The Devil Commands

"When the Devil commands Karloff obeys...!"

Feb 3 1941 Approved 1h 5m
Horror, Sci-Fi

A story about a scientist who is obsessed with communicating with the dead.

Plot

Dr. Julian Blair is engaged in unconventional research on human brain waves when his wife is tragically killed in a freak auto accident. The grief-stricken scientist becomes obsessed with redirecting his work into making contact with the dead and is not deterred by dire warnings from his daughter, his research assistant, or his colleagues that he is delving into forbidden areas of knowledge. He moves his laboratory to an isolated New England mansion where he continues to try to reach out to his dead wife. He is aided by his mentally-challenged servant Karl and abetted by the obsessive Mrs. Walters, a phony medium, who seems to exert a sinister influence over him. When their overly curious housekeeper discovers the truth about their experiments, her death brings the local sheriff in to investigate.

Written by

Robert Hardy Andrews, Milton Gunzburg, William Sloane

Directed by

Edward Dmytryk

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Columbia Pictures

Languages

English

Awards

N/A

Scores
# of Votes
1,551
Average Rating
6.1 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA