The Devil Rides Out (Duke de Richleau)

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To The Devil A Daughter was a lesser, more domestic book, but still fun. His occult view now links to the us-vs.-them anti-commie 1950s ethos here, and ends up Wheatley was born at 10 Raleigh Gardens, Brixton Hill, London to Albert David and Florence Elizabeth Harriet (Baker) Wheatley. He was the eldest of three children, his father owned Wheatley & Son, a wine business in Mayfair, London. Dennis admitted to having little aptitude for schooling and was later expelled from Dulwich College for allegedly forming a "secret society", as he mentions in his introduction to The Devil Rides Out. Soon after his expulsion, Wheatley became a British Merchant Navy officer cadet on the training ship HMS Worcester. To locate the talisman he needs the unwilling assistance of Simon Aaron and hypnotises him into becoming a satanist. Although the ritual is used in the book, Wheatley didn’t write the words, so Lee consulted the British Museum who directed him to the Grimoire of Armadel, a book of ceremonial magic from the 1600s. Lee chose eight words from the Operation of Uriel Seraphim, a spell used to trap the Devil in a bottle, ‘Uriel Seraphim Io Potesta, Zati Zata Galatim Galata.’ Chistopher Lee as the Duke de Richleau Two weeks before his death in November 1977, Wheatley received conditional absolution from his old friend Cyril 'Bobby' Eastaugh, the Bishop of Peterborough. He was cremated at Tooting and his ashes interred at the South Cemetery section of Brookwood Cemetery, under a tall tree near the entrance. He is also commemorated on the Baker/Yeats family monument at West Norwood Cemetery.

The duke uses some interesting analogies to explain magic to Rex, Richard, and Marie Lou. And they are good points.

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In the film, the Duke is given the Christian name ‘Nicholas’ whereas, in Wheatley’s novels, his full name was ‘Jean Armand Duplessis’ before he inherited the tile of Duke de Richleau. Simon and Tanith’s characters appear largely unchanged except for their physical appearances. Wheatley describes Simon as ‘frail’ and ‘narrow shouldered’, and Tanith as ‘golden haired’, neither of which can be said of Simon Mower and Niké Arrighi. The biggest deviation comes in the form of the main antagonist, Mocata himself. Bernard starts the opening credits of The Devil Rides Out, with a five-note refrain, that builds to a crescendo, itself repeating five times. Like the score for Dracula (1958), the five notes spell out the title of the film in musical syllables. His score retains a sense of threat, with an almost constant rumble of drums and an eerie string section. Bernard was so proud of the score, that he requested some of it be played at his funeral. Hammer slams at the righteous combatants with the very best special effects they had to offer at the time, from giant spiders to disembodied spirits, but it is really sold by the camerawork and the horses. Lee is marvelous, keeping himself sane as all the world around him is spinning into the abyss. Everyone around him is weaker than he is and more easily drawn into the Mocata’s workings. The weakest link is Richard Eaton (Paul Eddington), the skeptical member of the reinforcements. Lee keeps him in line by admiring the fearlessness that comes from ignorance and admitting that he is too scared to work alone. Hammer’s special effects budget was so low that they used an asthmatic horse with one lung, to carry the Angel of Death. Lee often spoke of how he would like to remake the film, using modern technology.

The short chapters and frequent scene changes make the novel impossible to put down, as one gets irresistibly drawn in to the narrative and increasingly fond of the characters. The countless events that spiral in every direction leave one as exhausted as the characters appear to be in the story. After finishing this book in record timing, I almost forgot which country I was in. During the ritual at the climax of the movie a lighting has been replaced with a new CGI lightning. Each chapter is well written & makes ones heart race. Two part of the novel which I want to highlight here are 'The Sabbat' & 'Within The Pentacle'. Both resonate with suspense & horror beyond words.....the most grotesque form of terror possible.....the scariest part of it is that, such things do take place & that is marrow chilling enough which is escalated with the authors excellent narrating skills. From the two chapters mentioned above...the one that made my blood run cold was 'The Sabbat' especially the image of 'The Goat Of Mendes' that was described to perfection by the author. A group of very self-righteous, incredibly rich people swan around in a desperate race against time to stop some Satanists doing - well, it's never entirely clear what - while taking frequent breaks to sample the finer things in life, lecture each other condescendingly, patronise women and complain about the bourgeois, poor, socialists... Maybe those pesky Satanists intended to vote for Jeremy Corbyn? The hysterical tone of the ultra-privileged heroes comes straight out of Tory central casting. Oh, did I mention the racism? This is a very racist book. I know this is a book from the 30s, but I'm genuinely surprised Wheatley was on our side during the war. Quite a few lines in here suggest at least a passing regard for the Nazis. He probably just didn't feel they were from good enough families.According to the Harry Potter stories, Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, earned his reputation as a great wizard due, in part, to his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicolas Flamel.

