Devil and Daniel Webster
The Devil and Daniel Webster is a movie from 1941, directed by William Dieterle. The film is adapted from the short story of the same name by Stephen Vincent Benét and Dan Totheroh, which in turn is based on the 1824 short story The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving - which is a retelling of the classic German Faust tale.
Synopsis
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The story is set in 1841. It is about a New Hampshire farmer, Jabez Stone (James Craig), who is plagued with unending bad luck. Stone swears that "it's enough to make a man want to sell his soul to the devil!" When Satan, disguised as "Mr. Scratch" (Walter Huston), arrives the next day, he makes such an offer, and Stone reluctantly agrees to the deal. Stone enjoys seven years of prosperity, and later bargains for three more years, but as the "mortgage falls due," he convinces famous lawyer and orator Daniel Webster (Edward Arnold) to argue his case with the Devil. Webster agrees to take his case. When Mr. Scratch shows up to claim his due, Webster has to risk his own soul before his fiendish opponent will agree to a trial by jury. Mr. Scratch chooses the jury members from among the most notoriously evil men of history, with John Hathorne (one of the magistrates of the Salem witch trials) as the judge. When Webster protests, Mr. Scratch points out that they were "Americans all." However, Webster is able to talk the jury into releasing Stone from his deal. |
The spanking scene
Daniel Stone (Lindy Wade), a little boy and Daniel Webster's godson, is given a ride by Mr. Webster on his carriage drawn by two horses, without knowing the man's identity. The two have a pleasant conversation on their ride, but Daniel, mischievously, shoots the horses with his slingshot, for which he is told to never do that again. Shortly before they reach their destination, Daniel shoots once more and the horses bolt. Mr. Webster handles the situation and manages to bring the carriage to a halt. Daniel tries to get off, but is grabbed by Mr. Webster "Young man, I think you've got this coming to you!", who puts him OTK right in the coach box and spanks him about 14 times (M/B). When other men greet Mr. Webster, Daniel learns to his surprise about the identity of the driver.
See also
External links
Review Review Devil and Daniel Webster on Internet Movie Database
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