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Almost, it seemed, the end had come. Then the Duke used his final resources, and did a thing which shall never be done except in the direst emergency when the very soul is in peril of destruction.’ – Chapter 27, Within the Pentacle The good guys did make some stupid moves: Rex drove me mad with his stupid decisions about Tanith at the inn. Duh. At the very least consult with the duke instead of falling asleep in the woods! Leaving Fleur unprotected makes me question their intelligence as well. Simon choosing to go against his friends despite the logic of their decision. And poor Richard, having to go a whole day without his drinks and meat… Bear in mind that the book was published five years before the outbreak of the Second World War, giving melancholic weight to de Richleau’s warning that ‘Europe is ripe now for any trouble and if [the Four Horsemen] are loosened again, it will be final Armageddon. This is no longer a personal matter of protecting Simon … We’ve got to prevent [Mocata] plunging the world into another war.’
The ending of the book is much stranger. Apart from the Monastery in Greece in place of the house in Berkshire, the general premise is the same. Mocata has abducted Fleur and is planning on sacrificing her, and the heroes race to rescue the child. This appealing idealogy also lends itself to being used by the Satanists, who of course argue that our ideas are all misconceived. Mocata seductively says that magic is neither good nor evil. It is “only the science of causing change to occur by means of will”. Wheatley’s Sabbat of saturnalian depravity appears onscreen as little more than a rave, its participants remaining clothed at all times and doing little more than eating and drinking. (Although, admittedly, some of them are drinking the blood of a sacrificial goat – and animal which, funnily enough, does not appear in the novel.)Uriel Seraphim Io Potesta, Zati Zata Galatim Galata. The final two lines of the Sussamma Ritual, as spoken by the Duke de Richleau Iconic’ is a much-overused word (not least by me). The online Cambridge English Dictionary defines it as ‘very famous or popular, especially being considered to represent particular opinions or a particular time’, and chooses the following as its three illustrative examples: John Lennon achieving iconic status after his death, the gunfight as the iconic image of the Wild West and the characters, dialogue and music of the film Casablanca.
Once again, the character outwardly appears to be English, whereas he is French in the book. And in complete contrast to the suave elegance and charm with which Charles Gray (who was 40 at the time) plays the part, Wheatley describes him as ‘a pot-bellied, bald-headed person of about sixty, with large, protuberant, fishy eyes, limp hands and a most unattractive lisp.’ This pretty much accorded with Dennis Wheatley’s own beliefs, although he was not born in these favoured circles. Dennis Wheatley’s father was a wine merchant, who sold fine wines to the aristocracy and royalty of Europe. Dennis Wheatley was commissioned as an officer in the First World War, which gave him an advantage socially. When the family business ran into trouble, Dennis Wheatley had the brilliant idea of grafting a literature of the occult on to a thriller. He then hit a winner in 1934 with The Devil Rides Out. At this time, between two World Wars, crime fiction throughout Europe was enormously popular, with the equally conservative-minded and privileged Agatha Christie as its Queen of Crime.The score was composed by James Bernard, who said in an interview that The Devil Rides Out was one of his favourite books. Bernard attended Wellington College, a private school in Berkshire which was also attended by Christopher Lee. An acquaintance of Benjamin Britten, Bernard studied at the Royal College of Music after serving in the RAF.
Dooku: I was curious to see that the 1968 film was made so close to the original text, describing as it does the paganist ceremonies. It’s not hard to see the allure of the Devil, especially when Rex tries to persuade her that she should be dancing and playing golf instead.The film adaptation is one of Hammer’s best movies. It’s my personal favorite Hammer film but I probably can’t separate the love I had for the book since I secretly read it at seven. Although Wheatley was also pleased with it and Christopher Lee said in interviews that it was one of his favorite onscreen performances. That could be because he was the anti-villain rather than the villain. The Devil Rides Out was directed by the legendary Terence Fisher, who made The Curse of Frankenstein (1957), Dracula(1958), The Hound of the Baskervilles(1959) and The Mummy. The production designer was Bernard Robinson who joined Hammer in 1956 and had previously worked on several successful Hammer productions, including The Curse of Frankenstein and Dracula (1958, Terence Fisher ). Robinson drew meticulous pencil and ink sketches of his designs and his attention to detail includes decorating the satanic temples with intricate astrological and Kabbalistic symbols.
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