Sonny Bupp

In exchange for seven years of good fortune, Jabez Stone promises Mr. Scratch his soul when the contract ends. When he comes to his senses, he enlists the aid of the one man who might save him: the legendary orator and politician Daniel Webster.

Orson Welles' masterwork (#1 in the American Film Institute's list of Best American Movies) dazzles anew in a superb 70th-anniversary digital transfer. It's grand entertainment, sharply acted (starting many of Welles' Mercury Players on the road to thriving film careers) and directed with inspired visual flair. Chronicling the stormy life of an influential publishing tycoon, this Best Original Screenplay Academy Award winner (1941) is rooted in themes of power, corruption, vanity - the American Dream lost in the mystery of a dying man's last word: "Rosebud."

Jabez Stone is a hard-working farmer trying to make an honest living, but a streak of bad luck tempts him to do the unthinkable: bargain with the Devil himself. For seven years of good fortune, Stone promises “Mr. Scratch” his soul when the contract ends. When the troubled farmer begins to realize the error of his choice, he enlists the aid of the one man who might save him: the legendary orator and politician Daniel Webster. Directed with stylish flair by William Dieterle, The Devil and Daniel Webster brings the classic short story by Stephen Vincent Benét to life with inspired visuals, an unforgettable Oscar-winning score by Bernard Herrmann, and a truly diabolical performance from Walter Huston.

Orson Welles' masterwork dazzles anew in a superb 70th-anniversary digital transfer. It's grand entertainment, sharply acted (starting many of Welles' Mercury Players on the road to thriving film careers) and directed with inspired visual flair. Chronicling the stormy life of an influential publishing tycoon, rooted in themes of power, corruption, vanity. The American Dream lost in the mystery of a dying man's last word: "Rosebud."