To the Devil a Daughter

To the Devil a Daughter
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Peter Sykes
Produced by	Roy Skeggs
Written by	Chris Wicking John Peacock Gerald Vaughan-Hughes
Based on	The novel by Dennis Wheatley
Starring	Richard Widmark Christopher Lee Honor Blackman Nastassja Kinski Denholm Elliott
Music by	Paul Glass
Cinematography	David Watkin
Edited by	John Trumper
Production company	Hammer Film Productions Ltd. London Terra Filmkunst GMBH Berlin
Distributed by	EMI (UK), Cine Artists Pictures (USA)
Release dates	4 March 1976 (UK)
Running time	95 min.
Country	United Kingdom West Germany
Language	English
Budget	₤360,000^[1]

To the Devil a Daughter is a 1976 horror film, directed by Peter Sykes and produced by Hammer Film Productions and Terra-Filmkunst. It is based on the novel of the same name by Dennis Wheatley, and stars Richard Widmark, Christopher Lee, Honor Blackman, Nastassja Kinski and Denholm Elliott. It was the final Hammer production to feature Christopher Lee until The Resident in 2011.

Plot

American expatriate occult writer John Verney (Widmark) is asked by Henry Beddows (Elliot) to pick up his daughter Catherine (Kinski) from London airport. Catherine is a nun with the Children of the Lord, a mysterious heretical order based in Bavaria and founded by the excommunicated Roman Catholic priest Michael Rayner (Lee), where Beddows is allowed to come to visit Catherine only on her birthdays. But after Catherine arrives, Beddows then insists that she stay with Verney. The order, however, under Father Michael, makes all efforts to get Catherine back and uses black magic to stop Verney as he protects her. Verney learns that the order really harbours a group of practicing Satanists, who have prepared Catherine to become an avatar of Astaroth upon her eighteenth birthday. The priest kills Verney's friends, and tries to get Verney. Verney battles the priest and his henchmen and is able to rescue Catherine.

Cast

Richard Widmark as John Verney
Christopher Lee as Father Michael Rayner
Honor Blackman as Anna Fountain
Denholm Elliott as Henry Beddows
Michael Goodliffe as George De Grass
Nastassja Kinski as Catherine Beddows
Eva Maria Meineke as Eveline de Grass
Anthony Valentine as David Kennedy
Derek Francis as The Bishop
Izabella Telezynska as Margaret
Constantin de Goguel as Kollde
Brian Wilde as Black Room Attendant
Howard Goorney as Critic
Frances de la Tour as Salvation Army Major

Production

The film was adapted by Christopher Wicking and John Peacock from the 1953 novel of the same name by Dennis Wheatley. It was the second of Wheatley's "black magic" novels to be filmed by Hammer, following The Devil Rides Out, released in 1968. Wheatley disliked the film because it did not follow his novel and he found it obscene. He told Hammer that they were not to make another film from his novels ever again.

This was Michael Goodliffe's last film, made shortly before he committed suicide while suffering from depression.

Christopher Lee's line "It is not heresy... and I will not recant!" was sampled by heavy metal band White Zombie for the song "Super-Charger Heaven". The movie's title was also referenced by White Zombie in the song "Black Sunshine" ("To the devil, a daughter comes...")

Kinski was fifteen years old at the time of filming her frontal nude scene.

Critical reception

To the Devil... A Daughter has been negatively received by critics, and currently holds a 38% approval rating on movie review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes based on eight reviews.^[2] Time Out called it "a good deal more interesting than the rest of the possession cycle, but still a disappointment."^[3]

References

↑ Marcus Hearn & Alan Barnes, The Hammer Story: The Authorised History of Hammer Films, Titan Books, 2007 p 166
↑ "To The Devil A Daughter - Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
↑ "To the Devil a Daughter Review. Movie Reviews - Film - Time Out London". timeout.com. Retrieved 17 August 2012.

