The Devil Commands

Movie
Original title	The Devil Commands
Country of production	United States
original language	English
Publishing year	1941
length	65 minutes
Rod
Director	Edward Dmytryk
script	Robert D. Andrews ; Milton Gunzburg
production	Wallace MacDonald
camera	Allen G. Siegler
cut	Al Clark
occupation
	Boris Karloff : Dr. Julian Blair; Richard Fiske : Dr. Richard Sayles; Amanda Duff : Anne Blair; Anne Revere : Mrs. Walters; Cy Schindell : Karl; Dorothy Adams : Mrs. Marcy; Walter Baldwin : Seth Marcy; Kenneth MacDonald : Sheriff Willis; Shirley Warde : Helen Blair; Ernie Adams : Elam; Lester Allen : Dr. Van Den; Wheaton Chambers : Dr. Sanders; Earl Crawford : Johnson; Harrison Greene : Mr. Booth; Erwin Kalser : Professor Kent; Eddie Kane : Professor Walt; George McKay : Stationmaster; Al Rhein : truck driver; John Tyrrell : Post Office Manager; Jacques Vanaire : Dr. Hartley;

The Devil Commands is in black and white twisted American science fiction and horror film from the year 1941 . The film was based on the novel The Edge of Running Water by William Sloane . It was directed by Edward Dmytryk , with Boris Karloff in the lead role .

action

The respected scientist Dr. Blair experiments with human brain waves , which he believes are as individual as a fingerprint . When his wife Helen is killed in a traffic accident, he withdraws from his surroundings, including his daughter Anne. One night, by chance, he recorded a brainwave that was exactly like that of his dead wife. Blair is convinced that Helen is trying to contact him from the realm of the dead. From now on, his experiments serve exclusively to try to establish a connection with her, which is why he quickly loses his reputation. With the medium Mrs. Walters and his assistant Karl he moves to a remote property in New England . The residents of the nearby town distrust the newcomer, and after repeated grave looting, he is targeted by the local sheriff . Blair's cleaning lady Mrs. Marcy accidentally discovers an experimental set-up in his laboratory, where the stolen corpses are supposed to serve as "amplifiers" of Blair's wife's brainwaves. Mrs. Marcy is electrocuted, and Mrs. Walters arranges her death as apparent suicide. In another experiment, Mrs. Walters is also killed, which is why Blair forces his daughter Anne, who appears unexpectedly, to take Mrs. Walters' place. Meanwhile, Mrs. Marcy's husband has gathered a group of villagers who storm Blair's property. Blair is killed in repeated attempts to contact Helen, and the uninjured Anne is freed.

background

The Devil Commands is part of a series of four horror films that Boris Karloff directed for Columbia film production company between 1939 and 1941 . The film was made in November and December 1940 and opened in American cinemas on February 3, 1941. The film was not shown in the Federal Republic of Germany .

reception

"Never before have we seen such a mess of scientific stuff on the screen [...]"

- The New York Times

“The usual pseudoscientific stuff, but without the ability to generate a giggle, even hysterical one. [...] The film is overloaded with melancholy, and you feel relieved when it's over. - Rating: Fair (Average) "

- New York Evening Post

“William Sloane's novel The Edge of Running Water is considered a masterpiece of subtle horror. The same cannot be said of the film adaptation [...] Nonetheless, the film is a classic example of how a good director, a good actor and a basically good story are enough to achieve something decent despite a multitude of handicaps. "

- William K. Everson: classic horror film

Publications

The Devil Commands was released on DVD in 2003 in the USA .

literature

William Sloane: The Edge of Running Water. Farrar & Rinehart, New York 1939

Web links

The Devil Commands in the Internet Movie Database (English)
The Devil Commands at Turner Classic Movies (English)

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b William K. Everson: Classics of the horror film. Goldmann, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-442-10205-7 , pp. 155-157. (Original edition: Classics of the Horror Film. Citadel Press, 1974.)
^ The Devil Commands in the Internet Movie Database .
↑ "For never have we witnessed upon the screen such a hodgepodge of scientific claptrap as is represented by the film currently showing at the Rialto." - Review in the New York Times on February 13, 1941, accessed on December 21, 2012.
^ "It's the usual pseudo-scientific stuff, minus the power to produce giggles - even the hysterical sort. […] The picture is overburdened with gloom, and you're quite relieved when it's over. "- Review (PDF download; 511 kB) by Irene Thirer in the New York Evening Post on February 14, 1941, accessed on February 22, 1941. December 2012.

[everson-1] William K. Everson: Classics of the horror film. Goldmann, Munich 1982, ISBN 3-442-10205-7 , pp. 155-157. (Original edition: Classics of the Horror Film. Citadel Press, 1974.)

[imdb-2] The Devil Commands in the Internet Movie Database .

[3] "For never have we witnessed upon the screen such a hodgepodge of scientific claptrap as is represented by the film currently showing at the Rialto." - Review in the New York Times on February 13, 1941, accessed on December 21, 2012.

[4] "It's the usual pseudo-scientific stuff, minus the power to produce giggles - even the hysterical sort. […] The picture is overburdened with gloom, and you're quite relieved when it's over. "- Review (PDF download; 511 kB) by Irene Thirer in the New York Evening Post on February 14, 1941, accessed on February 22, 1941. December 2012.