The Devil's Disciple

In 1777, as the American colonies are breaking away from the United Kingdom, hanging rebels and their cohorts is commonplace. Springtown, New Hampshire minister Burt Lancaster (as Anthony "Tony" Anderson) would like the British to stop hanging his parishioners. When they come to hang Mr. Lancaster, they mistake manly Kirk Douglas (as Richard "Dick" Dudgeon) for the pastor, because he is accosting Lancaster's pretty wife Janette Scott (as Judith). She is trying to avoid Mr. Douglas's masculine charms, but you know she wants him... Leading the charge for King George is Laurence Olivier (as John "Gentlemanly Johnny" Burgoyne)... Douglas bests Lancaster in this screen strutting contest, even splitting his pants for one scene. Lancaster does, however, get the best individual scene; this is when he tries to explode some gunpowder outside a window. The locations and sets are well constructed. There are good appearances for Mr. Olivier, Neil McCallum (as Christopher "Christie" Dudgeon) and motherly Eva Le Gallienne. Originally a play by George Bernard Shaw, it's theatrically staged by Guy Hamilton and the co-stars, but this motion picture version doesn't make a good impression. ***** The Devil's Disciple (8/20/59) Guy Hamilton ~ Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Laurence Olivier, Janette Scott

It's been years since I've seen this movie but my memories of it are of a fascinating, clever evocation of a special time and place. I loved the performances of Burt and Kirk, finding it an interesting choice - usually Burt was the one with the charm and swagger but in this movie, Kirk Douglas didn't ham it up but was terrific!

George Bernard Shaw, as big a name as he was, proves here that no everything he thought of to write was great. I understand his play here was only performed once live. Then these script writers converted it into a screen play. Talented Director Guy Hamilton did this film and the action sequences show his talented touch. The film is short which in this case is an asset. The performers are very talented which helps too. There are a few comedies about the American Revolution, Abbott & Costello's Time of Their Lives comes to mind. In a way, this film has some in common with it. Abbott & Costello were not getting along when they did their film. Here Lancaster, Douglas & Olivier are are trying to get along and get quality screen time. The difference is A&C have ghosts and do obvious comedy. This one has a cheeky style of jokes that in some cases go over the average audience heads. Lancaster is a preacher, Douglas is a sort of rascal, and Olivier is British General Burgoynne (yes, there really was this General). While the facts are few and far between, the characters are very well acted. That is what makes this entertaining. It becomes obvious as the film goes along that Lancaster & Douglas own the production and both of them get their moments in. Olivier pretty much plays the straight man who gets the major speeches and comes off quite well. The most unusual role is Lancaster (the preacher's) wife. She has to play a woman almost on the edge of fooling around with Douglas when her husband gives her the chance. It is an edgy role and really makes the film more interesting than most films. Janette Scott actually brings this role off quite well. Because of the length being short, and the male stars all being at the top of their games, this comes off pretty good despite the farce it is at times.

You don't need to take this movie as a serious in depth study of human emotions and character even though it is a George Bernard Shaw play. This movie does not need to be historically accurate to be a great movie. The American revolution and social customs of the times are a back drop for a movie that is actually a fast moving stage play set in the real outdoors. The movie is in black and white and that only makes it all the more real. It is a good solid comedy with good old American violence as a backdrop. All the characters are picture perfect for parts they play and while the backdrops are not lavish, they are one hundred percent real. If you are a Burt Lancaster or Kirk Douglas fan or just wonder what all the wonder is about those two, this is an excellent movie to see.

This is a wonderful film of historic fiction, primarily due to a script that subtly combines action, romance, humor and real questions of values. The story is built around Kirk Douglas, who plays a seemingly amoral fellow and Burt Lancaster, who is a clergyman. Using the American Revolution as a backdrop, it presents both men with questions of character in a time of duress, transforming them into their true natures. Lawrence Olivier, who plays General Burgoyne, is a revelation. He plays his part as strongly as Douglas and Lancaster with understatement and economy. Harry Andrews plays Major Swindon, the blustering "company man", with gusto. (See him in the movie "The Hill" if you have not.) The film's music is finely crafted, providing accents for the range of emotions--from the stirrings of romantic love to the urgency of armed conflict. In its best moments, The Devil's Disciple is not afraid to poke fun at society's conventions--the church, government, authority, traditions. It asserts that individual men of conscience are the real heroes, and they are not forged in the flames of religious piety or societal order. A note about the ending: I disagree with those who question the choice made by the preacher's wife, Judith. She had always loved her husband, but she wished to see him as a brave man of action and romantic fervor.

This is in answer to otter_c, who wrote: "The only disappointment is Laurence Olivier as General Burgoyne. Olivier castigated himself in his autobiography for botching one of Shaw's most hilarious roles, his personal griefs were overwhelming him at the time. He's nervous and unfocused, line after wonderful line falls flat. (He returned to form shortly after in "Spartacus" and "The Entertainer")" All due respect to both you and Sir Lawrence, but I think this is an instance where his self-appraisal is a little off-target. I've always enjoyed this performance as a very excellent portrait of a thinking man and wit under a great deal of pressure, with no idea that Olivier did not care for it -- thing is, Burgoyne IS distracted; he has more important fish to fry than this petty punitive hanging, and even before he gets the news about Howe he is deeply concerned for the continued viability of his command: He tosses off his bon mots as the after-thoughts of the kind of intellect who could actually write plays when he wasn't under siege in an unpopular war in unfriendly country. And I find that makes them and Burgoyne funnier than, say, Ian Richardson's total self- awareness in the '87 BBC production. Olivier liked to be In Control when he worked; and in some of the roles in which I do not much care for him I feel it makes him artificial and excessively mannered. So naturally, a performance given when he was overwhelmed with grief is gonna rankle the perfectionist in him; but since he was preoccupied with other, more important (to him) matters it put him willy-nilly square in the same frame of mind as I gauge Gentlemanly Johnny to have been in as disaster loomed, I feel it really helps make the performance live in a way the studied Olivier technique might not have come within yards of. The two men -- the actor and the general he portrays -- are up against it, but instinct pulls each through even if more distractedly than if under less severe constraints; there is still enough of the essence of each to make a credible showing. The artist is not always the best critic of his own work; and Olivier's General Burgoyne is excellent work whether the actor knew what he was doing or not.

