Devil's Partner had a little more teeth than I expected from a 1958 "pact with the devil" film. I mean, it's maybe a hard-PG by today's standards, but still - there's implied goat sacrifices and writing contracts in blood. So I was pleasantly surprised by that. Also a surprise? The movie being a notch or two above average. My last 50 Tales of Terror jam (Curse of the Headless Horseman) was effing terrible, so I was feeling a little down on the set. While Devil's Partner isn't a must see by any means, it's a decent enough watch if you're looking for some 50's style horror fun.
Our film starts with a guy named Pete Jensen - a Grizzly Adams-looking dude in an old, rundown shack. He's getting set for a little goat slaughter, which you see only in silhouette. He writes out a contract in blood, and draws a hexagon in blood on the floor. (A replacement for the pentagram, which either wasn't known or wasn't accepted by the public at the time. But the hexagon still must have been kind of exotic, as one character (the cop, even!) describes it as being "like a square, but with six sides." Ha!) Anyways, the cops find his body (we don't see this), bury him, and a few days later his "nephew" Nick shows up in town. Nick is "saddened" to learn that his uncle is not only dead, but was also particularly disliked in town for being a crotchety old man. But it's pretty obvious from the get go that Nick is just Pete reincarnated. They don't really even try to hide it.
Of course, if you make a deal with Satan, you better be up to some shady stuff. And Nick seems to be... but just what is never made clear. Some sort of hidden treasure is implied but never explained, and he doesn't seem to have one particular person in his sights for revenge. Rather, generic "revenge on the town that didn't like me" seems to be his main motivation. Nick's plan couldn't have been "make a dog mutilate a guy, then run his gas station while trying to romance his fiancee," but that's what happens. Evil? Sure. But just not really Prince of Darkness caliber. Nick's main havoc-causing technique is to possess animals, which is at least different, if not exactly terrifying.
The whole ship is almost sunk by a terribly annoying drunken bum character named Papers (of all things - who knows why). I get that the whole "hilarious" town drunk was a thing in these old flicks, but man - does this guy suck. Every time he's onscreen you are excited for him to get off of it.
But that's the only major downfall in Devil's Partner. Nothing else is going to blow you away, but it works well enough to be moderately enjoyable. Which again, is a big win for the 50 Tales of Terror box set.
And, you get not one but two dogs!
Name: Prince
Breed: German Shepard
Function: To get possessed by Nick, and then maul his owner's (Dave) face. Dave is the owner of a local gas station, and the future husband of Nell, whom Nick apparently has eyes for. This mauling basically sets the plot into motion, as Dave gets depressed and questions if he even wants to get married, as he is "horribly disfigured."
Fate: Bludgeoned to death by Dave with a heavy knick-knack, who has no choice - it's him or Prince. It's obscured by a chair, but still kind of brutal.
Name: Laddie
Breed: Some kind of terrier. Cairn maybe?
Function: To be the best damn cop on the force. Kidding aside - he's not even a police dog, but he pretty much finds all of the evidence that directs the cops to Nick, and even fingers him as being guilty. Laddie barks at Nick, even though "he likes everybody," giving the sheriff an inkling that Nick may not actually be the nice guy he appears to be.
Fate: He's fine. Laddie basically vanishes from the film after he solves the case.
Horror-wise? Devil's Partner is definitely not your standard possession tale. Nick has the ability to control animals (and shape-shift into them), but he doesn't have super powers or glowing eyes or anything like that. Other than the goat blood inside of the evil hexagon, there's no gore except for the bad post-dog mauling makeup on Dave. It's pretty much just the story than makes it a tale of terror, although the overall tone did seem relatively dark by the standards of the late 50s.
And, it's got one of my new favorite lines. After Dave is mauled by his dog, he spirals into a depression and doesn't want to marry Nell anymore. Nell happens to be the doctor's daughter, and when the doctor is explaining Dave's spirits to her, he explains: "He's horribly disfigured... in mind, as well as face." What a lovely moment.
There's nothing too crazy in Devil's Partner, but it still mostly works. It's a little hokey and dated at times, and the Crazy Annoying Papers the Bum just about ruins the whole darn thing. But otherwise it's a decent enough film, worth a watch if you're in the mood for some late 50's shenanigans.
I would more or less recommend this film.
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