Hammer Films-Seven Arts/20th Century Fox's The Devil Rides Out, aka The Devil's Bride (for U.S. distribution) is a wicked, 1968 masterpiece, based on Dennis Wheatley's 1934 novel, adapted for the screen by the prolific Richard Matheson and directed by terror maestro Terence Fisher. Thanks to writers/historians Nige Burton & Jamie Jones, Classic Monsters of the Movies now celebrates this cinematic, (oc)cult classic in a meaty, 36-page volume.
The plot centers on Lee's investigator/adventurer Duc de Richleau (Wheatley's popular, Black Magic-series protagonist), who tangles with Charles Gray's mind-bending warlock, Mocata, who intends to baptize Nike Arrighi's Tanith Carlisle and torment Leon Greene's Rex Van Ryn, all in the blasphemous name of Baphomet, i.e. Satan. Duc de Richleau will have none of it, despite Mocata's daunting array of apparitions, which include a humongous spider, a sneering, hypnotic-eyed entity and an unearthly horse with a Templar-implied rider. (BTW: Lee and Gray would go on to play Bond villains, making this confrontation a pre-Scaramanga-vs Blofeld-allusion of sorts.)
Burton & Jones do an outstanding job detailing the adaptation's development, placing keen attention on Wheatley, Matheson and Fisher, as well as producer Anthony Nelson Keyes, composer James Bernard, special-effects wizard Les Bowie, cinematographer Arthur Grant and of course, the movie's sophisticated cast, which in addition to Lee, Gray, Arrighi and Greene, features Patrick Mower, Sara Lawson, Paul Eddington, Gwen Ffragcon-Davis, Rosalyn Landor, Russell Waters and stuntman Eddie Powell.
Adorning Burton & Jones' text are "Quotable Quotes," delightful trivia and archival, publicity materials, which possess extra vibrancy, thanks to the volume's high-quality, paper stock.
The Devil Rides Out is one of the best of its kind, holding a status comparable to such contemporary examples as Night (Curse) of the Demon, The City of the Dead (Horror Hotel), The Innocents, The Haunting, Rosemary's Baby and The Legend of Hell House. Burton & Jones' meticulous work also ensures this Classic Monsters submission as one of the best in their grand, encyclopedic succession.
To summon a copy of Classic Monsters of the Movies: The Devil Rides Out, visit
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