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 too happy to sign away his soul to Scratch's contract. Prosperity does indeed come, but also a change in Stone 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, a film thriving on character disintegration and greed in some fantastical noirish realm. 7.5/10

Shades of Citizen Kane! This little-known gem was made at RKO about the same time as Citizen Kane, and utilized the same outstanding composer, Bernard Hermann, and the same incisive editor, Robert Wise--and every so often a shadow, a rapid cut, a mood will echo the Orson Welles classic.Though not in the same league, this little-seen gem is a classic unto itself, as Webster battles the devil for a man's soul. Angelica Huston's grandfather, Walter, gives the definitive portrayal of a modern rustic Satan ("Scratch"), fiendish craftiness personified, who tempts Jabez Stone with "All That Money Can Buy" (one of the original release titles of the film). James Craig, usually wasted as a second fiddle in MGM romantic roles, here gives his definitive performance as a justifiably Jabez, a jumpy hero, and Edward Arnold, Jane Darwell and Anne Shirley are memorable in this strange early American saga, an often haunting mix of distinctive cinematography, haunting music and memorable performances.

Pious, patriotic parable has seen its day, and watched it recede. Probably because the 'parable' format is most effective in narratives short enough to be consumed from a church pew. The writers are really not sure what to fill this 2 hr long story with. The protag is an insufferable bumpkin, and the script is a dumbed down affair aimed straight at the most thick-headed, rural individuals in a 1941 audience. (The phrase "Consarn-it!" is uttered about 30 times) Ultimately the match-up of the title arrives too late - it's much too long a movie - after the script fails to make Jabez deserving of this much interest, consideration or defense. And one scarcely needs a parable to understand why being such an insensitive clod is not the path forward. Jabez is cardboard, as are his dilemmas. The characterization throughout is shallow. The script underscores the same moral point again, and again, and again. It's extremely easy to turn off. I need far less repetition, jingoism and preachiness in a movie. Behind the camera, there are some visual surprises that are still effective, but generally this is a harangue burdened by "good" characters who are more tiresome and off-putting than the bad ones. There are so many dated assumptions about the audience's views and values here. History has not been kind...

I know that this film has a wonderful reputation and the other reviews are all very favorable, but somehow I couldn't get very excited about this film. Perhaps I felt the material was just too familiar, perhaps the movie just opened up the trauma I experienced when I was forced to read "Faust" while in college (this was 25 years ago and I STILL cringe at the thought of reading all 25,000 lines of Goethe's rambling tale). All I know is that I wasn't caught up in the story and to me, with a few exceptions, seemed rather unremarkable. Here are the exceptions. First, there were some very nice performances--Walter Huston was very good as was Edward Arnold. Second, the film had very nice cinematography and just looked lovely--with a nice mythical quality about it. On the down side, the main character seemed like an idiot and I didn't care that the Devil was going to get his soul. The film did nothing to create sympathy for the jerk. In addition, the film really went on too long and the wonderful courtroom scene was way, way too short. Overall, an interesting time-passer but it hardly seemed like a classic to me.