As Halloween approaches, there's one Disney movie that, both as a film itself and its star, may well rank as the darkest film the company has ever produced!
Disney has always dabbled in dark stuff ever since the Evil Queen in Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. For a "family-friendly" company, they've dipped their toes into horror-themed storylines a lot. That was especially true in that late 1970s/early-80s period, when the company was trying to win over new fans and break out of that image.
That included darker fare like The Watcher in the Woods, The Black Hole, and Something Wicked This Way Comes. Yet one movie has to stand out as a film you cannot believe was ever made by Disney for its dark tones. As time has gone on, it's only become darker for shades the company couldn't possibly predict.
The Devil and Max Devlin.
This 1981 film was forgotten for a while yet it's now gotten some attention, due in no small part to one of the key lead actors. Yet it's still amazing to see this film and think that of all companies, Disney was the one making a movie that was as far away from the Disney image as you can get.
The Devil in the lead
There's no getting around the elephant in the room in regards to the vital lead of this film. We have become so used to treating Bill Cosby as a figure of derision that it's easy to forget the massive popularity the man once enjoyed. Indeed, when introducing the movie for a 1987 showing of The Wonderful World of Disney, Michael Eisner called Cosby "America's most loved TV star," and it was true.
Rising from a stand-up comic, Cosby soon became a hit and made history starring in the spy drama I Spy. That led to various films, creating the cartoon Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids and a favorite of talk shows.
Cosby's fame hit its height in 1984, with The Cosby Show becoming one of the biggest TV comedy hits around. He kept it up with later shows like Cos and always hailed as one of the funniest and most loveable guys in Hollywood.
In short, absolutely no one could have imagined the monster Cosby was under that smiling mask. When the truth came out in 2014 about his horrible crimes, it was a massive shock as even those who'd heard tales of Cosby having difficulty with women couldn't believe he'd sink to that depth. It's forever changed the view of him and makes it harder to judge his past works.
That's what made The Devil and Max Devlin interesting, as back in 1981, the idea of casting Cosby as a demon was seen as daring and original. Today…well, it's too easy to make a joke about the casting agent somehow having a hint to how close Cosby was to this role.
Yet even if there was a different actor in the role, this movie would be shockingly dark in many ways.
What makes Max Devlin so dark
The film itself stars Elliot Gould in the title role, a slumlord who cuts every corner imaginable and is incredibly greedy. On the run from angry tenants, Max is run over by a bus and finds himself sent to Hell. That includes the shot of him lowering down while around him, souls are seen falling and screaming into the fiery abyss. Yes, this is a Disney movie.
Max is confronted by a demonic council with Cosby as Barney, the "souls manager" who shows Max his crimes (when Max complains using this isn't fair, Barney points out, "do you realize where you are?") but is ready to offer a deal: They'll let Max live again if he can give them three souls. When he offers some of his buddies, they respond they don't want that as "we get those guys anyway." Instead, they want Max to trick three innocent youths to sign over their souls to him.
If that sounds really dark, that's because this started as a script intended for England's legendary Hammer horror studios with Vincent Price as a guy "reaping" the souls of children. How this ended up on the desk of a Disney studio remains a mystery and a shame they couldn't get Price to be Barney.
Max is returned to life with the touches that he no longer has a reflection and Barney hangs around with only Max able to see and hear him. So we're now treated to Max trying to convince three innocent youths to sign over their souls and condemn them to Hell to keep himself alive. Our hero, folks.
Max soon goes around making Stella a singing star, motocross racer Nelson into a champion rider and for young Toby…well, the kid wants his mother Penny to be happy so won't sign the contract until Max marries her (with the one good bit of Cosby almost respectful as he notes Toby "has potential.”)
Eventually, Max gets the three signatures, which instantly turns the three youths into arrogant jerks. Then Barney reveals that rather than letting the trio live long lives of success, he intends to kill them all immediately to get their souls and mocks Max for believing a devil would keep his word.
Overcome with guilt and by now in love with Penny (who he married, long story), Max is set to tear the contracts up. We're thus treated to a sight that must have been truly shocking in 1981 as Cosby appears in full red makeup, complete with horns, cloven feet and pitchfork, to rail at Max on how breaking the deal will damn him. It's scary then and even worse now.
Max goes ahead to burn the contracts. Assuming his time is running short, Max first goes to see Nelson, only to find he busted his leg, tripping over an old woman's cane and quitting racing. Max meets the woman, who clearly is an angel, giving him a smile. All three of the kids are back to normal, and Stella's parents are coming to see her sing. Max wants to bid goodbye to Penny only to find his reflection is back, meaning his soul is returned. It ends with everyone watching Stella sing and Max looking upward to whisper, "Thank you."
The movie is a strange ride
This movie is incredibly disjointed, with Max bouncing from the various plotlines, rushing the romance with Penny (who seems to fall for him for no reason), and more. There are also strange bits, like when Max is arguing with Barney in the bathroom only for a man to exit a stall, see him speaking to thin air and shrugging, "We're all in show business."
The film is so peculiar in the tone, trying the old Disney comedy stuff amid this twisted story. We're meant to empathize with Max finding redemption but it never comes off as he's clearly willing to sell these kids out only to change his mind just because he finds out they're going to be killed off immediately. It's obvious if Barney kept to the deal to let them live longer, Max would have been more okay with this.
Cosby is a weak link and not for the reasons you'd think. He actually seems rather bored in this role, as if hating being cast as a villain. His line readings are mostly flat and bland until that final scene, where he screams and howls way too over the top. Vincent Price would have given the role a more sinister edge, with Cosby a bad fit from the start.
Again, the real-life shadow of Cosby is too much for the film. But even before 2014, this movie was far darker than you'd expect from a Disney film, with the depictions of Hell and the entire plot of corrupting souls. It just didn't fit the label, but a few years later, it'd be better for the Touchstone label.
For obvious reasons, the film isn't available on streaming and you'd have to dig into old VHS spots to find it. Many will no doubt feel uncomfortable watching it for Cosby, while the movie's storyline is too dark for most younger viewers. Yet this combination of story, filming and the leading man is why The Devil and Max Devlin may go down as the darkest live-action Disney film ever that gets harder as time goes on.