Movie · 1941 · Drama, Fantasy · 1h 47m · NR · English
Curator score: 6.6/10 (13.3K ratings)
A GREAT MOTION PICTURE DARES TO BE DIFFERENT!
Overview
Farmer Jabez Stone, about to lose his land, agrees to sell his soul to the devil, known as Mr. Scratch, who gives Jabez seven years to enjoy the fruits of his sale before he collects. Over that time, Jabez pays off his debts and helps many neighboring farmers, then becomes an advocate for the upstanding Sen. Daniel Webster. When Jabez's contract with Mr. Scratch concludes, he desperately turns to Webster to represent him in a trial for his soul.
Ratings
Curator score: 6.6/10
IMDb: 7.5/10
Letterboxd: 3.75/5
TMDB: 7.0/10
Director
William Dieterle
Production
RKO Radio Pictures
Cast
Edward Arnold, Walter Huston, Jane Darwell, Simone Simon, Gene Lockhart, John Qualen, H.B. Warner, Frank Conlan, Lindy Wade, George Cleveland, Anne Shirley, James Craig, Frank Austin, Walter Baldwin, Eddie Borden, Hazel Boyne, Sonny Bupp, Bob Burns, Horace B. Carpenter, Tex Cooper
Where to watch
TCM
Curator Review
Verdict
A richly mounted, old-school Faustian fable with a strong sense of Americana, memorable performances, and a surprisingly eerie, lyrical atmosphere. It can feel sentimental and stagebound at times, but the blend of folklore, moral argument, and devilish showmanship makes it distinctive.
Best for
classic Hollywood fantasy fans
viewers who enjoy moral fables and folklore
fans of courtroom drama with a supernatural twist
people interested in early American mythmaking
audiences who like ornate, theatrical performances
Skip if
you want a fast-paced or edgy devil story
you dislike earnest, sentimental storytelling
you prefer modern visual effects or horror-forward fantasy
you are allergic to old-fashioned studio-era melodrama
Overview
William Dieterle turns Stephen Vincent Benét’s story into something both stately and uncanny, a folk tale that feels carved out of New England legend. The film’s pleasures are in its atmosphere: the rural hardship, the devil’s sly charm, and the way the story gradually expands from a farmer’s bargain into a national moral argument.
Worth noting
Walter Huston is the movie’s great engine, making Mr. Scratch playful, menacing, and weirdly intimate all at once. Edward Arnold gives the film a solid, earnest center, while the production design and Bernard Herrmann’s score lend the whole thing a haunted, storybook grandeur.
Bottom line
It is not a subtle film, and its patriotic uplift can be heavy-handed, but that sincerity is part of its appeal. If you like classic fantasy that treats myth seriously and lets performance and mood do the heavy lifting, this is a rewarding watch.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Rafael "Mister Movie" Jovine (3.5★) · 140 likes
102th Review for The Collab Weekly Movie Watch
Based on the classic “Faust” classic premise and adapted from another short story, William Dieterle’s adaptation manages to capture much of the magic of reading a book or seeing one come to life on the screen. It’s far from being the most exciting (Bedazzled is more entertaining, in my opinion), but there’s something about this that feels special. Perhaps it’s the way the director and the script manage to blend really well… more
Justin Peterson (4.5★) · 132 likes
Criterion Collection Spine #214
What price would you put on your soul?
"I'd fight ten thousand devils to save a New Hampshire man."
All That Money Can Buy or The Devil and Daniel Webster presents an early Americana take on the age old story of Faust. In this version a down on his luck New Hampshire farmer trades his soul for seven years of good luck. But be careful what you ask for because while he does rise to prominence… more
Rick Burin (4★) · 102 likes
A flavourful Faustian folk tale, vividly directed by William Dieterle, evocatively scored by Bernard Herrmann, and featuring fine work from a notably unglamorous lead duo: weighty, crusading lawyer Edward Arnold, and devilish, exceedingly hammy Walter Huston, who seems to be having the time of his life. They're fighting over the soul of farmer James Craig (just about the most unpopular actor in '40s Hollywood), who's traded his spirit for wealth and fortune, and traded doting wife Anne Shirley for puggy… more A flavourful Faustian folk tale, vividly directed by William Dieterle, evocatively scored by Bernard Herrmann, and featuring fine work from a notably unglamorous lead duo: weighty, crusading lawyer Edward Arnold, and devilish, exceedingly hammy Walter Huston, who seems to be having the time of his life. They're fighting over the soul of farmer James Craig (just about the most unpopular actor in '40s Hollywood), who's traded his spirit for wealth and fortune, and traded doting wife Anne Shirley for puggy… more
Doc Lyon (3.5★) · 74 likes
2nd William Dieterle (after The Hunchback of Notre Dame)
A film of incredible technical wonder allied to a narrative of extreme sentimentality, a rosy view of Americana made long before any of the filmmakers or even the author of the original story were born and thus infused with a heavy sense of the rose coloured-spectacles. Daniel Webster may have been a real figure and one known for his incredible oratory skills, but he was also a vacillating politician whose approach… more
Gregor Kreyca (4★) · 73 likes
Daniel Webster: Well, I never heard of the de... I never heard of you claiming American citizenship.
Mr. Scratch: And who has a better right? When the first wrong was done to the first Indian, I was there. When the first slaver put out for the Congo, I stood on the deck. Am I not still spoken of in every church in New England? It's true the North claims me for a Southerner and the South for a Northerner, but… more Daniel Webster: Well, I never heard of the de... I never heard of you claiming American citizenship.
Mr. Scratch: And who has a better right? When the first wrong was done to the first Indian, I was there. When the first slaver put out for the Congo, I stood on the deck. Am I not still spoken of in every church in New England? It's true the North claims me for a Southerner and the South for a Northerner, but… more