Une fille pour le diable

Occult novelist John Verney (veteran American star Richard Widmark) has his hands full. He has to keep safe the daughter (Nastassja Kinski) of an associate (Denholm Elliott). You see, eighteen years ago Elliott made an unholy pact, and now the girl is intended for use in something depraved by heretic priest Father Michael Raynor (Sir Christopher Lee).

At the time, this was the final theatrical horror film for Britains' renowned Hammer Studios. It was actually pretty successful, but the studio was simply too much in debt to completely reap the benefits. Based on the novel by Dennis Wheatley, it's a commendably low-key, restrained film, with occasional moments of violence / gore as well as cheesiness. As directed by Peter Sykes, the film has the potential to bore some members of the audience, but it's generally got enough interesting material in it to make it palatable.

The cast provides the principal value. Widmark at first seems really out of place, but he does a solid job. Lee delivers what is one of his all-time best villainous performances for Hammer. The supporting cast is pretty eclectic: Honor Blackman, Michael Goodliffe, Eva Maria Meineke, Anthony Valentine, Derek Francis, Frances de la Tour, etc. However, many eyes will be on Kinski, in one of her earliest roles; she does convey an essential naivety and innocence, and the audience will automatically be on her side. Those who are interested should note that she has a controversial few seconds' worth of full frontal nudity near the end.

Although not on the level of another Wheatley shocker ("The Devil Rides Out") produced by Hammer, this does show its viewers a fairly good time, operating with its approach of subtlety. One problem, however, is the ending, which is over too quickly, and robs us of real satisfaction.

All things considered, Hammer could easily have signed off with a much worse horror film. This, at least, is generally compelling.

Seven out of 10.

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS*

Father Michael Rayner (CHRISTOPHER LEE) was ex-communicated from the Church of England for attempting to bring a personification of the devil to Earth. Twenty years on and Rayner has settled in Germany with his devil-worshiping followers under the facade of the "Children of the Lord" cult. Rayner sends his godchild Catherine Beddows (NASTASSJA KINSKI) to England to join her father Henry Beddows (DENHOLM ELLIOT) for her 18th-birthday. Rayner intends to fulfil his old ambition and rebaptise Catherine into the service of evil. Henry who was forced into the cult's evil-doings because his wife was a member of the cult attempts to recant and places his daughter in the care of occult novelist Jim Verney (RICHARD WIDMARK) who must confront and destroy Rayner before he succeeds in making the devil walk the Earth in the form of an innocent girl.

TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER was Hammer's final horror film and the company's second attempt to bring one of Dennis Wheatley's occult novels to the screen. Wheatley was overjoyed by the company's filming of his novel THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (1968), but was apparently less pleased with Hammer's version of his popular TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER novel which Hammer had considered adapting for the screen as early as 1963. The film took a very respectable £13, 375 on it's opening week at the Odeon Leicester Square and it reached number three in the London Film Charts. On it's general release the film's takings were estimated at about £200,000.

Yet despite this success, Hammer's plans to film Wheatley's THE SATANIST were sadly scrapped. Thus continued Hammer's trip into oblivion which came to a head with an ill-advised remake of Alfred Hitchcock's THE LADY VANISHES in 1979.

TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER is a most enjoyable film. The script may be a little confused but the gore scenes are suitably erotic (more so than in most other Hammer films) and it benefits from good production values and an exemplary cast. Lee is excellent as the disgraced priest, a complete contrast to his portrayal of the Duc De' Richeleau in THE DEVIL RIDES OUT, while Richard Widmark shines as the hero. His performance is up to the standard of the Hammer heroes portrayed by Peter Cushing and Andre Morell even though his character only conflicts with Lee's once. The direction of Peter Sykes is good even if his other feature film credits like STEPTOE AND SON RIDE AGAIN (1973) may cause some initial doubts. Hammer purists consider this to be the company's worst film. It is more graphic than the earlier Hammer horrors and more or less ignores all the traditions of the company's earlier films, which makes it all the more better.

