DEVIL'S PARTNER (1961)

 "FAT AND SKINNY HAD A RACE.  FAT FELL DOWN AND BROKE HER FACE!" 

So sayeth the wonderful Byron Foulger as the bum Papers as he tries to insult the decidedly NOT overweight diner runner Ida (Claire Carleton).  This Filmgroup opus begins with an old man named Pete Jensen (played by Ed Nelson in old age makeup) moiders a goat and uses it's blood to sell his soul to the Devil.  Shortly thereafter, the old man's nephew Nick Richards (also Ed Nelson without the old age makeup) shows up in town and is informed his uncle is dead by Sheriff Tom Fuller (Spencer Carlisle in his only screen appearance) and ole Doc Lucas (Edgar Buchanan -- who's a-movin' kinda slow at the Junction). 

Ole Pete's up to no good

Nick's a nice, clean-cut young man in that 1961 way and soon ingratiates himself to Doc's daughter Nell (Jean Allison) who is a-fianced to local grease monkey David Simpson (Richard Crane).  It's not too much of a spoiler to say that, before long, we suspect Nick isn't all he appears to be.  After he and Nell bring a can of goat's milk to a guy, said guy drinks it and dies.  David Simpson's cute ole German Shepherd Prince suddenly goes berserk and gnaws on David's face.  During this scene, we cut back and forth to Nick crouching down on the floor (by old Pete Jensen's Satanic chalk design) as he apparently is controlling the dog.  We are treated to another of those scenes where a sweet ole dog is trying to be made to look like he's viciously attacking.  Richard Crane does his best to hold the dog's face to his own neck while it merely looks like the cute pooch is hugging him.  Crane and the dog fall behind a big ole armchair so the actor can mime clubbing the dog to death in self-defense.  In case you're keeping score, that's two moidered animals in about 20 minutes of screen time.  Is the Devil loose in the little town of Wairdaphuqarwii???  Oh OK OK!  I know the name of the town; it's Furnace Flats.  Well, Nick Richards doesn't seem to sweat in the 100+ degree heat; this point is mentioned a few times as to clue the viewer in.  Also, when the Sheriff says "I don't know how you do it, son.", Nick quips "Well, I'm really the Devil.  Got kinda hot down there so I came up here to cool off.  Sort of a summer vacation."  Tee hee, ain't he a minx!

Richard Crane, Byron Foulger, Edgar Buchanan

DEVIL'S PARTNER (no 'the' on the title card) is typical of these B&W B-movice put out by Filmgroup, Roger Corman at AIP, etc. in that most of it's 73 minutes of screen time is taken up by actors talking to each other.  Not a lot in the way of action occurs; although there is some.  Ed Nelson gets an "introducing" screen credit; wow, is this really his first film.  Not by a long chalk.  I make it something like his 19th film.  Around the same time, he became ubiquitous on television with appearances on BORIS KARLOFF'S THRILLER, ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS and a TWILIGHT ZONE.  The aforementioned Byron Foulger is an old favourite from the 40's in everything from THE BLACK RAVEN and THE WHISTLER to bit parts in respectable A-pictures like MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON, A DAY AT THE RACES and THE LOST WEEKEND.  Veteran actor Edgar Buchanan is best known to me for his appearances as Uncle Joe in TV's PETTICOAT JUNCTION as well as such films as BENJI, DONOVAN'S REEF and a passel of Westerns.  Richard Crane appeared in THE ALLIGATOR PEOPLE as well as starring as the title role on TV's ROCKY JONES, SPACE RANGER. 

Byron Foulger & Claire Carleton

Claire Carleton was knocking around Hollywood since 1933 and appeared in tons of movies -- among them, for our purposes of interest -- MILDRED PIERCE, the Three Stooges' FRIGHT NIGHT, THE SON OF DR. JEKYLL and THE BLACK SLEEP.  By the time she appeared in DEVIL'S PARTNER as Ida the Diner owner, she was into the hard-nosed, brassy dame blonde persona which enlivens the film.  In fact, the presence of all these veteran character actors (I'm including Ed Nelson even though he's a tyro here) helps lift DEVIL'S PARTNER up into watchability.  As I said, not a whole lot happens during it's relatively-short running time so the fact that we have likeable, delightful character actors makes it all go down like a spoonful of sugar.  There's also some nice theremin going on here; as this is still the era when theremins would happily populate most horror and science fiction movies.  The score here is courtesy of the great Ronald Stein; who would go on to gives us many great movie scores including SPIDER BABY, the wonderfully atmospheric DEMENTIA 13 and his masterwork THE HAUNTED PALACE score.  

Ed Nelson controlling pooches

DEVIL'S PARTNER is one of those low budget B&W horror flicks I'm surprised I didn't see back in the 1970's on TV; either on DR. SHOCK or CREATURE DOUBLE FEATURE.  I dunno, maybe I DID but I sure don't remember it.  Seems like a movie they would've shown, though.  But as I say, it's a pleasant enough little time waster but nothing that memorable.  Oh yes, and in case you haven't figured it out by now, the movie poster bears absolutely NO relation to an event appearing in the actual film.  Gotta love it!  There is, however, a nice little 'transformation' scene a la THE WOLFMAN in slow, lap-dissolves.  And the new (as of earlier this year) Film Masters blu ray restoration is the way to see it.