MovieChat Forums > All That Money Can Buy (1941) Discussion > Which is Better...?

Which is Better...?

posted 18 years ago by theoriginalvc
13 replies | jump to latest

I'm a sophomore in high school. I have to write an essay about an author. there is a list of authors I received, and I've typed in Steven Vincent Benet, the author of "The Devil and Daniel Webster." I've never read the book, and I've never seen the movie.

My question is, is the movie any good?
Actually, is the book any good? I'd have to read the novel before seeing the movie. Without revealing anything about the book that I haven't read in a summary, is it worth reading?

I'd really appreciate some opinions on the book. I've read several conflicting views on both the book and movie.

What I'm wondering is: will this book/ movie appeal to a sophomore in high school. I've already suffered through "Great Expectations," "To Kill a Mockingbird," "The Old Man and the Sea," and "The Metamorphosis" this year. I finally have the chance to pick a book and author, and I don't want to make any mistakes!

Feedback is appreciated greatly! Thank you in advance!

The whole color things never made sense to me Who gives a hoot If your red yellow purple or pink

[–] marino_touchdowns 18 years ago

i am a junior and i love the film version...i gave it an 8

and the story won the o.henry award, so it must be good

You Can Speak Your Mind, But Not on My Time

[–] evildead167 18 years ago

I enjoyed the story and the movie when I was in high school.

[–] alvink 18 years ago

the film, viewed strictly as a fantasy, is just fine.

i like the short story better, and i heartily recommend it to one and all. especially the line (benet talking about the jury), 'and for a moment, they were men, and knew that they were men'. ¡wow!

this story was re-filmed as 'crossraods', with machio, ralph seneca, and ¡steve vai! it's good enough.

i personally think that benet was re-writing a 16th century olde english tale, and he did it masterfully.

but all versions deal with this: when confronted with temptation (the devil) one must be honest with oneself to survive. very cool!!!!!

if you suffered through 'great expectorations'and the 'metamorphasis', we're on the same page, here. but if you suffered through 'mockingbird' and 'old man' maybe i'm not the one to recommend anything to you, since i love both of those.

but i think that benet's short story, 'the devil and daniel webster' is really great stuff, and his life was interesting, too. if you have to do a thing on a writer, you could do a lot worse.

take'um easy

42

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] 2001-4 18 years ago

Even a Sophmore in HS should be able to tell whether they like somthing or not.

Instead of depending on other's opinions why not form your own? People aren't always straight or have other's best interests at heart when asked an opinion. In other words, "To thine own self be true."

[–] fred3f 18 years ago

The book is good - read it first, then watch the movie. They are different. The author had something to do with the movie and he liked the end result. It is a good way to see how the same story is changed to work well different media (print or film).

As to if you will like it or not - that is impossible for me to say. I don't know what you like but if your taste is for modern action movies or comic books, it is not like that. Literature takes a little time to get used to. As you grow older you will appreciate it more, but unless you read some now you will never appreciate it when you get older because you will be too busy and too unwilling to try something new.

As you grow you want to have as many ways to appreciate life as possible, if you don't you end up feeling bitter and feeling that life is not worth it. You wouldn't know this yet, but it is true. So when you are young develop your tastes for some of the things that are not popular with everyone you know today. It is like putting money in the bank for your old age, it will pay off.

[–] vonhangman 18 years ago

Look let's face it, if you've suffered through Harper Lee and Kafka, you're probably pretty stupid, or, more charitably, you're just not cut out for the reading business. If you feel your eyes start to glaze over as you read this post, you'll know what I mean. So listen, that advice about reading the story first. Forget it! Like, that's going to happen anyway, right? And even the goddamn movie is going to be a struggle, some flicketing old piece of crap from granddad's granddad's time. Luckily for you, there is a version of the story starring Jennifer Love Hewitt. I'd say, go check that out. Or, if that is too much trouble, here's everything you need to know to write your paper.

OK, Daniel Webster, you know him right? Famous for writing the dictionary! Webster's dictionary. Also quite famous for inventing alphabet soup. Not to be confused with Webster, the African American kid who made Gary Coleman seem like a grown-up.

So, Webster is writing the dictionary; and suddently the Devil appears, poof, and offers him an apple if he'll put a lot of cuss words in his dictionary.

At about this point Jennifer love Hewitt turns into a giant cockroach, or, more accurately a dung beetle, and lies on her back, unable to move.

However, Boo Radley, played by Robert Duvall, comes out and saves her.

The Jennifer Love Hewitt version is better than the Walter Love Huston version, which, in turn, is better than the literary version.

[–] wishmewell 18 years ago

Yikes, VonHangman,
I get your attempt at levity, but would be terrible if the kid thinks Daniel Webster was the lexicographer.
NOAH Webster was the Webster of Webster's dictionary. Daniel Webster was a Congressman/Senator from New Hampshire famous for his oratory/debating skills... hence HE is the perfect person to go head to head with the devil.
Also, of note, the "new" version of the movie with JLH is being released after being re-edited, but Alec Baldwin, (who was heavily involved with it 6 years ago) has removed himself as much as possible and is asking people NOT to see it... maybe they used some of your plot ideas after all?

[–] vonhangman 18 years ago

Don't sweat it, kid. Who are you going to listen to? Me or some parent-teacher type who wants you to waste precious time where you could be hooking-up or taking recreational drugs with some improving school text in your hand (and silverfish running up your sleeve).

Of course, Dan Webster wrote the Dictionary. Of course he invented alphabet soup! That's not all, he also played basketball for the Minnesota Lakers, and a lot of people say he seduced Mary Todd Lincoln. They say that if you go to his grave and say loudly and clearly, "Daniel Webster, Daniel Webster!" the ground will begin to shiver and the trees begin to shake. And after a while you'll hear a deep voice saying, "Neighbor, how stands the Union? And how are the Minnesota Lakers going" Then you'd better not tell him what became of the franchise, as he's liable to get ornery. And he'll ask if any good movies have come out lately, especially anything starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, who seems to be his favorite.

Whatever you do, you must not mention Oxford. He hates Oxford, who wrote the Oxford English Dictionary, and filled it with dumb words like "Colour" and "Flavour" and "Grey", not to mention outlandish phonetic descriptions for words like "Aluminum".

"Oxford, Oxford, Oxford," he'll say. "I'm so sick of Oxford. Not Oxford, Virginia, mind you, but Oxford the Dictionary crank. That no-nothing! That u-introducing limey so and so. Say, how are the Lakers doing? And how stands the Union?"

As you can see, it is kind of awe-inspiring, to be communicating with this famous dead guy; but as profound as this is, it quickly gets kind of repetitive.

[–] richard-III 17 years ago

The best post on imdb I've read this year.

"The Beamer Xperience: 9 feet wide home cinema bliss."

[–] jjelgar 16 years ago

Sorry it's been 18 months since you originated this, but better late than never. If you haven't quit school already, you must be a senior now. Or perhaps you've seen the light by now and decided to make the most of your education. Actually, I suspect your original post was a put-on, since it's unlikely such ideas could be coming from someone who cares enough to spell and punctuate so well.

Benet may not be so good as to be among the ranks of the greatest writers, but Dickens and Hemingway certainly are. It's more than 50 years since I was your age and read "The Devil and Daniel Webster," but the film is really very good. As with the best in any art form, its appeal and relevance are timeless.

Good luck in life, wherever it takes you.

[–] X-Ice 10 years ago

The book

[–] Xcalat3 16 years ago

the movie

When there's no more room in hell, The dead will walk the earth...