Studio: Film Masters
Release Date: September 1961 (theatrical) (The Devil’s Partner) / June 1961 (Creature from the Haunted Sea) / January 16th, 2024 (blu-ray)
Run Time: 1 hour 13 minutes 53 seconds (theatrical and TV) (The Devil’s Partner) / 1 hour 0 minutes 16 seconds (theatrical) (Creature from the Haunted Sea), 1 hour 14 minutes 53 seconds (TV version) (Creature from the Haunted Sea)
Region Code: FREE
Disc Count: 2 (BD-50)
Picture: 1080p (1.85:1 and 1.33:1 aspect ratios) (both films)
Sound: English DYS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English Dolby Digital 2.0 (both films)
Subtitles: English SDH (Devil’s Partner) / English (Creature from the Haunted Sea) / English (commentary tracks for both films)
Slipcover: No
Digital Copy: No
Starring: Ed Nelson, Edgar Buchanan, Jean Allison, Richard Crane (Devil’s Partner) / Antony Carbone, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Robert Towne, Beach Dickerson (Creature from the Haunted Sea)
Picture: 1080p (1.85:1 and 1.33:1 aspect ratios) (both films)
Sound: English DYS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English Dolby Digital 2.0 (both films)
Subtitles: English SDH (Devil’s Partner) / English (Creature from the Haunted Sea) / English (commentary tracks for both films)
Slipcover: No
Digital Copy: No
Starring: Ed Nelson, Edgar Buchanan, Jean Allison, Richard Crane (Devil’s Partner) / Antony Carbone, Betsy Jones-Moreland, Robert Towne, Beach Dickerson (Creature from the Haunted Sea)
Written by Stanley Clements, Laura Jean Mathews (Devil’s Partner) / Charles B. Griffith (Creature from the Haunted Sea)
Directed by Charles R. Rondeau (Devil’s Partner) / Roger Corman (Creature from the Haunted Sea)
Rating: Not Rated (some scary scenes) (Devil’s Partner) /
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Poster(s)
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What's It About?
An old man sells his soul to the devil, and turns into a young man. He then uses witchcraft and black magic to win a woman from his rival. (Devil’s Partner)
American crook Renzo Capetto sees a chance to make a bundle when a Caribbean island has a revolution. He plans to help loyalists (and the national treasury) escape on his boat, then kill the men and blame their deaths on a mythical sea monster. Trouble ensues when the _real_ monster shows up! (Creature from the Haunted Sea)
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Video/Audio
DEVIL'S PARTNER looks really good. The black and white photography looks gorgeous in 1080p with strong blacks and balanced whites. Film grain fluctuates throughout the film with it being heavy at times and light at other times. Detail is high and clarity is impressive. The film is presented in both its theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and its TV aspect ratio of 1.33:1.
CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA begins with the following text:
Creature from the Haunted Sea has long been in a state of poor condition as a public domain film. We were fortunate to find a rare surviving 35mm print, which was scanned in 4K and has undergone a tremendous amount of restoration. Unfortunately, as is the case with physical assets, some sections were simply too degraded to repair. Consequently, parts of this presentation use a restored HD 15mm print inserted in order to present the most complete, true-to-original viewing experience possible.
I like that Film Masters added this screen before the theatrical version of the film (they didn't for the TV version, which means they come from different sources) as it gives the haters something to chew on. The shift between the two sources is very apparent as all of the film grain is sucked away and the resolution goes down. The picture becomes a bit blurrier too. The footage from the 35mm print looks great. The picture has some imperfections, but that is expected, given the history noted above. While the down tick in quality between the two sources is very apparent, we don't really care because this is the only way we will be able to see the film. You have to hedge those expectations. The picture can be soft at times which drops the detail but these happen with public domain films so I give it a pass. Film Masters did an admirable job with CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA and I can say with a certain degree of certainty that this is going to be the best we will ever see the film and with results like these, I am fine with that.
CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA is presented in both the film's original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and its TV aspect ratio of 1.37:1. This TV aspect ratio version is the TV version of the film that runs 15 minutes longer.
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Extras/Packaging
Disc 1: Devil's Partner
Commentary for The Devil’s Partner (found in the Setup menu) The Monster Party Podcast has provided this track and it's fine. Sometimes the commentators can be annoying but they get the job done. I don't think I will ever listen to this track again but I think people might like it.
