Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Seraherrera The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Siflutter It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Billy Ollie Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

mark.waltz George Bernard Shaw's play about Revolutionary War Massachusetts is in contrast amusing, serious, thought provoking and on occasion, extremely funny. It is 1777, and the British are trying to keep the rebels at bay, hanging those suspected of being on the side of those fighting for the freedom of the colonies. For local minister Burt Lancaster, it's a hard fight to keep his congregation on the straight and narrow, and when the son (Kirk Douglas) of one of the hanged men shows up, it's also a battle for his marriage as Lancaster's innocent but puritanical wife (Janette Scott) finds herself tempted by sin due to the unconventional but charming Douglas. When Douglas is arrested under the assumption that he's actually Lancaster, it's up to the minister to do what's morally right, even if it means sacrificing his own life. General Laurence Olivier and his assistant (Harry Andrews) have opposite views of dealing with the rebels, and at times, Olivier has a smirk on his face, insinuating that he's amused by the unintended insipidness of his own troops.When the story breaks for a few strange animated sequences (straight out of the "Davey & Goliath" school of puppetry), it seems to indicate the quirky intentions of the filmmakers to ridicule that period in history. While the theme of war and treason is a serious one, you wouldn't know that by the way this is presented. There's a huge tongue in cheek feeling to each of the characters, with Douglas grinning throughout, certainly not loyal to any cause other than himself, and Lancaster going from determined minister to sudden rebel who takes on the British army inside their own offices, hysterically trying to destroy it with the help of a burning log he wants to throw on some explosives while taking on the soldiers trying to stop him.In a smaller role, Laurence Olivier shows that his general has hidden feelings about his own government, revealing that his feelings for King George III aren't very patriotic simply by saying that he's basing his decisions on facts, not even his own feelings which he'd rather discuss even with the so-called enemy in private. The rarely seen on screen Eva Le Galliene has a tiny part as Douglas's mother, outed from her home by her own son, and is commanding with what little screen time she has. While obviously cut down from George Bernard Shaw's play, it still retains much of his wit and wisdom, and if far from perfect, still packs a punch in certain segments, even with those silly game board pieces acting out the war as they try to keep the colony of Massachusetts from being taken over by American rebel forces.

dsayne Having seen The Devil's Disciple on a venue that runs films which have fallen into the public domain, I wonder how anyone could have let copyright lapse on such an intriguing, yet quirky, film as this. With it's triumvirate of strong leading men, and an interesting script, this movie should be much more well known. And with it's rather oddball presentation it's surprising that it does not have cult status.The live action segments are excellent, and there is no slack in the acting or direction. However, some poor soul made the bizarre decision to interject little Rankin-Bass type puppet animation segments at nearly random moments, thoroughly negating - each time - all the dramatic momentum that has been accumulated up to that point. The animated segments are well done, and moderately amusing in and of themselves, yet completely incongruous to the tone of the surrounding film.These segments are, however, a minor flaw when compared with the greatest drawback of this movie. I am referring to the character of Judith Anderson, our hero's wife. She is, without a doubt, the most annoyingly fickle and foolish female character that I can recall having ever witnessed in any film; and very nearly the most hysterical as well. Not too far into the story I began to get the feeling that I would very much like to slap her. Halfway through the film I was consciously rooting for each of the male leads to take a turn slapping her. By the end of the film I was convinced that everyone in the film should have slapped her, and probably the crew as well! The only thing that made this character bearable was the calm, good-natured presence of Lancaster, Douglas, and Olivier.Now, this is not intended to denigrate Miss Janette Scott, who portrayed Mrs. Anderson. On the contrary, she did a remarkable job of making this over-the-top hysterical woman seem real. A lesser actress might have easily come off as overly melodramatic and phony in such an extreme performance. Her skill in the performance is the reason that we want to slap her. Kudos to Janette Scott. It is my opinion that almost everyone who watches this film will, in fact, want to slap her. Be prepared.

jshaffer-1 I believe, in spite of the way the credits read, that this is from a play by George Bernard Shaw. Which means you have to really pay attention, since it is going to be satirical. They certainly didn't skimp on this cast. And the unique (for the time) use of animation sequences lends another facet. The main problem seems to be that this picture is mistaken for an action drama. Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne was a very real character. The other characters are just representative of the attitudes and problems of the era. The fact that they don't speak in addled regional accents is a bonus. I think perhaps this movie would have been much more attractive in color, since I think black and white are really best for film noir. It adds nothing to this movie, in fact, it detracts from it. Think how lovely it would have been with all those redcoats and all those trees. Still, the story can stand alone. It is really a modern story, set in a time of trouble, but it is generally satirical and humorous in tone. If Lancaster had gotten any more self-righteous it would have been nauseating.

wallner-2 It has been years since I've actually seen the movie and was disappointed that it can't presently be found on DVD. Yet, while fiction, it is a tight, well acted piece of near dark comedy placed in a revolutionary war setting.Lancaster's portrayal is akin to his as the somewhat self-righteous Wyatt Earp in O.K. Corral. Probably the wittiest scene is played between the prisoner Douglas and Sir Laurence (Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne) as a straight man with a bit of a twinkle in the eye. First with Olivier near whining to Kirk how he'd think better of him if he only knew how much he'd paid for his commission - a common practice in German George's British army. Convicted and scheduled to hang, Douglas demands a soldier's firing squad only to talked out of it by Gen'l. Burgoyne decrying - with wry historical accuracy, the woeful state of marksmanship of the average Red Coat then serving in the Colonies. "Well then, by all means hang me !"Delightful, well paced, funny, and even a tad dramatic with Burt, like Disney's Lambert the Bashful Lion, finally roaring to the height of minuteman steel in the final scenes.