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The Devil's Disciple

The Devil's Disciple

War · Comedy · History · 1959

In a small New England town during the American War of Independence, Dick Dudgeon, a revolutionary American Puritan, is mistaken for local minister Rev. Anthony Anderson and arrested by the British. Dick discovers himself incapable of accusing another human to suffer and continues to masquerade as the reverend.

Movie details

The Devil's Disciple

“One Devil of a Motion Picture!”

1959 War · Comedy · History 1h 22m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

In a small New England town during the American War of Independence, Dick Dudgeon, a revolutionary American Puritan, is mistaken for local minister Rev. Anthony Anderson and arrested by the British. Dick discovers himself incapable of accusing another human to suffer and continues to masquerade as the reverend.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Devil's Disciple?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Guy Hamilton

Written by

Roland Kibbee · John Dighton

Burt Lancaster

Burt Lancaster

Anthony Anderson

Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas

Richard Dudgeon

Laurence Olivier

Laurence Olivier

Gen. Burgoyne

Janette Scott

Janette Scott

Judith Anderson

Eva Le Gallienne

Eva Le Gallienne

Mrs. Dudgeon

Harry Andrews

Harry Andrews

Maj. Swindon

Basil Sydney

Basil Sydney

Lawyer Hawkins

Court is in session

Put The Devil's Disciple on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.