''The Devil's Daughter'' is a 1973 American made-for-television

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

starring Shelley Winters, Belinda Montgomery and

Robert Foxworth Robert Heath Foxworth (born November 1, 1941) is an American film, stage, and television actor. Early life Foxworth was born in Houston, Texas, the son of Erna Beth (née Seamman), a writer, and John Howard Foxworth, a roofing contractor. He at ...

. It originally aired as the '' ABC Movie of the Week'' on January 9, 1973. It was an early screenwriting credit for

Colin Higgins Colin Higgins (28 July 1941 – 5 August 1988) was an Australian-American screenwriter, actor, director, and producer. He was best known for writing the screenplay for the 1971 film ''Harold and Maude'', and for directing the films '' Foul Play' ...

Plot

Diane is a young woman (played by Belinda Montgomery) who attends the funeral of her mother. One of her mother's old friends, a wealthy woman named Lilith (Shelley Winters), introduces her to a Satanic cult (her mother was part of this cult before leaving it while Diane was a baby). The cult members have been keeping track of Diane (unbeknownst to her) throughout her childhood and teenage years, and believe her to be their "princess of darkness," insisting she take that role, which Diane rejects, horrified. Several strange things happen to Diane and her friends as the cult tries to take control over her. Diane eventually meets Steve, a charming young man (Robert Foxworth), and as she falls in love with him, feels she can defy the cult and live her own life. On her wedding day, Diane learns, to her shock and horror, that there are sinister conditions for the marriage, making her destiny unavoidable when she finds out that Steve is really a demon prince.

Cast

* Shelley Winters as Lilith Malone * Belinda Montgomery as Diane Shaw *

as Steve Stone * Jonathan Frid as Mr. Howard * Martha Scott as Mrs. Stone * Joseph Cotten as Judge Weatherby * Barbara Sammeth as Susan Sanford *

Diane Ladd Diane Ladd is an American actress. She has appeared in over 120 film and television roles. For the 1974 film '' Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'', she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy A ...

as Alice Shaw * Lucille Benson as Janet Poole *

Thelma Carpenter Thelma Carpenter (January 15, 1922 – May 14, 1997) was an American jazz singer and actress, best known as "Miss One", the Good Witch of the North in the movie ''The Wiz''. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Fred and Mary C ...

as Margaret Poole * Abe Vigoda as Alikhine * Ian Wolfe as Father MacHugh * Robert Cornthwaite as Pastor Dixon *

Rozelle Gayle Rozelle Ivory Gayle (February 24, 1919 – December 6, 1986) was an American jazz pianist, comic entertainer and actor. Biography Born in Chicago, he studied at the American Conservatory of Music before working as a pianist with Roy Eldridge ...

as Fedora

Production

The movie was filmed in Pacific Grove, California and Paramount Studios in Hollywood, California.

Reception

The ''Los Angeles Times'' said it "had about as much suspense as the Nixon-McGovern race." The ''New York Times'' called it "one of the better made for TV movies."

Legacy

Higgins later described the script as "just a job". However producers Milkis and Miller enjoyed working with Higgins and commissioned him to write a Hitchcock style thriller. This became '' Silver Streak''.The Producers: A Varied Bunch Kilday, Gregg. Los Angeles Times 20 Apr 1977: e8.

References

External links

* * 1973 television films 1973 films 1973 horror films American horror television films Films directed by Jeannot Szwarc Films with screenplays by Colin Higgins ABC Movie of the Week Films scored by Laurence Rosenthal 1970s American films {{US-tv-horror-film-stub