''As the Devil Commands'' is a 1932 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

film written by

Jo Swerling Jo Swerling (April 8, 1897 – October 23, 1964) was an American theatre writer, lyricist and screenwriter. Early life and early career Born Joseph Swerling in Berdichev, Ukraine, Swerling was one of a number of Jewish refugees from the Tsarist ...

from a story by Keene Thompson. It is directed by

Roy William Neill Roy William Neill (4 September 1887 – 14 December 1946) was an Irish-born American film director best known for directing the last eleven of the fourteen Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, made between 1943 and 19 ...

and stars

Alan Dinehart Mason Alan Dinehart Sr. (born Harold Alan Dinehart; October 3, 1889 – July 18, 1944) was an American actor, director, writer, and stage manager. Biography Dinehart initially studied to be a priest, but he turned to the theater instead. ...

Mae Clarke Mae Clarke (born Violet Mary Klotz; August 16, 1910 – April 29, 1992) was an American actress. She is widely remembered for playing Henry Frankenstein's bride Elizabeth, who is chased by Boris Karloff in ''Frankenstein'', and for being o ...

and Neil Hamilton.

Plot

When John Duncan becomes ill, he moves in with his cousin, Robert Waldo, who is an attorney. As his illness worsens, his doctor, David Graham, gives him the bad news that it is terminal. When Duncan decides to split his estate between Waldo and Graham, Waldo hatches a plot which he feels will allow him to inherit the entire fortune. The first step involves convincing Duncan to leave his whole fortune to Graham in his will. With Graham now having a perfect motive for murder, Waldo plans to kill Duncan and frame Graham. As Christmas approaches, Duncan's illness has progressed to the point where he is now a totally helpless invalid. Suffering, Duncan begs Graham to end his suffering, but Graham refuses. Waldo connives Graham to go to a party, getting him out of the house. He also hires Wilfred Morgan, a tramp, to go to the party, to make sure that Graham does not return too early. However, Morgan gets drunk and does not leave the mansion. Thinking that he is alone with Duncan, he administers the necessary overdose to kill Duncan. Unbeknownst to him, Morgan wakes up long enough to witness the murder. After Duncan's death, Graham is tried for the murder. He is ineptly defended by Waldo, who is hoping for a conviction and a death sentence, which if it happens, he will be the sole heir to Duncan's fortune. However, while Graham is convicted, he is sentenced to life in prison, rather than death. This foils Waldo's plans, since as long as Graham is alive, Waldo cannot inherit. So Waldo forges a fake suicide note for Duncan, which he presents after "finding" it amongst Duncan's effects, thus obtaining Graham's exoneration and release. He plans to kill Graham and make it look like an accident, but a hiccup occurs when Morgan resurfaces and blackmails Waldo with his eyewitness testimony of Duncan's murder. Needing to get rid of the tramp, so he runs him down with his car. Thinking Morgan is dead, he goes back to the mansion, where he tricks Graham into going into the wine cellar, where Waldo has lit numerous candles, which will quickly use up all the oxygen in the room, asphyxiating Graham. However, Morgan is not dead, just mortally injured. He manages to make his way to Jane's house, who is Graham's assistant. Before dying he tells her that it was Waldo who ran him over, as well as being the one to give Duncan his fatal overdose. She calls the police, then grabs her gun and heads over to the mansion. She tries to get Waldo to tell her where Graham is, but he refuses. They struggle and Jane shoots him. Then the police arrive, and they discover Graham in time to save him.

Cast list

Production

The film had the working title of ''Acquitted'', which was changed shortly before its release in December 1932, to ''As the Devil Commands''.

Reception

The Missoulian The ''Missoulian'' is a daily newspaper printed in Missoula, Montana, United States. The newspaper has been owned by Lee Enterprises since 1959. The ''Missoulian'' is the largest published newspaper in Western Montana, and is distributed througho ...

'' gave it a good review, calling it a "powerful dramatic story". ''

The Austin American The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...

'' gave the film a mostly positive review, applauding the work of Dinehart, Hamilton, and Clarke, although they felt the romantic elements of the picture were a bit thin.

References

{{Roy William Neill American black-and-white films Films directed by Roy William Neill