In London, the occult novelist John Verney (Richard Widmark) is contacted by a stranger named Henry Beddows (Denholm Elliott) during a lecture in a private gallery of his friends David Kennedy (Anthony Valentine) and Anna Fontaine (Honor Blackman). Henry asks John to meet his daughter, the nun Catherine Beddows (Nastassja Kinski), in the airport since she is coming from Munich and lodge her in his apartment since Henry has had a problem with Satanists and he would like to protect his daughter. In return, John could write a book with his experience with the Satanists.

John brings Catherine to his apartment and sooner he learns that she belongs to the church "The Children of Our Lord" from Germany, and she will be eighteen years old on the All Hallows Eve. While she is sleeping during the night, John realizes that Catherine, and not her father Henry, is actually in danger. Sooner he finds that the excommunicated Catholic priest Father Michael Raynem (Christopher Lee), who is Catherine's godfather, and a group of Satanists that worship the Devil plan to use Catherine to become Astaroth through a ritual. John visits the bishop, who is his friend, and asks permission to read the same pages of The Book of Abramelin that Father Michael had read in the 50's. Now John battles against the powerful Father Michael to save the life and soul of Catherine.

"To the Devil a Daughter" is the last film from Hammer with a promising story and a great cast with Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee, Nastassja Kinski and Denholm Elliott. Unfortunately they are wasted in a lame screenplay with many flaws and a disappointing conclusion. The gorgeous Nastassja Kinski (officially born on 24 Jan 1961, but sources tell that she was born in 1959) naked does not seem to be only fifteen years old; seventeen would be more acceptable. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Uma Filha para o Diabo" ("A Daughter to the Devil")

The reputation of Hammer’s last horror film has always been fairly maligned (for a variety of reasons) but, when I finally watched it – via a pan-and-scan PAL VHS – some years back, I recall being reasonably impressed by it. Somewhat perversely, I chose it to end my month-long tribute to the recently deceased Richard Widmark – given that he was notoriously cantankerous throughout the film’s shooting and would subsequently single it out as the one regret of his 44 year-long film career!

Re-acquainting myself with TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER by way of the Anchor Bay R1 DVD, I was pleased to discover that my initial reaction to it remained pretty much intact – though, obviously, I no longer felt that initial shock to some of its more intense and bizarre sequences. Anyway, the film was a companion piece to Hammer’s previous Dennis Wheatley adaptation – THE DEVIL RIDES OUT (1967) – in which Christopher Lee had atypically played the hero; however, the author wasn’t as enthused this time around – since his novel was considerably bowdlerized in the transition – and declined the company further access to his works (they had previously acquired the rights to yet another of Wheatley’s occult tales, “The Satanist”)! Lee co-stars in this one as well – but, here, he reverts to his favored (on-screen) element i.e. The Dark Side: his character of Father Michael is actually among the most believably sinister he ever played (going about his diabolic business with a thoroughly calm demeanor and, often, a chilling smile on his lips!). As for Widmark, I’m glad he was sensible enough to understand that, whatever his personal feelings (the Hollywood star clearly seemed to consider the material beneath him), he still owed the public a good performance – and there’s no denying the fact that his no-nonsense occult novelist emerges as a most fitting opponent to Lee.

The convoluted plot involves the rebirth of the demon Astaroth in human form – its vessel being a nubile girl (played by the luscious Nastassja Kinski), brought up in seclusion as a nun! Lee is a priest who has been excommunicated for challenging the belief that Man depends on the ‘presence’ of God to guide him through life – contending that Man is perfectly capable of making his own Destiny (with a little help from the Forces of Darkness). Aiding him in his scheme is veteran Michael Goodliffe, the wonderful Denholm Elliott is featured as Kinski’s recanting wimpish father, and Derek Francis as the Church official who has barred Lee from service. In Widmark’s corner are his husband-and-wife agents, played by Honor Blackman and Anthony Valentine – both of whom eventually find themselves on the receiving end of Lee’s evil powers.

