A morality tale for the ages, émigré Hollywood director William Dieterle's 1941 The Devil and Daniel Webster (aka All That Money Can Buy) combines European expressionism with quintessential Americana. Based on a short story by celebrated author Stephen Vincent Benét, it offers a study in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, in which patriotism is cast in dramatic conflict with servitude to greed and materialism.

Echoing the German legend of Faust, down-on-his-luck farmer Jabez Stone (James Craig) makes an existential pact with the devil – seven years of prosperity in return for his soul. When the devil incarnate Mr. Scratch (Walter Huston) comes a-calling, Stone begins to have second thoughts, enlisting famed orator and folk hero Daniel Webster (Edward Arnold) to fight what becomes, for each of them, a case of life and death.

The Devil and Daniel Webster was widely lauded on its release – Bernard Hermann's score won an Oscar for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture, while Huston was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role – and is still regarded as an American classic. It also features French actress Simone Simon as Belle, quite possibly the most seductive temptress the silver screen has ever seen (there's even a short thread to this effect on the movie's IMDb page!).

The Devil and Daniel Webster will be released on UK DVD by Eureka as part of the Masters of Cinema series on 23rd February 2008 at the RRP of £19.99. This will be the film's first ever appearance on any home video format in this country. Featuring the director's cut of the film (which was severely shorn after its original release), an optimal digital transfer with restored picture and sound and subtitles for the deaf and heard of hearing, and a 60 page booklet with archival publicity stills, an essay by professor Tony Williams, an article by director William Dieterle, and a celebration of the film by author Stephen Vincent Benét, whose short story The Devil and Daniel Webster is reprinted in its entirety.