The Devil & Daniel Webster (1941)

Location: Home
Seen Before: No
Rating: 4.5

William Dieterle's The Devil and Daniel Webster is a truely striking (and must have been ground-breaking) film; his use of elegant lighting, quick editing, and innovative camera movement remind one of Citizen Kane or Night of the Hunter. This tale of greed and temptation is constantly interesting if not usually predictable, but the real joy here is seeing how Dieterle lets his tale unfold--through graceful compositions and wonderful performances and fascinating uses of sound. Sadly, the screenplay doesn't let the audience piece together elements for themselves (Jabez comes off as over the top and completely lacking subtlety), instead opting to have characters outrightly professing their intentions and inner dialogue. These flaws mostly don't matter, though, as the film as a whole wins you over with its bold look and feel.