A hapless loser sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for seven wishes, but has trouble winning over the girl of his dreams.
Acting
Cook's bored, malicious Devil defined cinematic evil
Writing
Wish-twisting logic sharper than any Monkey's Paw
Production
Hell as bureaucratic office: peak British visual gag
Director
Stanley Donen
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Cook and Moore wrote the script during their Beyond the Fringe days, recycling stage chemistry into cinematic gold. Raquel Welch's Lust was nearly cut until test audiences demanded more.
The film's Hell-as-corporate-bureaucracy satirized 1960s British institutional decay years before Yes Minister made it mainstream. Stanley's pop star wish directly mocked the manufactured Cliff Richard phenomenon.
GB
