One Against All: The New England Past and Present Responsibilities in The Devil and Daniel Webster

The Faust myth is the story of a man who, attracted by magic and all it can provide, makes a pact with the devil in exchange for his soul, only to discover the error too late. This sixteenth-century myth, loosely based on a historical figure, has evolved from historical curiosity through innumerable literary derivations as a result of "the lack of finality, the manifest imperfections of all the versions, which have caused so many strange and beautiful variations on a theme which is not exhausted yet" (Palmer 13). In 1897, Melies introduced the Faust theme into the nascent film medium, and before 1913 more than twenty Faust films had been produced (Prodolliet 22). The attraction of the film medium to the metaphysically complex Faust myth encompasses the whole of film history, one of the most contemporary examples being Parker's Angel Heart (1987). The Faust literary theme, with its dramatic and descriptive tradition, is consistently renewed by the presence of four elemental motifs: the Faust/Mephistopheles relationship, the pact ritual, magic, and the relationship between Faust and Helen of Troy/Marguerite (Gretchen). These motifs are redesigned within the film aesthetic to fit the mold of two popular film genres, romance and horror, both of which have always displayed broad box-office appeal. Filmmakers found the element of magic particularly attractive. Film is uniquely visual, and magic is the illusory, the impossible, and the fantastic made visible. The combination of a clever devil, a weak man, a seductive and/or faithful woman, black magic, and a pact against God sells tickets. This proved to be especially evident in the 1941 film adaptation of Stephen Vincent Benet's Faustian short story. The Devil and Daniel Webster, also known as All That Money Can Buy, which was also made into a folk opera and short dramatic work. The screenplay (co-authored by Benet) expands upon the folkish design of the Faust tale set in 184Os New England. In this adaptation, Jabez Stone, a simple American farmer down on his luck, foolishly deals for material success with Mr. Scratch, a rather appealing devil. The farmer is eventually saved near the end of his time by the intervention of a true folk hero, Daniel Webster, who makes a successful appeal on Jabez's behalf to a jury of the damned. The Devil and Daniel Webster is not only a film rich in literary and historical traditions. An equally important cinematic tradition connects it with its Faust film predecessors: Rye's Der Student van Praq (1913) and Mumau's Faust (192/5). A prevailing neo-Expressionist aesthetic is employed by the German expatriate director William Dieterle. The influence of the Expressionist German film on American film production was manifest in forties productions categorized as film noir, which depicts a dark, violent world with flawed characters whose lust, greed, or fear motivates them (Thomas 25). In The Devil and Daniel Webster, Jabez's continual moral decline, Scratch's sinister disposition, and the trickery of Belle (the Helen of Troy figure) are all visualized by magic, in elaborate noir lighting and atmospheric set designs. A striking Academy award-winning musical soundtrack by Bernard Herrmann additionally creates an atmosphere precipitating the overall sense of the fantastic-a world in which magic is possible. The 1949 American film Alias Nick Beat, directed by John Farrow, was a Faust film conceived in the "black" noir style, which depicts a cruel and dangerous world. In contrast, Dieterle employs a "grey" noir style that examines this world less severely, with humor and fantastic diversions. Benet's treatment of the Faust theme in his short story and film adaptation is unique in its dramatization of "the conflict between the Powers of Darkness and the powers of an American statesman" (Stroud 117) to demonstrate the range and depth of the myth: "The story's several thematic elements and wide range of tone, from the prevailing broad Yankee humor to the notes of pathos and even nobility, are combined in a superlative tale that comes to far more than humorous fantasy; it is a classic American fable" (117). …