The Devils Messenger (1961)

This is an anthology of three stories with a wrap around that “stars” Lon Chaney Jr. as the Devil.  The movie opens with a woman that has recently killer herself arriving in Hell.  Instead of being thrown into the pit she agrees to do the Devil’s bidding and act as his messenger on Earth.  Thus starts the three stories.  In the first a photographer is tortured by the photo he took of a young woman that he later killed in a fit of rage.  Of course the camera was a present of the Devil.  The second tell of a scientists obsession with an ancient woman found frozen in a block of ice.  His obsession leads to murder, and an unfortunate accident when he tries to thaw out the woman that he is convinced still lives.  A miner using a pick from Hell found the woman.  The final story ties in with the woman that killed herself.  The man that rejected her gets his comeuppance when he is tortured by dreams that eventually lead him to a fortune teller that predicts his eminent demise.  She of course is using a crystal ball from Hell to predict his dreadful future. 

This is a terrible move that is slow and boring.  Not only that but it appears that the film was shot with a tiny budget.  The stories really don’t fit together and from what I have been able to dig up on the movie it was put together from an old television program.  This might explain why the wrap around and final story doesn’t fit well with the first two stories in the movie, either in theme or execution.  The better anthologies tend to have a theme or style that connects them together.  This movie is clearly a couple of unrelated episodes thrown together with an awkward wraparound added.  Also the first two stories were clearly filmed with different production values and by someone with a dramatically different shooting style.  This makes the whole story “clunky” and difficult to watch.  The performances are all melodramatic and over the top.  The worst of the bunch is the only well known actor in the movie, Lon Chaney Jr. himself.  I swear to god it appears that he was drunk in some of his scenes with his lines slurred and his eyes glassy.  It is painful to watch an actor that has done so many great movies reduced to something like this. 

There isn’t anything at all here to recommend this movie.  In fact that only reason that I can see anyone actually owning this one is because they picked it up on a Mill Creek 10 pack, which is where I got this copy.  If you are interested in this one (why?) it can be had on the Demons and Devils 10 pack with a couple of decent movies (The Demons of Ludlow, Devil times Five).  Check them out at http://www.millcreekent.com/ for more information.

½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2009 John Shatzer