8mm Forum: The Devil Commands

This is topic The Devil Commands in forum 8mm Print Reviews at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 67) on October 15, 2007, 03:51 PM:

I've had this little Columbia digest for years, but had occasion to pull it out and watch it again the other day....and what a gem!! Print quality is fairly good, but the editing is superb. The reel edits down so well that you really don't feel that you've missed very much at all. The original feature had narration from Karloff's daughter to tie it together.....and , if I'm not mistaken, Columbia got a female narrator with similar voice qualities to fill in the gaps of the story so that it all blends together beautifully. The digest doesn't feel hurried ...all the story elements are there and they've even carried the "The End" music all the way out to its conclusion...something a few of the digests tend not to do, letting us down hard at the end. I was really so impressed by this film that I felt compelled to write up this little review. I'd recommend this one to any Karloff or horror fan.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on October 15, 2007, 07:05 PM:

Wow, Boris karloff, and his daughter narrating. Nice little review.

Posted by Gary Crawford (Member # 67) on October 16, 2007, 07:38 AM:

Sorry....I wasn't clear in my writing. Karloff's daughter in the movie....not in real life. She talks about how the house she once lived in is now empty...how people shun the place....then proceeds to tell what happened.

Posted by Adrian Winchester (Member # 248) on October 16, 2007, 10:03 AM:

I agree it's an impressive film - maybe helps the digest that the feature is only about 66 mins. I recently got a 16mm print but I think I'll hang on to the 400'. Collectors are fortunate that Columbia chose a relatively obscure film like this. Sound is a bit sibilant on mine, but OK.

Posted by Douglas Meltzer (Member # 28) on January 30, 2011, 03:44 PM:

I finally picked up a copy of this as it seems this one doesn't make the used lists too often. This is very well edited and using Amanda Duff's original narration works wonders in telling the story. If as Gary suggests, Columbia used a female sound alike for additional narration, then the studio put more thought and care into this digest than practically any of their others!

The Mountain Films cover for this Columbia release. Note they use When The Devil Commands, unlike the film inside.

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Doug

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