Among the film’s notable sequences: the unnatural birth of the demon child (displaying a harrowing intensity quite uncommon to Hammer’s usual output), the two scenes depicting the monstrous appearance of the baby itself (one in which it slobbers all over 17-year old Kinski’s bloodied naked body Lee slams as “obscene” in the accompanying documentary!), the would-be depraved rite/orgy (presented as a nightmare in the vein of the not-too-dissimilar ROSEMARY’S BABY [1968]) and, of course, the much-debated climax (nowhere near as godawful as many seem to think, the scriptwriters having at least put an extra effort into coming up with a mystical explanation for the denouement, but the rushed execution of it is decidedly limp!). In essence, then, this is not at all a bad send-off for Hammer Films – and, easily, among their better offerings of the decade (incidentally, I’ve just acquired the obscure Sci-Fi/Western hybrid MOON ZERO TWO [1969] from this legendary brand, which promises to be fairly goofy)…

To get to Anchor Bay’s DVD edition, the one quibble I have with it concerns the ‘processed’ quality of the sound effects (background noise, gunshots) in a couple of sequences. Whilst serving as a moving valediction to a bygone era, the 24-minute featurette is a great account of the nerve-racking making of the film (with its last-minute revisions to the script, problems securing a director, and Widmark’s temper-tantrums). Apart from over-hyped trailer, extensive poster/still gallery and detailed biographies for both Widmark and Lee, one is able to access a hilarious Easter Egg from the “Extras” menu – an excerpt from an interview with leading Hammer Films stunt-man Eddie Powell, wherein he discusses his multi-purpose duties on this particular title (which included doubling for Lee in a scene requiring his character to appear in the nude!).

In London, an occult novelist (Richard Widmark) is asked to protect a man's daughter, a young nun (Nastassja Kinski), from a cult of satanists led by a towering man who seems to possess supernatural powers (Christopher Lee). They require her for some diabolical ritual. Honor Blackman has a peripheral role.

The story of "To the Devil a Daughter" (1976) is loosely based on Dennis Wheatley's 1953 novel. It was Hammer's answer to American horror hits like "The Exorcist" (1973) and "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), but Wheatley was furious with the numerous changes and called the film "obscene."

It's a slow-burn occult-oriented mystery with good locations and a notable cast. Producers seemed to have more money to work with in this regard than most Hammer films. Speaking of Hammer, "To the Devil a Daughter" doesn't FEEL like a Hammer picture from the '60s and early '70s, which is a nice (and unsuspected) change, I guess.

For those who care, Kinski is shown completely naked from the front near the end, which was/is controversial since she was still 14 years-old during shooting, almost 15. Unfortunately Lee is also show in the nude, albeit from behind. One thing I never cared to see in life was Christopher Lee's butt (actually, it was his stunt double, Eddie Powell).

There's a fairly shocking and obscene "devil baby" sequence. The creators obviously wanted to take "Rosemary's Baby" to the next level. In any case, they did a good job with the infant F/X, at least for the mid-70s.

While the mystery is sometimes interesting the story is flat and the last act somehow doesn't work. Yes, they throw in some bizarre things - the aforementioned "devil baby" scene and a wild satanist orgy (which is more silly than shocking) - but I was left feeling disappointed.

This was Hammer's penultimate film and their final horror production. Surprisingly, "To the Devil a Daughter" was a hit and made lots of money, at least in Europe, but Hammer Studios had debts to pay and the movie's success couldn't save 'em.

At the end of the day, it's okay at best, but not as good as flicks like "Bay Coven" (1987), "The Crimson Cult" (1968), "The Devil Rides Out" (1968) and "Race With the Devil" (1975).

The DVD includes an informative and entertaining 24-minute "making-of" documentary that discusses the film and the demise of Hammer Studios called "To the Devil... The Death of Hammer." It features interviews with Lee, Blackman, the director, the producer and many more. By all accounts Widmark was arrogant and a real bastage to work with. The Hollywood "star" frequently insulted the English filmmakers (calling the picture a "Micky Mouse production"), walking off the set, arguing, brawling and kicking over expensive equipment (!). Every aspect of the movie is addressed, including changes from the novel, Wheatley's objections, the ending's failure, etc.

Needless to say, the documentary is way more compelling than the film itself and is available on Youtube for those interested.

The film runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot mostly in the greater London area of England, including Elstree Studios, with a bit in Bavaria, Germany.

GRADE: C-