To The Devil A Daughter Film Discussion

**Matt Gemmell** · 15th June 2003, 05:35 PM

I've always been a big fan of this movie . Yes it has it's flaws but I think they're outweighed by the many good points .
Christopher Lee's performance is one of the best in any Hammer movie . His character is chillingly evil and uncompromising .
For a Hammer film ( especially at this stage of the game ) the cast is first class . Denholm Elliot must be singled out for his portrayal of a man close to the edge .
The ending sucks big time but I'll leave all these topics open for discussion .................. so everyone , let's have you're thoughts and hopefully this " film discussion " idea will be a success .

Sarah · 15th June 2003, 06:09 PM

This was not one of my favorites of Mr Lee

**Frederick Bergstrom** · 15th June 2003, 07:03 PM

This is one of my favorite Christopher Lee hammer films. Although the end was near it still ,in my mind ,was a fine way to go out. I couldnt wait for this DVD and i remember being upset when it was postponed from its initial date. I agree 100 % with Matt on the ending. Christopher Lee has often said how can this all powerful satanist be taken out by a rock?? The DVD should have showed the original and more powerful ending but from what i have read they thought it was to close to an earlier demise from another film. Thats so stupid its a differant movie and charactor... not to mention several years later from the Scars film. This movie is far from the novel by Wheatley from what i have heard, not as close as Devil Rides out, which i have read and it is very faithful to the book (till about the ending) I love the acting by Christopher especially the delivery scene that smile on his face is briliiant when the women is giving birth. I was happy to see him play such a powerful charactor. I think a few more scenes of Father Michael would have been better for the film but that may just be the Christopher Lee fan talking. As far as Ms. Kinski this was the 70s and as bad as this may sound under age girls nude was not as frowned upon as it would be( and rightfully so) today. It would be interesting to read the novel and compare i know Dennis Wheatley was less thatn thrilled with the film. Again its one of my favorites and deserves to be seen not as poerful as the Excorcist or Rosemarys baby which it was trying to cash in on but a very effective horror film. Incidently the commentary is very funny on the DVD . It seems Richard Windmark was not a joy on the set, there is also a geat easter egg interview of Eddie Powell who did the famous "back side stunt"

Sarah · 15th June 2003, 07:36 PM

Loved that back side clip. I didn

**Frederick Bergstrom** · 15th June 2003, 09:33 PM

Sarah i would recommend picking up the Dvd the commentary is very informative. You are right about the rock ,or flint i believe it was, the blood of his disciple was on it and all... but still, not a very dramaic ending. I have seen pictures of the original ending and i think we were cheated out of a more thrilling demise for Father Michael. I have never found the book but like i said earlier i have read The Devil Rides Out and it was very faithful to the book and i would certainlly recommend that one. I do hope to get my hands on the Devil a Daughter to compare and contrast but i have heard its not very close to the movie

**Mike Schneider** · 16th June 2003, 05:32 AM

Can you think of a more fitting day to discuss Father Michael than Father's Day?... so its a stretch.

I liked this movie quite a bit but I also enjoy devil worship/satan films quite a bit when done well. I think this one was done well overall other than the ending. Not so much the rock part but the color/filter effects. Unfortunately these were made in the 70s and SFX have made quite a few leaps and bounds since then.

Ms. Kinski in the flesh isn't exactly PC as others have mentioned but don't cults like this like them young? This just adds more to the sick and twisted workings of these cultists.

What an odd birth/sexual dual scene. How'd you like to be the doner host for the gestation period. End up getting discarded like yesterdays' newspaper. And how about poor Honor Blackman getting stabbed in the neck!...

The biggest problem with this movie is the effects and this is mainly due to the period it was made. Like others have mentioned in this discussion and other topics on the site, too bad some of these films couldn't have been made with today's technolgy. The Devil Rides Out and The Gorgon are prime examples of very cool films but that spider scene... please.

I just bought a new lobby card from this film yesterday at a con in Chicago. The scene is just prior to the Eddie Powell bum scene.

MS

LCD · 17th June 2003, 04:36 AM

I don't have this film on video, but we did rent it years back to watch it. The pace was excellent and the tension built nicely as the story went along. I, too, found Miss Kinski a little on the young side for a nude scene, and perhaps that was only added to intensify the other general horrorifying aspects of the film. I never knew that it wasn't Mr. Lee in the nude ritual scene! His stunt double, hair and makeup wise was very well done. (In Scars of Dracula, though, for example, you could really tell it was Mr. Lee's double carrying Dracula's victims when filmed from the back. Some scenes I just found repellent, like the birth-baby thing scenes.

I would like to watch it again, but I still think the subject matter is definitely adults only.

LCD · 17th June 2003, 04:38 AM

To add:

I think the doings in The Devil Rides Out were handled more tastefully, and the tension was just as high. The performances, as I remember in To the Devil A Daughter, were very good with the seasoned cast.