Nike Arrighi who played Tanith was born in Nice and worked as a model in Paris, before moving to London to study at RADA. She was earmarked to become one of Hammer’s stars but didn’t work with them again. However, she did go on to work with several New Wave directors including Ken Russell, François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. The Satanic ritual, as described in the book, is more decorative for a start, with the leaders of the cult wearing ‘fantastic costumes’. One wears a cat cask complete with furry cloak and dangling tail, another is dressed as a ‘repellent toad’, a third wears a wolf costume and Mocata himself is a bat with ‘webbed wings sprouting from his shoulders’. The doctrine of ensuring every child a good start in life and equal opportunities is fair and right, but the intelligent and the hardworking will always rise above the rest, and it is not a practical proposition that the few should be expected to devote their lives exclusively to making things easy for the majority. In time, such a system is bound to undermine the vigour of the race. [11] [12] Posthumous publication [ edit ] The good guys did make some stupid moves: Rex drove me mad with his stupid decisions about Tanith at the inn. Duh. At the very least consult with the duke instead of falling asleep in the woods! Leaving Fleur unprotected makes me question their intelligence as well. Simon choosing to go against his friends despite the logic of their decision. And poor Richard, having to go a whole day without his drinks and meat…Furthermore Wheatley makes it utterly clear that historical accounts in the novel are correct and much of his information about rites and magic ceremonies are acquired from genuine practitioners of the Art. The author’s note also states: The book details how de Richleau seals the windows with asafretida grass and blue wax and makes the sign of the Cross in holy water over every entrance and doorway. He sets five white tapering candles at each apex of the five-pointed star along with five horseshoes with their horns pointing outward and five dried mandrakes, four females and one male, in a vase of holy water. He binds Simon’s wrists and ankles with asafcetida grass and strings garlic for everyone. a b Hutchings, Peter (2001). Terence Fisher. Manchester University Press. pp.148–151. ISBN 0-7190-5637-3. Once again, the character outwardly appears to be English, whereas he is French in the book. And in complete contrast to the suave elegance and charm with which Charles Gray (who was 40 at the time) plays the part, Wheatley describes him as ‘a pot-bellied, bald-headed person of about sixty, with large, protuberant, fishy eyes, limp hands and a most unattractive lisp.’

In my insistence that you should not hesitate to read this novel, I shall attempt at not giving this story away. In doing this, there is really little to tell, apart from the fact that wound up in this fast paced, hair-raising thriller, there are also scenes of romance, loyalty and humour. The main characters consist of Duke de Richleau, (affectionately known as ‘Greyeyes’) an old and experienced French exile, with a surprising amount of knowledge about the powers of darkness. His great friend Rex Van Ryn is a tall and handsome American, and Simon Aron a quiet but thoughtful individual. These contrasting and unlikely friends all met whilst being hunted down in ‘The Forbidden Territory’, and they share a special bond, a bond that they would seek to secure in spite of anything, even in the face of the most fatal potentialities. Richard Eaton, Marie Lou and little Fleur are also in on the sequence. Mocata is a bald-headed, ‘white slug’ of a man, who is at the centre of all the unspeakable powers of evil that take place in the story. It seems it is impossible to defeat him for his powers seem limitless. But we are reminded that nothing should be deemed impossible on the grounds of passion, loyalty and pure goodness. The Time Has Come ...: The Memoirs of Dennis Wheatley: Officer and Temporary Gentleman 1914–1919 (1978) Unable to negotiate out of the deal, the majority of the film’s special effects were overseen by Stainer-Hutchins and both Stainer-Hutchins and Daws remained as associate producers. The only special effects Stainer-Hutchins didn’t work on, was the Angel of Death sequence which was overseen by Les Bowie, who also worked on other Hammer productions including Dracula (1958) and The Kiss of the Vampire (Don Sharp, 1963). Bowie was later part of the team that won an Oscar for the special effects on Superman (Richard Donner, 1978). Dooku: I was curious to see that the 1968 film was made so close to the original text, describing as it does the paganist ceremonies.This was the first time I came across a book by Dennis Wheatley & I am glad to say i was not disappointed. Terence Fisher was chosen to direct. Fisher, who began his film career as an editor, directed his first film, A Song for Tomorrow in 1948. He continued to direct low budget films for studios and television until 1957, when Hammer, impressed with his work ethic, offered him The Curse of Frankenstein (1957, Terence Fisher). Shot in lurid Eastmancolor, The Curse of Frankensteinfirmly established Hammer as forerunners in the gothic horror genre. It starred Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee who had worked together for years, though Cushing was better known at the time. In 1919 he took over management of the family's wine business. In 1931, however, after business had declined because of the Great Depression, he sold the firm and began writing. [4]