The Devil and Max Devlin

The Devil and Max Devlin

1981

Director- Steven Hilliard Stern

Cast- Elliot Gould, Bill Cosby, Julie Budd, Adam Rich, David Krell .Sonny Shroyer

           

I wasn’t sure whether to review this movie. As a comedy, to be honest, it isn’t that funny. However, the movie is noteworthy for a few reasons so I decided to include it. First off, it’s a Disney movie. Like a real Disney movie, not one of those Disney imprints like Touchstone. Yes, a movie by Disney, about the Devil. Second, it involves getting children to sell their soul! Talk about child exploitation!

            Elliot Gould plays Max Devlin, a landlord who seems about as shady and uncompassionate as you can be. He gets hit by a bus (full of Hare Krishna’s!) and quickly descends to Hell. I should note that the depiction of Hell, though quite short, is pretty good. Max is brought before a kind of infernal board of directors with Satan as the chairman. Bill Cosby plays a sort of Satanic right hand man there to manage the situation. Max is presented with an offer; if he can get 3 people to sell their souls, Max will be let off the hook. The catch? They have to be innocent souls! Max is given the task of seducing 2 teens and a child to the dark side, and it should be noted, he doesn’t take a lot of convincing.

            Max is granted some slight superpowers to help him and he sets on his quest. He gets all the kids to sign on the dotted line and only at the last moment, before the kids are about to be claimed, does Max recant and tear up their contracts (I guess I just spoiled the ending for you, like you couldn’t see that coming).

            This was a pretty good cast for its day. Elliot Gould was at the height of his popularity and Cosby was just beginning the arc of his highest popularity. He was considered a rather wholesome figure throughout the 80s. I’m not sure if his later life scandals make his appearance in this film more or less ironic. It also starred Adam Rich, best known for the TV series Eight is Enough, but also seemed to guest star as America’s favorite child on every TV show in the early 80s. It also has Sonny Shroyer (Enos from The Dukes of Hazard) in a small role.

            Despite the film not being that funny, I have to give props to Disney for making a film about such a controversial subject and spending the money to get top actors. It is highly unlikely a movie like this would be made today by a big name studio.