☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
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.
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