All That Money Can Buy (The Devil and Daniel Webster)

A beleaguered farmer (James Craig) sells his soul to the devil only to enlist the help of famed attorney Daniel Webster (frequent Capra villain Edward Arnold) to break the contract in this stylish fantasy directed by Oscar nominee William Dieterle (The Life of Emile Zola, 1937) and based on the short story by Stephen Vincent Benét. Walter Huston was nominated for his lively performance as the Satanic Mr. Scratch, and Bernard Herrmann won an Oscar for his second film score; his first, Citizen Kane, was also nominated that same year. Herrmann incorporated classic folk songs such as “On Springfield Mountain” while using his typically inventive orchestrations to dazzling effect.

Academy Museum film programming generously funded by the Richard Roth Foundation.

1941 | 107 min. | USA | Black-and-White | English | DCP

DIRECTED BY: William Dieterle

WRITTEN BY: Dan Totheroh, Stephen Vincent Benét

WITH: Edward Arnold, Walter Huston, Jane Darwell, Simone Simon