Hollywood Intruders: The Filmgroup Story: Part 3 documentary (21m 4s, HD, 1.85:1) This is a continuation of the Filmgroup retrospective done as an interview with C. Courtney Joyner. The first part was included on the Beast from Haunted Cave / Ski Troop Attack blu-ray while the second part was on the THE TERROR / LITTLE SHOW OF HORRORS blu-ray. Joyner goes from film to film, giving us history and fun facts along the way. Joyner is one of my favorite film historians out there.
Roger Corman: Remembering the Filmgroup featurette (10m 46s, HD, 1.85:1) This is an interview with Corman. While it is always nice to hear about his long career, there really isn't anything new to be told here.
2024 re-cut trailer for The Devil’s Partner (1m 24s, HD, 1.85:1) I love when Film Masters remake a film's trailer with newly restored footage, but I do wish they included the original trailer as is. (They did include the original trailer for the other film found in this set, Creature from the Haunted Sea so they do it on a case-by-case basis, it seems)
Disc 2: Creature from the Haunted Sea
Commentary for Creature from the Haunted Sea (found in Setup menu) Now this more like it. We get to sit down with historian Tom Weaver as he goes through the film. Weaver does warn us at the front of the track that he is not going to be the one guiding us through the film like he usually does. He has others read quotes from the filmmakers along with Corman showing up in the form of an interview. I was a bit thrown off by all this at first but I got used to it and grew to appreciate what they were doing with the track. This track plays over the Theatrical Version of the film.
Original 16mm trailer for Creature from the Haunted Sea (1m, HD, 1.78:1)
2024 re-cut trailer for Creature from the Haunted Sea (1m 25s, HD, 1.85:1) This one runs 25 seconds longer
Before-and-after restoration video for Creature from the Haunted Sea (2m 36s, HD, 1.78:1) Watching this after watching the film will make you appreciate all of the hard work Film Masters put into this making this the best release of the film possible.
The packaigng here is what we have come to expect from Film Masters. This is a double feature release so we get the main film's (THE DEVIL'S PARTNER) poster artwork as the main artwork with the "B-movie's" artwork (CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA) getting a smaller portion of the cover art. Inside, you will fine a 22-page booklet featuring an essay about the making of THE DEVIL'S PARTNER by Mark McGee (who wrote an essay about LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS for the booklet found in the Film Masters Blu-ray release of THE TERROR/LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. There is also an essay about the making of CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA by Tom Weaver along with a brief appreciation of the song sung in the film by Larry Blamire. There's also some poster art and other promotional pieces scattered throughout the booklet. Both discs feature the poster art of the film found on that disc.
Both films are divided up into 8 chapters for each film.
Both discs are REGION FREE
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Overall
DEVIL'S PARTNER is a mess of a film with a major flaw being we aren't sure what is going on. We, in 2025, can figure it out before the film tells us (in the last few minutes, mind you) but I would have hated being a kid sitting in the theater in 1960, trying to figure out what is going on. It feels like the film goes out of its way to keep everything a secret until the sheriff figures things out. This is not the way a film like this should be told. That being said, a few scenes work but the rest is not very good.
Unlike with THE DEVIL'S PARTNER, CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA is the film we expected it to be. The plot is told in a manner in which we can follow and understand what is going on with characters that entertain us with their wackiness. The film is fast and funny and has one of the best jump scares of all time. Everyone talks about the "CLEAR" jump scare from JOHN CARPENTER'S THE THING and the "Hallway" jump scare from THE EXORCIST III but neither of them can hold a candle to the jump scare here.
So, is this blu-ray worth picking up? Yes. Film Masters has been keeping the price of their releases pretty low and many of them come with two films. Both films are entertaining in their own rights, even if one of them isn't all that great (THE DEVIL'S PARTNER). The history lessons found on both of these discs are worth shelling out the little money Film Masters is asking for. I could listen to C. Courtney Joyner and Tom Weaver tell me the history about anything. I do wish Film Masters had gone with a different commentary crew for THE DEVIL'S PARTNER, thoug,h as these guys are trying way too hard to be funny. It doesn't work and it made me want to turn the track off numerous times. The rest of the features are worth the time. I would recommend this release to just about anyone who has even a passing curiosity about older horror flicks.
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Extras/Menus
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Film
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