The Devil Commands

Rating:
Summary: Boris At His Strangest
Review: Boris Karloff made a series of pictures for Columbia during the late 30s and early 40s, usually playing mad scientists. This is his maddest scientist of the lot. Based (very) loosely on "The Edge of Running Water," a popular story by William Sloane, the film concerns the attempts of Boris to communicate with his late, very beloved wife. To do so, he enlists the help of a medium and several stolen corpses, who are seated around a table in robotic diving helmets and subjected to huge amounts of electricity. The townspeople are growing suspicious of Boris and so he is visited by the sheriff. (Kenneth MacDonald, who later went on to star as a foil for the Three Stooges in several shorts.) The sheriff, in turn, calls Boris's long lost daughter (Amanda Duff) to come and fetch her father. But Boris decides she is perfect suited for the experiment, and so uses her to get in touch with the wife. Watch for the great scene when the maid, coaxed by the sheriff to do a little snooping, gets locked in Boris's laboratory with the seated corpses and the electricity on. Directed by Edward Dmytryk at a crisp 65 minutes.

Rating:
Summary: Karloff Kapers!!
Review: Finally, " The Devil Commands" is here on DVD. Why carp about no extras..This is a surreal excursion into the supernatural with a rather noirish blend of atmosphere.

Ann Revere adds to the excitement and at one time most folks thought that the narration was a bit tepid, however it is important and helps the film move along. This is one of Edward Dmytryks first works and its one of the best Karloff Kolumbia efforts..

C Pope

Rating:
Summary: Karloff Kapers!!
Review: Finally, " The Devil Commands" is here on DVD. Why carp about no extras..This is a surreal excursion into the supernatural with a rather noirish blend of atmosphere.

Ann Revere adds to the excitement and at one time most folks thought that the narration was a bit tepid, however it is important and helps the film move along. This is one of Edward Dmytryks first works and its one of the best Karloff Kolumbia efforts..

C Pope

Rating:
Summary: Rare and Fascinating Karloff on a Fair DVD
Review: Karloff fans should probably be happy that this rarity, which never appeared on commercial VHS, has been made available by the original studio in the new format. As it is, this DVD is definitely worth having for the movie alone. But the price should reflect the content. On the outer packaging, we are told the film has been "remastered in high definition". This may be the truth, but in remastering the movie, numerous scratches and other imperfections were certainly not remedied. Fortunately, the best parts of the film (the first 20 or so minutes and the finale) do look rather fine, and there is plenty of clarity in the image along with that silvery quality that some associate with older films.

THE DEVIL COMMANDS is a low-budget production, but director Edward Dmytryk (MURDER, MY SWEET and others) knew how to establish a sinister atmosphere and sustain it for 64 minutes. This is sort of a 'haunted house meets mad scientist movie'. There are elements of science-fiction (very sketchy science) and horror (communication with the dead). The film is short and moves quickly, at less of an expense to plot development than one might think. In its own terms and within its genre, this film is quite plausible, and very enjoyable.

Karloff is extremely good at portraying a well-meaning scientist and loving husband who must gradually transform into an obsessed near-maniac. "Near-maniac" because he does not willfully harm anyone, but only commits "ethical" crimes like grave-robbing. When the doctor's wife is killed in a freak accident, he puts his new theory to work, trying to communicate with her spirit in the afterlife. There are some downright creepy moments, courtesy of Karloff's character, a tragically damaged lab assistant, and the formidable presence of Anne Revere (whose name does not appear on the DVD box cover). An actress who could achieve a facial expession that would have intimidated King Kong AND Godzilla. Revere, as Mrs. Walker, a phony medium, takes charge of Karloff and his experiments, which she sees as the key to ruling the world someday. A number of misfortunes ensue and there is a marvelous climax in the darkly-lit laboratory (involving the housekeeper, well realized by Dorothy Adams who bears an uncanny resemblance to the young Gilda Radner) that is really pretty unique. The supporting cast is fine, apart from the dullards who play Karloff's daughter and her fiancé.

Apart from scene selections, the DVD contains only three trailers from recent Columbia horror films. It does not contain any trailer for THE DEVIL COMMANDS. A must for Karloff enthusiasts. It should appeal to any fan of 30s and 40s horror films.

Rating:
Summary: Karloff rarity worth the bucks.
Review: Ok so it's a lot of money to pay for a film made in 1941 with no extra's but if your a Karloff or Vintage Horror lover it's worth the money.
I thought the picture quality was good..not stunning, but as clear as watching a movie on tv.
As for the film - it's one of the most interesting Karloff made during the 30's and 40's.
But if Columbia want a big seller on their hands they'll release 'The Black Room' & 'The Man They Could Not Hang' on a double bill disc.

Rating:
Summary: wonderfully demented
Review: okay, like a lot of buffs i wan to defend lugosi. karloff was just TOO succesful, TOO smug.
but,
Karloff was a hell of an actor and a better than poor Bela.
and his films are better as well.
this is one of many examples.
a delightfully perverse film, full of atmosphere and flavour.
recommended!