External links

To the Devil... A Daughter at the Internet Movie Database

Films directed by Peter Sykes

The Committee Demons of the Mind The House in Nightmare Park Steptoe and Son Ride Again To the Devil a Daughter Jesus

Hammer Film Productions films

by series

Dracula films	Dracula (1958) The Brides of Dracula (1960) Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) Scars of Dracula (1970) Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974)

Frankenstein films	The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)

Mummy films	The Mummy (1959) The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) The Mummy's Shroud (1967) Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971)

The Karnstein Trilogy	The Vampire Lovers (1970) Lust for a Vampire (1971) Twins of Evil (1971)

Dick Barton films	Dick Barton: Special Agent (1948) Dick Barton Strikes Back (1949) Dick Barton at Bay (1950)

Quatermass films	The Quatermass Xperiment (1955) Quatermass 2 (1957) Quatermass and the Pit (1967)

Robin Hood films	The Men of Sherwood Forest (1954) Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) A Challenge for Robin Hood (1967)

On the Buses films	On the Buses (1971) Mutiny on the Buses (1972) Holiday on the Buses (1973)

The Woman in Black films	The Woman in Black (2012) The Woman in Black: Angel of Death (2014)

See also	Hammer filmography

by genre

Gothic horror films	The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959) The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll (1960) The Curse of the Werewolf (1961) The Shadow of the Cat (1961) The Phantom of the Opera (1962) The Kiss of the Vampire (1963) The Gorgon (1964) Rasputin the Mad Monk (1966) The Plague of the Zombies (1966) The Reptile (1966) The Witches (1966) The Devil Rides Out (1968) Hands of the Ripper (1971) Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971) Countess Dracula (1971) Vampire Circus (1972) Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter (1974) To the Devil a Daughter (1976)

Horror films	The Mystery of the Mary Celeste (1935) Demons of the Mind (1972) Beyond the Rave (2008) Let Me In (2010) Wake Wood (2011) The Quiet Ones (2014)

Thriller films	The Man in Black (1949) The Black Widow (1951) The Snorkel (1958) Hell Is a City (1960) The Full Treatment (1960) Taste of Fear (1961) Cash on Demand (1961) The Maniac (1963) Paranoiac (1963) Nightmare (1964) Fanatic (1965) Hysteria (1965) The Nanny (1965) Crescendo (1970) Straight On till Morning (1972) Fear in the Night (1972)

Science fiction films	Four Sided Triangle (1953) Spaceways (1953) X the Unknown (1956) The Abominable Snowman (1957) The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) The Damned (1963) The Lost Continent (1968) Moon Zero Two (1969)

Mystery films	Death in High Heels (1947) Dr. Morelle: The Case of the Missing Heiress (1949) The Rossiter Case (1951) Whispering Smith Hits London (1952) Lady in the Fog (1952) Mantrap (1953) The Saint's Return (1953) Blood Orange (1953) The Glass Cage (1955) The Lady Vanishes (1979)

Crime drama films	Cloudburst (1951) The Last Page (1952) Wings of Danger (1952) Stolen Face (1952) The Gambler and the Lady (1953) The Flanagan Boy (1953) 36 Hours (1953) Face the Music (1954) The House Across the Lake (1954) Murder by Proxy (1954) Five Days (1954) A Stranger Came Home (1954) Third Party Risk (1954) Women Without Men (1956)

Drama films	Song of Freedom (1936) Never Look Back (1952) Mask of Dust (1954) Break in the Circle (1955) Never Take Sweets from a Stranger (1960) Captain Clegg (1962) Man at the Top (1973) The Resident (2011)

Action films	Ten Seconds to Hell (1959) The Stranglers of Bombay (1959) The Devil-Ship Pirates (1964) Shatter (1974)

Adventure films	The Jack of Diamonds (1949) Passport to China (1961) The Terror of the Tongs (1961) The Pirates of Blood River (1962) The Scarlet Blade (1963) The Brigand of Kandahar (1965) She (1965) One Million Years B.C. (1966) Prehistoric Women (1967) The Viking Queen (1967) The Vengeance of She (1968) When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth (1970) Creatures the World Forgot (1971)

Comedy films	The Public Life of Henry the Ninth (1935) Sporting Love (1936) The Lady Craved Excitement (1950) Someone at the Door (1950) What the Butler Saw (1950) Life with the Lyons (1954) The Lyons in Paris (1955) Up the Creek (1958) I Only Arsked! (1958) Further Up the Creek (1958) Don't Panic Chaps! (1959) The Ugly Duckling (1959) Watch it, Sailor! (1961) A Weekend with Lulu (1961) The Old Dark House (1963) The Anniversary (1968) That's Your Funeral (1972) Love Thy Neighbour (1973)

War films	The Steel Bayonet (1957) The Camp on Blood Island (1958) Yesterday's Enemy (1959) The Secret of Blood Island (1964)

See also	Hammer filmography

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