QUICKIE: Campaining judge is possesed by a gangster who's guided by the devil. I guess that's politics as usual, huh? Snicker.
PLOT: Gangster Eddie Kagel (Paul Muni) is killed by a trusted lieutenant and finds himself in Harry Redmond Jr's special-effects Hell, where Nick/The Devil (Claude Rains) sees that he is an-exact double for a judge who Nick doesn't approve of. Eddie is agreeable to having his soul transferred to the judge's body, as it will give him a chance to avenge himself on his killer. But every action taken by Eddie (as the judge) results in good rather than evil and, to Nick's dismay, the reputation and influence of the judge is enhanced, rather than impaired by Eddie. And Eddie also falls in love with the judge's fiancée, Barbara (Anne Baxter.) Even Eddie's planned revenge fails and Nick is forced to concede defeat. He returns to Hell, taking Eddie with him, after Eddie has extracted his promise that Nick will not molest the judge or Barbara in the future.
SUMMARY: Claude Rains as the Devil?!!! What great casting that was. Anne Baxter was also quite glamorous as well. There's some truly great lines in this film like when the devil says "what in my creation was that noise?" Or when Eddie calls the devil alot of wrong names like Bettlebub. This is a very amusing film, a different story, and just good entertainment.
Angel on My Shoulder ~ 1946 -BW
The Evil Mind ~ 1934 -BW
QUICKIE: I forsee a good movie in your future....
PLOT: (from IMDB): Maximus is a low budget trickster who puts on a fake clairvoyant act with his young wife Rene. Act turns to reality when, in the presence of another young lady (Christine), he starts to make startlingly correct predictions. His name becomes famous and he gets richer as he correctly predicts a train wreck and the derby winner. Being around Christine so much causes jealousy to flare in his wife. He only manages to hold on to Rene by promising to stop using his clairvoyance. But then he abruptly predicts a horrific mining accident with 200 deaths. He attempts to warn the miners himself but they reluctantly return to work. When the accident does occur, Maximus finds himself on trial as its cause. (Also titled "The Clairvoyant ").
SUMMARY: Wow, that's a good story and something different than your typical love/murder drama. Plus we get Claude Rains and Fay Wray in the same movie, so we can't go wrong. The jealous wife bit is somewhat cliche, but considering the times, it's acceptable for me. I love that the little old ladies in these films are the only ones who know anything. The zeitgeist of society is well portrayed in the contrast of high society and dirty miners.