Rating:
Summary: When the Devil Commands, Karloff Listens!
Review: Prenial favorite Boris Karloff stars as a scientist who has created a helmet then when placed on the head of a subject can transfer their brainwaves onto a graph. Kind of like a lie detector graph. He discovers that women have stronger waves of brain energy then men. He demonstrates this to a room full of fellow scientists and friends, by using his wife an an example. Her brain waves are indeed stronger and much to the amazement of his skeptical friends the graph on the wall jumps up and down! Later after his wife dies in a car accident, Boris returns to his lab and angrily throws switches and discovers that his wife's energy has returned to the lab! He now joins up with a spiritualist and a bruteing Igor type to further his experiments and try and contact his beloved wife from beyond the grave. Holds up quite well today. The seance table surrounded by corpses, the swirling spirits appearing as a funnel of energy and King Karloff in all his maniacal glory. My only complaint is the short running time of only 65 min. The last 5 minutes look rushed but still the movie wraps up nicely. Now as to the transfer...it is just o.k. Columbia started out great with their brilliant William Castle titles, but seem to care less and less about these more recent releases. The pre-print on Devil Commands could use digital cleaning up. And come on Columbia, not even the trailor!!?? and a 65 min. movie retailing for [money]!!!! It is unfortuante that some people that might have slapped down [money] and took a chance on a movie that has such a cool title will definately think twice before paying over [money]. In closing, Columbia/Tristar Look at the GHOUL released by M.G.M. and see what a great transfer should look like. Still over all recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Knocking on Heaven's door...
Review: The Devil Commands (1941), aka The Devil Said No, aka When the Devil Commands, stars Boris Karloff and was directed by Edward Dmytryk, who later directed The Caine Mutiny (1954).

Karloff plays Dr. Julian Blair, a scientist who has been experimenting with machinery designed to record brainwaves of individuals. It seems people's brainwaves are as distinct as fingerprints, and Dr. Blair believes he is on the path to unlocking the secrets of the human brain.

After the untimely death of his wife, the grief stricken Dr. Blair stumbles across the possibility of using his machinery to talk to his dearly departed, but finds himself at odds with his colleagues and family. While visiting a woman purporting to be a spirit medium, he exposes her as a fraud, but discovers she does seem to have enhanced perceptical (I know this isn't a word as I just made it up. I contact the good people at Websters and have them include it in their next edition) abilities, and enlists her aid in helping him. Being an unsavory individual, the woman agrees to help as she thinks if the good doctor can pull off speaking with the dead, he will gain power and riches beyond belief. Dr. Julian, quitting his job at the university and selling his home, leaves with Mrs. Walters, the psychic medium, and Karl, a mute, brutish man who was injured in one of Dr. Julian's experiments, and they relocate to an isolated manor in a small town, far away from prying eyes and inquisitive minds.

Soon the villagers start to talk and get suspicious of the secretive work going on at the manor. Rumors begin to fly, and speculation runs rampant, certainly assisted with the disappearance of a few recently buried corpses. What was their purpose in Dr. Blair's experiments? You'll have to watch the movie. As the townspeople become more and more uneasy, I half expected a mob brandishing fiery torches to descend on the isolated manor. (Actually, they do, near the end.) The ending was wonderfully unsettling, and left viewers with questions never to be answered. After watching the film, I pondered the fate of Karloff's character, and the more I thought about, the more chills these thoughts gave me.

Karloff is great, as always, as the mad scientist (for lack of a better term) consumed with his quest, but he also provides us with a rich, deep characterization in that Julian feels very remorseful when his experimentation leads to the injury (Karl, who Dr. Julian now provides and cares for) or death. I thought that aspect rare in movies like this. His only intention, his desire, is to speak to his dead wife. Anne Revere is wonderful as Mrs. Walters, and her character makes no bones about what she is in it for, money...she insinuates herself into Julian's life to the point where she actually becomes a surrogate wife, taking care of all matters, allowing Julian to work unfettered, unencumbered with mundane responsibilities. She was very attractive, but in a cruel sense, as she had a gaze that could chill your blood.

One of the many things I enjoyed about this feature was attention to detail. The machinery Karloff uses, especially near the end of the movie, was exquisite and intricate. It reminded me of the machinery from Frankenstein (1931) with dials, electrodes, arcing electricity, indicators, huge, switches for the throwing...it really aiding in providing atmosphere and a real sense of creepiness. Check out the metal, iron maiden-like mask used during the experimentation. Would you let someone fix that on your noggin? I surely wouldn't. Also, the film was intelligent, and provided an atmosphere of belief. There were some very minor plot variances, but those faded quickly as I became engrossed in the Karloff's character knocking on the door of the great unknown.

The movie does get talky at times, but the pace is brisk with a 65 minute running time. The quality of the print used on this DVD is very good, but some minor blemishing is apparent, more so at the beginning. There is little in the way of special features, which is comprised of three movie trailers for current Culumbia/Tristar horror films.

What I really found odd was the title and the tagline for the movie, 'This mad wizard kills at will in Satan's service!' While there were some occult elements, there certainly wasn't any Satanism involved. Maybe some studio lunkhead thought the movie needed some 'zing' to draw audiences in, but I think just having Karloff would have been good enough.

Cookieman108