The ancient tale of man selling his soul to the Devil in exchange for wealth and prosperity has been adapted time and time again, but personally, I think that director William Dieterle’s 1941 version All That Money Can Buy (also known as The Devil and Daniel Webster) is the best one, and the most nightmarish (and nightmarishly timeless).
Buy All That Money Can Buy aka The Devil and Daniel Webster Criterion Collection Blu-rayThe gullible man is Jabez Stone (James Craig), a hardworking farmer, living (and trying to survive) in rural New England with his angelic wife Mary (Anne Shirley) and headstrong mother (Anne Shirley). When things get way too dire, Jabez trades his soul to peculiar outsider Mr. Scratch (Walter Huston, in a sinisterly entertaining, Oscar-nominated performance), who is really the Devil in disguise. After this, debts are erased, food and crops are restored, and Jabez becomes an established man in town. He also gets an alluring new maid named Belle (a seductive Simone Simon). But, after seven years, Scratch returns and wants Jabez’s soul. Realizing that having it all is not all that it’s cracked up to be, he seeks help from Daniel Webster (Edward Arnold in a touching performance), the most admired man in town and candidate for President, to get his life and soul back.
Watching this film is like watching a fever dream come true. The moments of surrealism are expertly crafted and are downright scary at times. There is a reason for that because you’re seeing that humanity is being twisted and turned upside down, especially when doused with greed and supposed immortality. The character of Jabez (a revelatory performance by Craig by the way) learns the hard way that you can possess great wealth and confront, but without heart and soul, it becomes absolutely meaningless. Having Bernard Herrmann’s excellent, Oscar-winning score definitely helps too.
Adding to this experience is Criterion’s wonderful Blu-ray (released in March) which has an amazing new 4K picture and sound restoration, one that makes the film feel even more modern than it was in 1941.
I love the supplements too. They include an audio commentary by film historian Bruce Eder and Steven C. Smith, biographer of composer Bernard Herrmann; a reading by actor Alec Baldwin of the short story by Stephen Vincent Benét on which the film is based; episode of the Criterion Channel series Observations on Film Art about the film’s editing; comparisons of the differences between the July 1941 preview version of the film, Here Is a Man, and the film’s 1943 re-release as The Devil and Daniel Webster; The Columbia Workshop’s radio adaptations of Benét’s short stories “The Devil and Daniel Webster” and “Daniel Webster and the Sea Serpent,” both featuring music by Herrmann; new restoration demonstration; and trailer. There’s a great essay by author Tom Piazza and a 1941 article by Benét.
This film is not the first to interpret the clash between good and evil, nor will it be the last. But I feel it’s the most appealing and emotional one, and if you agree, then this release should be a real must-have in your collection. It’s that good!
