If you missed the last one…
“The Devil’s Ticket” (Weird Tales, September 1944) is that dusty old chestnut, a Deal-With-the-Devil tale. Robert Bloch gives it a nice double twist ending and even takes some of his inspiration from literature, Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage (1915). Our tale begins with a scene familiar to the Great Depression reader, a man is pawning his effects to fill his stomach. The man is Hector Vane, a talented but unknown painter who likes to wear a cape. (Bloch relishes using a name like “Vane” for a character who is terribly ‘vain’. A little on-the-nose nowadays.) Vane takes one of his paintings to the pawn shop but the new proprietor isn’t interested, despite Vane’s obvious genius. Instead the goblin-like vendor offers to take a lease on Vane’s soul. If he can return in ninety days with a portrait that truly captures the soul and returns the devil’s ticket, he can keep his soul and his newfound fame. If not, a soul must be paid.
The artist returns home without the ten dollars he was hoping to get but his wife, Marie, runs to him and tells of a gallery owner who has phoned. In days Hector Vane is famous and rich. Having gained a new status and wealth, he dumps Marie for his new model, Nadja, a spoiled and unintelligent beauty. He attempts to paint her very soul but fails over and over. This leads him to go back to the pawnshop early. The devil tells him that the painting can be of anyone and that person will lose their soul, not him. He also warns Hector that women are his allies.
Vane has a wife problem in Marie. He calls her, asking if he can paint her. He does, creating his true masterpiece. Done with the painting, he calls Nadja, who he has neglected for a week and wants to meet. He sends Marie off with some money to get rid of her. Nadja comes by and sees the painting. She is immediately jealous and leaves, making Vane realize he is actually in love with his wife. Tired after days of no sleep, he goes to bed. When he wakes he finds that Nadja has burnt the painting. Desperate, with only one day left of his ninety, he hastily does another painting.
The next day, the devil comes to his house demanding his painting. The painting is uncovered. It is another masterpiece, of the devil himself. Vane has beat the devil, giving him what he asked for “his portrait”. He crows a little in victory. The devil admits defeat if Vane can return the blue ticket as instructed. He has left this in his old cape. When he goes to the closet, he finds a new cape that Marie bought with the money he gave her. She has burned the old cape and the ticket. The devil claims Vane’s soul. The devil reminds him that women are his allies.
Bloch has gotten pretty good with humorous Horror by 1944. He spent the last two years writing Lefty Feep Fantasy stories for Ray A. Palmer as well as a number of tongue-in-cheek Horror yarns for Unknown. Unlike the Feep stories, Bloch doesn’t let himself go all-out with the laughs. Inspired by the women in Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage, Bloch has come up with his own version. He will use a love triangle scenario again soon in “The Man Who Cried Wolf” (Weird Tales, May 1945).
Thriller
Once again, it is Thriller that is using the old Weird Tales stories. This episode aired on April 18, 1961 and was adapted by Bloch himself, now working in Hollywood. It was directed by Jules Bricken. Bloch restructures the story in two scenes, otherwise remains accurate to his original. The first is the show’s opener. We actually get to meet Spengler, the owner of the shop. In the story, he is mentioned but no longer owns the business. Spengler is played by famous face, Robert Cornthwaite. (The name Spengler had me thinking of Dr. Egon Spengler in The Ghostbusters (1984). The store owner is summoned by a voice in the backroom. The door slams shut and smoke pours out from under the door. Spengler is the first victim of the devil.
Then we meet Hector Vane (Macdonald Carey) and his wife, Marie (Joan Tetzel) in poverty. The story goes along as in the Bloch tale. We meet John Emery as the pawnbroker/devil. He plays the part well, with a twinkle in his eye that could have come from Bloch himself. Later there is Nadja (Patricia Medina, a brunette, not a blonde). For some reason (I suspect length) Bloch adds a scene with a new character, a psychiatrist named Dr. Frank (played by Hayden Rork, who was another doctor on The Lucy Show.) Frank agrees to meet the pawnbroker if Vane signs on as a patient. Later Hector goes to Frank’s office and the devil is waiting there. Dr. Frank, we are told, has taken a permanent vacation.
The rest of the episode goes on with Nadja destroying Marie’s portrait onstage. Everything follows the story with the exception that the goofy cape has been replaced by an overcoat, which Marie has burned. The devil locks her out as he claims his prize. John Emery raised his cape (yes, he gets the cape) Bela Lugosi style and takes his victim. There is a very effective shot of Vane screaming as he sees Hell unfold. The last shot is Marie pounding on the door as smoke billows out from under. The ending, with scream and banging wife, is almost a literal copy of the ending of “The Cheaters”.
Conclusion
I can only imagine the satisfaction Robert Bloch must have felt at this episode. In the last one, “Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper”, the story lost much of its original punch. Not here. This is a very faithful adaptation even if the tale is a minor one. I can’t claim to be a fan of overly humorous Fantasy (heroic or dark). My favorite Bloch tales are the Lovecraftian ones like “Notebook Found in an Deserted House” or “The Shambler From the Stars”. This tale is more in the John Collier vein. (Or should that be Vane?) Deals-with-the-Devil are at least as old as the Faust legend (probably older) and can be found in Gothic novels like The Monk (1796) and Melmoth the Wanderer (1820). Bloch gives us a modern take on an old classic.
Next time…Mary Elizabeth Counselman’s “Parasite Mansion”!
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