Stephan St. Vincent Benet's play was taken to the screen in an unbelievable display of talent. Back at the time when studios kept a "stable" of character actors to support their "stars," we have seen these faces again and again over time. This film in way departs from that and I, for one, miss that re-encounter with these familiar faces terribly. This film, which I had not seen before and had only read about, is a classic. The wonderful, mobile and impish face of Walter Huston, father of John and grandfather of Anjelica, welcomes into the drama where we soon meet Jane Darwell, Jeff Corey, H.B. Warner, Gene Lockhart, John Qualen and a host of others whose faces we can see splashed over these old studio films. I was surprised to get glimpses of Thomas Mitchell instead of Edward Arnold but find out at this site that Mitchell was replaced by Arnold. It was the replacement of a fine character actor by another and there was no lowering of the standard, as Arnold's dark Austrian presence lends itself wonderfully to the character of Daniel Webster.
The tale, a Faustian legend wherein the hero redeems his soul, is a classic and is not overdone by the studio's relatively unknown James Craig. The female interests of Ann Shirley, another relatively unknown, is augmented by sexy character actress Simone Simon, who magically appears as the temptress, striving to lead the naive Jabez "over the hill." The trial scene, brief and ending with Arnold's fine soliloquy, is a pleasure to watch, in conjunction with Husont's wonderful facial gymnastics.
Alas, they just don't make'em like that anymore.
The tale, a Faustian legend wherein the hero redeems his soul, is a classic and is not overdone by the studio's relatively unknown James Craig. The female interests of Ann Shirley, another relatively unknown, is augmented by sexy character actress Simone Simon, who magically appears as the temptress, striving to lead the naive Jabez "over the hill." The trial scene, brief and ending with Arnold's fine soliloquy, is a pleasure to watch, in conjunction with Husont's wonderful facial gymnastics.
Alas, they just don't make'em like that anymore.