**Frederick Bergstrom** · 17th June 2003, 01:26 PM

LCD i know which scene your talking about in Scars its the way Eddie Powells hair looks. Its a little obvious its not Mr. Lee. Incidentlly he was his stunt man for, i believe , all the Hammer films. I agree with you on TDRO being superior I think everyone involved including the author were hoping for a similar success. After this film he said that was the last time he would let Hammer make one of his stories into a movie

**Mike Schneider** · 17th June 2003, 04:28 PM

Although I haven't read either of the books that TTDAD & TDRO were based on, I will say that it is very rare that a film conveys what the author was trying to create with the written word. I can think of a trilogy that comes pretty darn close though.

For example, The Shining is a prime example. I like certain things that Stanley Kubrick did with the movie but there are liberties he took and scenes left out completely that I figured would be in the movie.

Without having read the Wheatley book I can only comment on what I thought of the film. Overall I liked it quite a bit... not a great film but very entertaining. 3 out of 5 stars.

:1devil:

MS

**Mike Schneider** · 20th June 2003, 04:35 AM

Hey Matt,

What do you think we should do next? Should the person who started this thread (Matt G), announce the discussion end and pick the next person to choose a movie? How would you like to end the specific film topic?

Not that I don't want to read more comments, mind you.

Is this to be weekly?

Just curious yellow... :disturbed

MS

**Matt Gemmell** · 20th June 2003, 11:32 AM

I was hoping that the discussions would run for a week ( Sunday to Sunday ) and that the last person to post on the topic picks the film for the following discussion .
Regarding Richard Widmarks performance in T.T.D.A.D . What do you guys think ? It's been the subject of many a critique over the years . It's no secret that he wasn't happy during production and that he threatened to walk out on more than one ocassion .
Personally I think he's a bit hammy in this film .

**Charles Prepolec** · 20th June 2003, 05:28 PM

Yes, I can see where Widmark might come off as hammy, but I thought he did all he could with the part, even considering his dislike of the film while shooting. The problem is that the character of a writer, particularly this type of writer, just doesn't fit Widmark. It is a case of the old technique of shoe-horning in an affordable (if somewhat faded) American star to make the film more saleable to the US market, regardless of whether the actor actually fits the role or not. Name recognition being the key. We saw it with Brian Donlevy as Quatermass in the Fifties and clearly Hammer kept on going with it right through to the Seventies.

Personally, I quite like TTDAD for all its flaws. Great performances from Christopher Lee, Denholm Elliott, Honor Blackman and most notably Anthony Valentine. The full body burn sequence in the church has to be one of the very best stunts to appear in a Hammer film, certainly one of the most effective. Had Hammer started down this Exorcist/Omen path just a few years earlier, anticipating the trend rather than jumping on the bandwagon after the fact, who knows, they might have survived. As it is, the film came to be too little and definitely too late.

Cheers!

**Stephen Alexander** · 21st June 2003, 03:10 AM

This film was the first Hammer I managed to see in the cinema on it's initial release (took the afternoon of school to do so!) so I do have a soft spot for it.

Having read the book previously I can say the film version bares little resemblance to the Wheatley story (the author in the book is female, the 'hero' is a character called Colonel Verney and is the same character that appears in Wheatley's The Satanist. A large part of the book is set in the South of France).

The Hammer script (which was subject to various re-writes) retains only the core elements of the tale. It is unfair to compare it to 'The Exorcist' or 'The Omen' as it does not feature a possessed child, rather a band of hellish (pardon the pun) satanists driven towards achieving their goal.

Nevertheless I agree with others here that Christopher Lee gives his best performance in a Hammer film. There is simply no redeming features about Father Michael.

Peter Sykes is, in my opinion. underrated as a director (he even does a 'Hitchcock' by appearing fleetingly as Widmark leavers Heathrow airport pursued by Kolde). He does create an atmosphere in the film that purveys a sense of doom.

I eagerly await the DVD release.

**Mike Schneider** · 21st June 2003, 06:18 AM

I wish I had read the book this was based on. It is always interesting to see what directors do with the written story on the big screen. Some movies are true to the book they are based on, others, due to budget or techology digress or just can't convey the image on the screen. Some comments from Charles and S. Alexander regarding characters in the book, Richard Widmark's mood and the author being female have me thinking about the movie differently.

I still think the film was interesting with the occult/devil/pagan/twisted/baby/creature/worship/sex stuff going on... plus, anytime Mr. Lee gets a chance to play an evil priest I'll watch.

Sorry about the above string of run on verbage. I can see why Mr. Wheatley would be upset with the rewrites of his story and how it was changed considering what insight I've gotten from this thread. I can't think of too many movies based on books I've read that match what the author envisioned.

MS