This is this week’s Saturday night pizza and bad movie offering, a decent movie with a goofy-looking but punctual demon who seemed to pop out of some sort of firecracker explosion and liked to hang out in the trees.
Plot:
Professor Henry Harrington (Maurice Denham) drives through the dark woods to arrive at Lufford Hall, the home of Doctor Julian Karswell (Niall MacGinnis). He’s come to ask Karswell to “call it off.”
The clock strikes nine.
Karswell, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Mephistopheles, sends him on his way, promising to do all he can.
Harrington drives home. He’s parking his car when a sort of exploding cloud appears at the end of his driveway. Out of the cloud comes one of the goofiest demons you’ll ever see.
It’s the end of poor Mr. Harrington.
As his clock strikes ten, Dr. Karswell takes a newspaper off his desk and throws it into a fire. The headline reads: “Karswell Devil Cult Expose Promised at Scientists’ Convention.”
On a plane from the United States are Harrington’s niece, Joanna Harrington (Peggy Cummins), and John Holden (Dana Andrews). They have yet to meet. Holden is flying in for a parapsychology convention that was, in part, determined to expose Karswell as a fraud.
After he lands, he’s confused about why Dr. Harrington won’t answer his phone. He learns soon enough Dr. Harrington has passed away in a terrible car accident and attends his funeral, where he meets his niece.
Holden is a man of science. He doesn’t believe any of this demon or witchcraft stuff, and he’s here to prove it ain’t so.
Thoughts:
I rather liked this movie.
It opens with a nice shot of Stonehenge c. 1957, when there was much less traffic and much more tall grass. The narration talks about evil from the days of yore and so on.
Karswell’s creepiness is particularly well-done without crossing the line into camp. During one scene, Karswell is performing magic tricks at a children’s party. He is in stereotypical clown makeup. The viewer is already convinced the man is a threat and possibly a killer. Yet, he hands out candy to kidlets. Chilling. To add to the atmosphere, he summons a storm for Holden’s benefit that sends chairs flying and children scurrying.
In another scene, Karswell and Holden play hot potato with a cursed item that apparently sets a human up as demon bait. “You take it” “No, you take it.” Karswell refuses a cigarette, for example, because you never can tell. Those things could kill you.
There is a disturbing scene with a mental patient released to be hypnotized for the edification of the conference members (all guys, BTW). The family agreed, but the patient has been in a coma. It’s complicated.
According to IMDB, the movie exists in at least three version in English. The original British release is titled Night of the Demon. The American version is titled Curse of the Demon and is shorter, with some scenes deleted. The DVD versions often have both edited and restored versions in the US.
The Curse of the Demon is inspired by 1911 story by M. R. James, “Casting the Runes.”
In 1957, the Faro Island Film Festival nominated this film for a Golden Moon Award (best film).
A colorized version of the film can be watched here:
Title: The Curse of the Demon (1957)
Directed by
Jacques Tourneur
Writing Credits
Charles Bennett…(screenplay) and
Hal E. Chester…(screenplay)
M.R. James…(story “Casting the Runes”) (as Montague R. James)
Cy Endfield…(uncredited)
Cast (in credits order)
Dana Andrews…John Holden
Peggy Cummins…Joanna Harrington
Niall MacGinnis…Doctor Julian Karswell
Maurice Denham…Professor Henry Harrington
Athene Seyler…Mrs. Karswell
Liam Redmond…Mark O’Brien
Released: 1957
Length: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Reviews of Old and New Stories. Mostly Old 
If I recall correctly, Cy Endfield (an American screenwriter who was blacklisted by the infamous HUAC and emigrated to Great Britain in the early 1950s) co-wrote one of my favorite movies, 1964’s “Zulu.”
I didn’t know that. No wonder he wasn’t credited. Thanks for the info!
I did some digging in both IMDb.com and Wikipedia about “The Curse of the Demon,” and I saw that Endfield was listed as an uncredited screenwriter. I own “Zulu” on Blu-ray, and I remembered that he co-wrote that one…and he lived and worked in the UK from the 1950s till he died…exiled as a result of McCarthyism, HUAC, and the “Red Scare.”
What a shame. At least he found work in the UK.
Unfortunately, we might see a repeat of this in the not-so-distant future.
Don’t depress me.
On a happier note: I started Chapter 10 of my novel, so…that has to be good news, no?
Congrats! If haven’t scared you away, I’d like to read it.
Well, Chapter 10 is not quite where we are on Google Docs! (I did post some more “stuff” there recently, though.)
Great. I’ll head over there when I’m done with my current project. thanks. Good to know i didn’t scare you away. 🙂
Thanks. You can check it out at your leisure. As for today’s writing: I did one scene (and one scene only), and now I’m exhausted. I’ll write a quick update on my blog, and then I’ll take a mental health break for a while.
Whoever said, “Writing is easy compared to other professions,” never tried writing a novel.
Sure. Easy. 🙂 Enjoy the mental health break.