I am 3/4 of the way through reading the novel and it is remarkable how faithful Whale's film is to the book. Priestly's language is wonderful and he describes the house as smelling of "mice and old newspapers." Just like an old man's apartment down the hall from ours many years ago!
shareFinished the book. Whale improved on Priestly's original in his treatment of Saul. In the book, Saul comes in and goes right after Penderel. The whole thing is over very quickly. Whale's demonic teasing with Saul's slow unveiling as a madman is outstanding.
shareThank you for your comparison!
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Just caught this movie on TCM and loved every minute of it. Was curious about the Priestly novel and so enjoyed reading your comments very much. Thanks for posting. And remember....NO BEDS....NO BEDS!!!
shareJust finished the book. By watching the movie first, it made the pages really 'come alive'
It's so much easier when you can put a voice, face, and personality to it.
I may be bad; but I'm not offal
I am just about finished with the book, and I too found it remarkable how closely Whale followed Priestley's text.
The main difference is in the character of Penderel. There's a lot more to him in the novel, ie background, but I think it probably just didn't interest Whale as much as some of the other characters.
I am toying with the idea of writing a stage adaptation, and I definitely want to use some of Priestley's portrayal of Penderel. His backstory has given me some cracking ideas for staging the finale.
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I didn't know this was based off a book? I honestly didn't like the movie much, maybe the book will have a bigger impression on me!
OPEN YOUR EYES! dailymotion.com/video/xbi2hi_1993-chandler-molestation-extortion_news
Where did you get copy of the book? Amazon.com wants fifty bucks for one!
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