''The Devil's Disciple'' is a 1959 British-American film adaptation of the 1897

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from ...

play '' The Devil's Disciple''. The Anglo-American film was directed by Guy Hamilton, who replaced

Alexander Mackendrick Alexander Mackendrick (September 8, 1912 – December 22, 1993) was an American-born director and professor, long based in Scotland. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and later moved to Scotland. He began making television commercials befor ...

, and starred Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier. Mary Grant designed the film's costumes. Lancaster and Douglas made several films together over the decades, including '' I Walk Alone'' (1948), '' Gunfight at the O.K. Corral'' (1957), ''

Seven Days in May ''Seven Days in May'' is a 1964 American political thriller film about a military-political cabal's planned takeover of the United States government in reaction to the president's negotiation of a disarmament treaty with the Soviet Union. The ...

'' (1964) and '' Tough Guys'' (1986).

Plot

Richard "Dick" Dudgeon ( Kirk Douglas) is

apostate Apostasy (; grc-gre, ἀποστασία , 'a defection or revolt') is the formal religious disaffiliation, disaffiliation from, abandonment of, or renunciation of a religion by a person. It can also be defined within the broader context of emb ...

and outcast from his family in

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

Websterbridge,

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

, who returns their hatred with scorn. After the death of his father, who was mistakenly hanged by the British as a rebel in nearby Springtown, Dick rescues his body from the gallows, where it had been left as an example to others, and has it buried in the parish graveyard in Websterbridge. He then returns to his childhood home to hear the reading of his father's will, much to his family's dismay. Local minister Rev. Anthony Anderson ( Burt Lancaster), who was almost arrested for trying to talk the British into taking the body down, treats him with courtesy, despite Dick's self-proclaimed apostasy, but Dick's "wickedness" appalls Anderson's wife Judith (

Janette Scott Thora Janette Scott (born 14 December 1938) is an English retired actress. Life and career Scott was born on 14 December 1938 in Morecambe, Lancashire, England. She is the daughter of actors Jimmy Scott and Thora Hird and began her acting ca ...

). To everyone's surprise, it is revealed that Dick's father secretly changed his will just before he died, leaving the bulk of his estate to Dick. Much to his shock, Dick's mother (

Eva Le Gallienne Eva Le Gallienne (January 11, 1899 – June 3, 1991) was a British-born American stage actress, producer, director, translator, and author. A Broadway star by age 21, Le Gallienne gave up her Broadway appearances to devote herself to founding t ...

) refuses to stay with him (a change from the stage play, wherein he promptly evicts his mother from her home). Dick proclaims himself a rebel against the British and scorns his family as cowards when they flee his home. In the meantime, the British discover the father's grave. While Dick is visiting the Andersons' home at the Reverend's invitation to take

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...

, Rev. Anderson is called out to Mrs. Dudgeon's deathbed. With Anderson's permission, Dick is left alone with Judith. She has been instructed to keep him at the house for his safety, and to serve tea while Anderson is gone. Perceiving Judith's distaste for him, Dick attempts to leave, but Judith insists he stay until Anderson returns, lest her husband think she has disobeyed him. While waiting, British soldiers enter Anderson's home and arrest Dick, mistaking him for Anderson, whom they believe illegally retrieved the body. Dick allows them to take him away without revealing his actual identity. He swears Judith to secrecy lest her husband give the secret away and expose himself to arrest. Judith, in a state of great agitation, finds her husband, who asks if Dick has harmed her. Breaking her promise to Dick, Judith reveals that soldiers came to arrest Anderson but Dick went in his place, stunning Anderson, who tells Judith to have Dudgeon keep quiet as long as possible, to give him "more start", then quickly drives away. Judith believes her husband to be a coward (not knowing he has gone to seek help from Lawyer Hawkins (

Basil Sydney Basil Sydney (23 April 1894 – 10 January 1968) was an English stage and screen actor. Career Sydney made his name in 1915 in the London stage hit ''Romance'' by Edward Sheldon, with Broadway star Doris Keane, and he costarred with Keane in t ...

), secretly the leader of the local rebels) while Dick, whom she despised, she now sees as a hero. Judith visits Dick and asks him if he has acted from love for her. He tells her that he has acted according to "the law of my own nature", which forbade him to save himself by condemning another. At a military trial, Dick is convicted and sentenced to be hanged, not for his theft of the body, but for his open acknowledgment that he is a rebel. In this scene, we become better acquainted with

General Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several bat ...