Despite its imposing credentials (featuring the star combo of Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas and Laurence Olivier and being adapted from a George Bernard Shaw play), this film is – criminally, if you ask me – scarcely ever revived. Until now, in fact, I had to make do with a tiny reproduction of the poster from the time of its original release locally (kept by my father in a large worn-out scrapbook); for the record, the copy under review was culled from a TCM screening. Anyway, this is a comedy-adventure of the kind 'they don't make 'em like anymore' but one that, being rich in dialogue (as is to be expected of a Shaw work), comes across as atypically intelligent. The setting is the American Revolution (incidentally, the film was begun by Alexander Mackendrick – an American whose career actually took off in England!) with Lancaster a small-town preacher, Douglas a self-proclaimed "ne'er-do-well" and Olivier the General of the invading British army. Douglas, at his roguish best, and a wittily sardonic Olivier are very funny – while Lancaster's initial (albeit necessary) glumness is redeemed by a characteristic bout of acrobatics at the finale. Interestingly, he and Douglas (by the way, THE DEVIL'S DISCIPLE was a co-production between their respective companies) gradually exchange identities throughout the film – with the latter passing himself off as a man of the cloth yet keeping his fervent anti-British sentiments unchecked and the minister forced by circumstances into rebellion, action and eventually negotiations with the enemy. The supporting cast, then, is headed by lovely Janette Scott (who manages to hold her own in the company of the two American stars, playing a character named Judith Anderson!) and Harry Andrews (in the role of Olivier's eager yet dim-witted aide) but also including the likes of Basil Sydney, Mervyn Johns and Allan Cuthbertson. Notable, too, are a rousing score by Richard Rodney Bennett and the novel bits of exposition (detailing the progress of General Burgoyne's ill-fated campaign) amusingly done by shifting military figurines about on a map of the area; incidentally, in the style of Lancaster's THE CRIMSON PIRATE (1952; also co-written by Roland Kibbee), we are urged to believe the events as fictionalized here rather than the way documented history presents them!

Kirk Douglas plays the title character with charm and panache, Lancaster delivers one of his best performances, and Olivier is an absolute delight in his smooth-as-silk portrayal of "Gentlemanly Johnny!" A pleasure to watch -- Bravo!

In The Devil's Disciple, George Bernard Shaw's witticism takes far too long to get to the actual plot. There's too much social commentary and character development before the real plot happens - so much so that when the big scene finally arrived, I'd fallen asleep and had to watch Part 2 the next night. It's a pre-Revolutionary War movie about how incompetent everyone was, and how smart-aleck Americans are far more interesting than stiff-upper-lip Brits. Burt Lancaster plays a calm, collected Reverend married to a very fickle, emotional Janette Scott. Kirk Douglas is a rabble-rouser that no one likes, but who gets the meat of the lines and the movie. As the producer, why would Burt Lancaster give himself the lesser of the two roles? Kirk Douglas gets to have all the fun, smirking his way through his clever lines and charming banter. Burt is merely the pious preacher who does everything possible to tamp down his usual energy. And why would Laurence Olivier take such a small, lousy part? Maybe he'd just been cast in Spartacus and wanted to do a favor for Kirk Douglas. He's really irritating in this movie, so if you prefer him in his Shakespearean glory or looking like Heathcliff, don't rent it.

Having seen The Devil's Disciple on a venue that runs films which have fallen into the public domain, I wonder how anyone could have let copyright lapse on such an intriguing, yet quirky, film as this. With it's triumvirate of strong leading men, and an interesting script, this movie should be much more well known. And with it's rather oddball presentation it's surprising that it does not have cult status. The live action segments are excellent, and there is no slack in the acting or direction. However, some poor soul made the bizarre decision to interject little Rankin-Bass type puppet animation segments at nearly random moments, thoroughly negating - each time - all the dramatic momentum that has been accumulated up to that point. The animated segments are well done, and moderately amusing in and of themselves, yet completely incongruous to the tone of the surrounding film. These segments are, however, a minor flaw when compared with the greatest drawback of this movie. I am referring to the character of Judith Anderson, our hero's wife. She is, without a doubt, the most annoyingly fickle and foolish female character that I can recall having ever witnessed in any film; and very nearly the most hysterical as well. Not too far into the story I began to get the feeling that I would very much like to slap her. Halfway through the film I was consciously rooting for each of the male leads to take a turn slapping her. By the end of the film I was convinced that everyone in the film should have slapped her, and probably the crew as well! The only thing that made this character bearable was the calm, good-natured presence of Lancaster, Douglas, and Olivier. Now, this is not intended to denigrate Miss Janette Scott, who portrayed Mrs. Anderson. On the contrary, she did a remarkable job of making this over-the-top hysterical woman seem real. A lesser actress might have easily come off as overly melodramatic and phony in such an extreme performance. Her skill in the performance is the reason that we want to slap her. Kudos to Janette Scott. It is my opinion that almost everyone who watches this film will, in fact, want to slap her. Be prepared.