The Devil's Advocate (1977 film)

The Devil's Advocate, originally released as Des Teufels Advokat, is a 1977 West German English-language film, directed by Guy Green (his final theatrical film) and based on the novel of the same name by the Australian writer Morris West.

The Devil's Advocate
Directed byGuy Green
Produced byLutz Hengst, Helmut Jedele
Written byMorris West, based on his novel The Devil's Advocate
StarringJohn Mills
Paola Pitagora
Stéphane Audran
Jason Miller
Leigh Lawson
Daniel Massey
Raf Vallone
Patrick Mower
Timothy West
Music byBert Grund
CinematographyBilly Williams
Release date
27 October 1977
Running time
104 minutes
CountryWest Germany
LanguageEnglish
Budget$3 million[1]

It stars John Mills, Paola Pitagora, Stéphane Audran, Leigh Lawson, Jason Miller and Daniel Massey. The film is set in Italy but was filmed predominantly in West Germany.

Plot

In 1958, the Catholic Church is investigating the case of a mysterious individual, Giacomo Nerone (Leigh Lawson), who is said to have performed miracles in a remote village in Southern Italy (Scontrone), before being executed by Italian Communist partisans in 1944. The process involves a "Devil's advocate", who is tasked with discovering any details about the subject's life which would indicate that canonisation would be inappropriate.

Monsignor Blaise Meredith (John Mills) is given this responsibility, shortly after he learns he has terminal cancer. Meredith discovers that Nerone was actually a British soldier named James Black, who had become detached from the British Army during WW2 and was hiding in this village, where he began a relationship with a local woman.

The film touches on homosexuality in the priesthood, persecution of Jews and other sensitive topics.

Cast

Production

Morris West wrote the screenplay from his novel of the same name.

References

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