The Devil and Daniel Webster

The Devil & Daniel Webster - Criterion Collection Another Tomatometer 100! This film begins slowly (I have always hated watching train wrecks, and with the Faustian overtones, undertones, and middle-tones, what else could it be?), but when we hear Daniel Webster (Edward Arnold) give his brilliantly expressive (albeit only marginally legal) speech to a jury of the damned, we begin to understand the awe in which our ancestors held this historical figure. Unfortunately, this film may be the only link anyone now has to the legend of Daniel Webster.

The story revolves around a friend of Daniel Webster, as he sells his soul for seven years of insane prosperity, and then panics when the payment comes due. Anyone with student loans understands his dilemma, but despite this, Jabez Wilson (Webster's friend) has long been out of the audience's graces. He has devolved into an addictive, unfaithful, and cruel man with a bad temper. We almost don't understand why Webster would defend him, except for the sake of Jabez's unendingly angelic wife, Mary.

Although some of these relationships make the plot seem typically (for the era) naive, some of the effects in this film, and some of the acting, feel quite innovative. The film won a very prestigious award for its musical score, as well, which I applaud.

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