( Laurence Olivier), a charming gentleman and Shavian realist, who contributes a number of sharp remarks about the conduct of the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

and the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, and engages in some gentlemanly verbal repartée with Dick who seems surprisingly unaffected by the high probability of being hanged. Burgoyne does believe he is Anderson, but notes his rather un-clerical behavior. After Dick is condemned, Judith interrupts the proceedings to reveal Dick's true identity, but to no avail, as he will be hanged in any case due to remarks he made during the trial, which the British consider treasonous regardless of his identity. Meanwhile, Anderson suddenly decides to abandon his ministry and turn rebel. In Springtown, a battle is going on. Anderson finds a house that the British have commandeered that is next to their ammunition dump. Anderson sneaks into the house, fends off several British redcoats, sets his coat on fire on log, and throwing it out the window explodes the British ammunition dump. Surviving relatively unscathed, he then dons the clothes of a Loyalist courier bringing an urgent message from

General Howe William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB PC (10 August 172912 July 1814) was a British Army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British land forces in the Colonies during the American War of Independence. Howe was one of three brot ...

and reaches the village where Dick is about to be hanged. Like Sydney Carton in Dickens's ''

A Tale of Two Cities ''A Tale of Two Cities'' is a historical novel published in 1859 by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The novel tells the story of the French Doctor Manette, his 18-year-long imprisonment in ...

'', Dick defies his executioners and prepares to meet his death. However, Anderson confronts Burgoyne, informing him that the rebels have re-taken Springtown, have a British general as a prisoner, and that a captured message reveals that a relief army supposed to be in Albany is really farther away in New York City, being misinformed about his location; Burgoyne is outnumbered. Anthony Anderson has become a man of action in an instant, just as Dick became a man of conscience in an instant. In Springtown, the British called for a truce, and Anderson bargains on the terms of the truce, including Dick's life; Burgoyne agrees to free him. Anderson tells Dick and Judith that he (Anderson) is no longer a minister but a Captain of

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, and will not stand in their way. Judith seems to be as entranced with Dick as she was previously disgusted with him. When Dick says they can go away together, she runs off; Anderson follows, sweeping Judith onto his horse and they leave Websterbridge. Under the temporary truce, Burgoyne invites Dick to tea.

Cast

* Burt Lancaster – Reverend Anthony Anderson * Kirk Douglas – Richard "Dick" Dudgeon * Laurence Olivier –

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

John Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several bat ...

– Judith Anderson *

– Mrs. Dudgeon *

Harry Andrews Harry Stewart Fleetwood Andrews, CBE (10 November 1911 – 6 March 1989) was an English actor known for his film portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Regimental Sergeant Major Wilson in ''The Hill'' (1965) alongside Sean ...

– Major Swindon *

– Lawyer Hawkins * George Rose – British sergeant * Neil McCallum – Christopher (Christie) Dudgeon *

Mervyn Johns Mervyn Johns (born David Mervyn John; 18 February 18996 September 1992) was a Welsh stage, film and television character actor who became a star of British films during the Second World War. Johns was known for his "mostly mild-mannered, lugubri ...

– Reverend Maindeck Parshotter * David Horne – Uncle William *

Erik Chitty Erik Chitty (8 July 1907 in Dover, Kent – 22 July 1977 Brent, Middlesex), was an English stage, film and television actor. Early life Chitty was the son of a flour miller, Frederick Walter Chitty and his wife Ethel Elsie Assistance née Fra ...

– Uncle Titus *

Allan Cuthbertson Allan Darling Cuthbertson (7 April 1920 – 8 February 1988) was an Australian-born British actor. He was best known for playing stern-faced military officers in British films of the 1950s and 1960s. Early life Cuthbertson was born in Perth, ...

– British captain * Percy Herbert – British lieutenant * Phyllis Morris – Wife of Titus * Brian Oulton – Chaplain Brudenell * Jenny Jones – Essie * Sheree Winton – Platinum Blond * Steven Berkoff – British Corporal

Production and reception

The play was among those by George Bernard Shaw whose film rights were purchased by

Gabriel Pascal Gabriel Pascal (born Gábor Lehel; 4 June 1894 – 6 July 1954) was a Hungarian film producer and director whose best-known films were made in the United Kingdom. Pascal was the first film producer to successfully bring the plays of Georg ...

in 1938; a planned production was announced several times in the years that followed. The rights were acquired from Pascal's estate by the production company of Burt Lancaster and Harold Hecht in 1955. The film was shot at Associated British Studios in Elstree, near London, England between late July and mid-October 1958. In early August, the production company announced original director

had been replaced by Guy Hamilton. A.H. Weiler in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' argued admirers of Shaw's "plays would be a mite confused by this copiously edited and re-written edition of his noted lampoon of American Revolutionary events and some Englishmen involved in losing a valuable colony." This adaptation "is, somewhat disappointingly, less the biting satire of the stage and more an unevenly paced comedy-melodrama leaning heavily toward action. ... Shaw's meticulous development of character and a healthy portion of his gibes and barbs are merely shadowy effects here".

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Devil's Disciple (1959 film), The 1950s historical comedy films 1950s satirical films 1959 films American black-and-white films American historical comedy films American films based on plays American Revolutionary War films American satirical films British films based on plays British historical comedy films British satirical films Bryna Productions films Films based on works by George Bernard Shaw Films directed by Guy Hamilton Films produced by Burt Lancaster Films produced by James Hill Films produced by Harold Hecht Films scored by Richard Rodney Bennett Films set in the 1770s Films set in New Hampshire Films shot at Associated British Studios Norma Productions films United Artists films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films 1950s British films

Plot

Cast

Production and reception

See also

References

External links