The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941): set in the mid-19th century, this has the Devil a.k.a. Mr Scratch (played by the great Walter Huston) making a Faustian bargain with a poor farmer. Eventually the lawyer-politician Daniel Webster (a real-life figure) must step in to demonstrate that there is no place for Satan in an America governed by its new Constitution.
(How idealistic that sounds. I can picture this Devil slinking away, forked tail between his legs, when confronted with Trump.)
An additional point of interest for those who attended my Val Lewton sessions: this film involved some of the crew members who worked for Lewton the following year, including the editor-turned-director Robert Wise. And Simone Simon, who played the lead in Cat People, has a super little role here as the catlike Belle, the Devil’s assistant.
The Night of the Hunter (1955): there are too many things to say about this film, which was the only directorial project of the actor Charles Laughton, so I’ll keep it brief. Robert Mitchum as a menacing “man of God” who is really a serial killer/thief preying on young women and their families. (He has “Love” tattooed on one hand and “Hate” on the other, a detail that Martin Scorsese paid tribute to in his remake of Cape Fear.) Two children on the run. The great Lillian Gish (one of cinema’s first leading ladies) as the elderly woman who gives them refuge. Screenplay by the Pulitzer-winning writer James Agee, and Expressionistic cinematography by Stanley Cortez, who had earlier worked with Orson Welles.
Anyone who wants to join the discussion (am hoping to schedule it around the 10th), or just watch the films, mail me at jaiarjun@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment