The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)

This was one of the earliest movies about the devil, and Walter Huston was one of the first stars to see that it’s scarier to play the devil as soft-spoken than as raging and monstrous. He’s a fallen angel, after all.

In the film, based on the Stephen Vincent Benét story, Mr. Scratch rigs a trial against statesman and attorney Daniel Webster that ends up also serving as a trial for America itself.

It’s diabolical for how wittily it Trojan horses a history lesson into a supposed fantasy-horror film. It ended up being one of the earlier horror films to successfully commingle chills and social satire.