his surrogate, played by Jean-Pierre Leaud, first featured in The 400 Blows and subsequently in several other features), who is now married and living with Christine (his girlfriend in Stolen Kisses).  He still hasn’t established a consistent career and the two jobs he holds in this film are particularly wacky.  When their son Alphonse is born, Antoine has an affair with a Japanese woman that almost breaks up his marriage.  But again, despite his haplessness and unwillingness to take on responsibility, Truffaut remains affectionate toward him and things end well.  Really, though, it is difficult to imagine the same material working as well in another director’s hands – so warm and welcoming (although some of this should be attributed to Leaud’s presence, I’m sure).