''The Devil's Disciple'' is a 1959

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

of the 1897

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

play '' The Devil's Disciple''. The Anglo-American film was directed by

Guy Hamilton Mervyn Ian Guy Hamilton (16 September 1922 – 20 April 2016) was an English film director. He directed 22 films from the 1950s to the 1980s, including four James Bond films. Early life Hamilton was born in Paris on 16 September 1922, son of ...

, who replaced Alexander Mackendrick, and starred

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor. Initially known for playing tough characters with tender hearts, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-year caree ...

Kirk Douglas Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch; December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020) was an American actor and filmmaker. After an impoverished childhood, he made his film debut in '' The Strange Love of Martha Ivers'' (1946) with Barbara Stanwyck. ...

and

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

. 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), '' The List of Adrian Messenger'' (1963), '' Seven Days in May'' (1964) and '' Tough Guys'' (1986).

Plot

Richard "Dick" Dudgeon (

) is apostate and outcast from his family in colonial Websterbridge,

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, who returns their hatred with scorn. After the death of his father, 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. He leaves it for burial in the parish graveyard in Websterbridge. Dick then returns to his childhood home to hear the reading of his father's will, much to his family's dismay. His mother ( Eva Le Gallienne) is not happy to see him, deploring the way he has behaved. Local minister Rev. Anthony Anderson (

) who is almost arrested for trying to talk the British into taking the body down, treats Dick with courtesy, despite Dick's self-proclaimed apostasy. Dick's "wickedness," however, appalls Anderson's wife, Judith (

Janette Scott Thora Janette Scott (born 14 December 1938) is a British 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 career as ...

). To everyone's surprise, Dick's father left the bulk of his estate to Dick, his eldest son. His mother points out that the only wealth her husband had is what she brought to the marriage in a large dowry, but he has left her with nothing. To Dick's shock, his mother then refuses to stay with him and curses him. Dick proclaims himself a rebel against the British and scorns his family as cowards for appeasing the British. In the meantime, the British discover the father's grave. Anderson warns Dick that the British may arrest him for retrieving the body. He takes Dick home, thinking the British will not look for a disreputable outcast at a minister’s home. While Dick is there, Anderson is called to tend to Dick’s sick mother. Dick is left alone with Judith, despite the social impropriety. Before Anderson’s return, British soldiers enter Anderson's home and arrest Dick, mistaking him for Anderson. They believe Anderson illegally retrieved the body. Dick allows them to take him away without revealing his actual identity. He swears Judith to secrecy lest her husband be arrested for Dick's crime. In a state of great agitation, Judith 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. Anderson tells Judith to have Dick keep quiet as long as possible, to give him "more start," then quickly rides away. Judith is unaware that Anderson has gone to seek help from Lawyer Hawkins ( Basil Sydney), secretly the leader of the local rebels, to negotiate giving himself up in exchange for Dick (if Anderson just gave himself up, the British would keep them both). Judith believes her husband to be a coward and now sees Dick, who she previously despised, as a hero. She willingly kisses Dick farewell. Before a military tribunal, observed by General Burgoyne (

), Dick is skeptical about British justice, pointing out the scaffolding being built to hang him. He keeps up the pretense of being Anderson during the questioning until Judith tries to save him by revealing that he is not her husband. Regardless of the mistaken identity, Dick has been insulting enough to the British to condemn himself (“When you make up your mind to hang a man you put yourself at a disadvantage with him...I might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb.”). Burgoyne now sarcastically observes to the prosecutor, “I really must congratulate you, Swindon. Despite your deplorable error and the prisoner’s undoubted innocence at the start of the proceedings, you managed to provoke him into guilt by the end of them. A forensic triumph.” Meanwhile, Anderson decides to abandon his ministry and turn rebel. In Springtown, a battle is going on. Anderson enters a house that the British have commandeered that is next to their ammunition dump. Fighting off British soldiers, Anderson sets fire to the British ammunition dump, which explodes. He then dons the clothes of a

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

courier carrying an urgent message from General Howe to General Burgoyne. Reaching the village where Dick is about to be hanged, he presents a safe conduct from General Phillips, who the rebels have captured in Springtown. Terms are the withdrawal of British troops and the immediate release of Richard Dudgeon. Since General Howe is still in New York and not coming for relief, Burgoyne accedes to the demands. Anderson rises in his wife’s esteem, who chooses to remain with him rather than go off with Dick.

Cast

– Reverend Anthony Anderson *

– Richard "Dick" Dudgeon *

–

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

John Burgoyne General (United Kingdom), General John "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British Army officer, playwright and politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1761 to 1792. He first saw acti ...

– Judith Anderson * Eva Le Gallienne – Mrs. Dudgeon * Harry Andrews – Major Swindon * Basil Sydney – Lawyer Hawkins * George Rose – British sergeant * Neil McCallum – Christopher (Christie) Dudgeon *

Mervyn Johns David Mervyn Johns (18 February 18996 September 1992) was a Welsh stage, film and television actor who became a fixture of British films during the Second World War. Johns appeared extensively on screen and stage with over 100 credits between 1 ...

– Reverend Maindeck Parshotter * David Horne – Uncle William * Erik Chitty – Uncle Titus * Allan Cuthbertson – British captain * Percy Herbert – British lieutenant * Phyllis Morris – Wife of Titus * Brian Oulton – Chaplain Brudenell * Jenny Jones – Essie * Sheree Winton – Platinum Blond *

Steven Berkoff Steven Berkoff (born Leslie Steven Berks; 3 August 1937) is an English actor, author, playwright, theatre practitioner and theatre director. As a theatre maker he is recognised for staging work with a heightened performance style known as "Be ...

– 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 Alexander Mackendrick had been replaced by

. A.H. Weiler in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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 produced by Kirk Douglas 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 English-language historical comedy films

Plot

Cast

Production and reception

See also

References

External links