Home > 1940 - 1949 > The Devil and Daniel Webster
The Devil and Daniel Webster (aka All That Money Can Buy)
Year - 1941
Studio - RKO
Stars - Edward Arnold, Walter Huston, Jane Darwell, Simone Simon
Director - William Dieterle
Writing Credits - Dan Totheroh, Stephen Vincent Benet
Music - Bernard Hermann
Synopsis (AI Generated)
In 1840s New Hampshire, poor farmer Jabez Stone (James Craig) is plagued by relentless bad luck — failed crops, mounting debts, and a family on the brink of ruin. Driven to despair, he curses that he'd sell his soul to the devil for a change in fortune. Almost immediately, a smooth-talking stranger calling himself Mr. Scratch (Walter Huston) — the Devil in disguise — appears and offers him a bargain: seven years of prosperity in exchange for his soul.
Jabez signs the contract in blood. His fortunes reverse overnight: his crops flourish, he strikes silver on his land, and he becomes the wealthiest man in the valley. But prosperity corrupts him. He grows arrogant and cold, neglecting his devoted wife Mary Stone (Anne Shirley) and his loving mother, Ma Stone (Jane Darwell). He builds a lavish mansion and falls under the spell of a mysterious, seductive housekeeper, Belle (Simone Simon), who is actually another agent of Scratch sent to further tempt and corrupt him. Jabez's relationships with his family and neighbors deteriorate, and he becomes a hard, exploitative landlord, alienating the community that once supported him.
As the end of the seven years approaches, Jabez panics and seeks help from the great orator and statesman Daniel Webster (Edward Arnold), a real historical figure fictionalized here as a folk hero known for his eloquence. Webster agrees to defend Jabez's soul against Mr. Scratch in a supernatural trial. Scratch summons a jury of the damned — infamous villains and traitors from American history — and a spectral judge to preside, stacking the deck against Jabez.
Despite the rigged proceedings, Webster delivers a passionate, patriotic speech appealing to the shared humanity and dignity of even the damned jurors, arguing that every person deserves the chance to fight for redemption rather than be condemned outright. His oratory sways the jury, who — moved despite themselves — rule in Jabez's favor, voiding the contract and freeing his soul. Mr. Scratch is defeated and banished from the Stone farm, cryptically warning that he'll be back for someone else soon (breaking the fourth wall by eyeing the audience in the film's famous closing moment). Jabez is reunited with Mary and reconciled with his community, humbled and redeemed by his ordeal.