The Devil and Daniel Webster

Lovely little courtroom drama of the fantastic. One of the very few movies in which the Big Speech at the end actually works

A cheesy moralistic allegory, but directed with such stylistic flourish that it's a joy to watch. Walter Huston is fantastic as the dastardly Mr. Scratch, at once an appealing and unsympathetic character.

A troubled farmer impulsively sells his soul to the Devil, and when he comes to regret it, turns to Daniel Webster for help. Cue a trial with a jury of the damned. As awesome as it sounds, a fantastic fable with a unique, almost European flavor; brilliantly directed by William Dieterle, with Bernard Herrman's lovely, folk song-ish, Oscar-winning score. Walter Huston is great fun as the Devil (the final shot is priceless), Edward Arnold is a fine Webster, and James Craig is spot-on as the farmer.

Very Capra-esque, it hits all the right notes perfectly. Not that I find that to be a bad thing, but in tradition of that, it is rather corny, while still never feeling forced, making the saccharine sensibilities much easier to swallow and actually quite effective despite its transparency. Noteworthy visuals as well.

Dieterle knows how to create atmosphere and builds this drama nicely till that unfortunate cheesy ending, which in its own cheese-terms is still good. Enjoyed it very much.

Simplistic moral allegory with an uninteresting lead. But the film makes up for that and more with an absolutely pitch perfect visual style combined with the screen presence of Huston, Simon.

It has several good element,s but the corruption of the farmer goes on way too long, and there isn't enough of the twi title characters. If the movie was about 20 minutes shorter, it would probably work a lot better.

Quirky and off beat drama playing on the theme of trading your soul with the devil. Very much of its time with some (hopefully) unintended xenophia betraying the fears of the early 1940's

It's alright... I would have enjoyed it a lot more if Jabez had displayed any other emotion about his newfound fortune than simply wavering between pride and panic.

A bit on the hokey side.

The climax this film when Daniel Webster confronts the Devil is beautiful (although a little too romantically patriotic). Walter Huston as the devil is perfect.

Fun little thing.

This is a film that preaches at you from start to finish, but it has just enough wit to make it enjoyable.

I had high hopes for this movie, but it is over preachy, not believable and the script feels very outdated. This movie has a remake (I haven't watched the remake and I don't intent to) and there is no director that could save this script for modern standard movies. The acting is fine and is nice to have a look on how people lived and what they believed in that time.

The story is okay, but too moralizing and patriotic for my tastes... rather Capra-esque in its glorification of God, country, and good old-fashioned family values. And when the sole foreigner (Simone Simon) is cast as a representative of the devil, one wonders if there might be a touch of xenophobia lurking as well. However, the Herrmann score is wonderful, and the film has some truly incredible cinematography (the harvest dance scene is a masterwork of lighting).

This wickedly witty tale delivers some potent messages. Huston gives a dazzling performance.

Brilliant.

Has some amusing moments but mostly average comedy wrapped in a generic moral tale.

It's an amusing little story (though I guess I wasn't supposed to find it funny), even though it paints Daniel Webster as some sort of saint when history shows he wasn't. Mr. Scratch is the highlight of this, especially in the ending scene.

Huston gives an enchanting performance as The Devil.smooth, slick, charmer, cartoonish but not outlandish.really embodies "impish" with this airy, humorous performance, hiding the dark, sinister side under the smiling, outgoing veneer.Craig for his part is competent.He's capable, but his presence is lacking.decline of Craig's character flowed well-the devil taking a bit of his soul at a time through various means done as a devious series of events rather than all at once wish-fulfillment.

This Faustian drama set in 1840s America boasts an entertainingly-told story that builds to its crescendo superbly, but sadly Webster's climactic words are neither particularly rousing nor memorable, leaving the resolution rather flat. It's ultimately Huston, enjoying himself enormously as the devilish Mr. Scratch, who leaves the most enduring impression.

Spellbindingly devilish!

A folksy morality story about greed. Though it has a religious tone, the film is more tall tale about Daniel Webster whose morality is more about U.S. nationalism regarding freedom and the Constitution than the gospel of Christianity.

Immensely entertaining version of a classic tale, with Huston maybe the best screen devil ever (sorry, South Park Satan).