The Devil’s Messenger (1961)
Directed by Herbert L. Strock (alongside uncredited Swedish co-director Curt Siodmak) and released to drive-ins and television syndication in 1961, The Devil’s Messenger is a bizarre, highly atmospheric horror anthology feature. Assembled by Herts-Lion International Corp. by stitching together unedited episodes of the short-lived 1959 Swedish-American television series 13 Demon Street, this 72-minute omnibus stars horror icon Lon Chaney Jr. as Satan himself, flanked by Swedish starlet Karen Condazian and John Crawford.
Plot Overview
Deep within the subterranean caverns of the underworld, Satan (Lon Chaney Jr.) grows restless with his domain. To expand his sinister influence on Earth, the Devil rescues a suicide victim, a beautiful young woman named Satanya (Karen Condazian), from eternal damnation on the condition that she become his personal earthly messenger. Her mission: to orchestrate a trio of macabre, deadly scenarios on the surface world that will drive human souls directly into hell.
The film unspools as three distinct tales of terror presented by Satan: first, a photographer purchases an antique camera that reveals haunting images of a woman frozen inside a block of ice—a vision that drives him to murderous obsession; second, a scientist unearths a 50,000-year-old preserved woman whose telepathic aura compels men to violent suicide; and third, a suave gentleman receives an eerie fortune-telling machine that accurately foretells his own horrific death. With each successful tragedy, Satanya delivers more souls to her master, culminating in Satan’s grand, apocalyptic plan to detonate a nuclear weapon and claim the entire planet for his hellish kingdom.
Cast
- Lon Chaney Jr. as Satan / The Devil
- Karen Condazian as Satanya
- John Crawford as Donald Winter
- Tammy Windsor as The Model
- Michael Hinn as John Wood
- Ralph Brown as Charlie
- Bert Johnson as Dr. Hume
- Jan Bernander as The Photographer
Production Notes & Trivia
- Recycled Swedish Television Origins: The feature was created by re-editing three standalone episodes of 13 Demon Street, an unsold 13-episode mystery series filmed in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1959. To bridge the episodes into a cohesive theatrical feature, producer Kenneth Herts hired Herbert L. Strock to shoot new wraparound framing sequences starring Lon Chaney Jr. on a soundstage in Hollywood.
- Curt Siodmak’s Uncredited Hand: Legendary horror screenwriter and director Curt Siodmak (The Wolf Man, Donovan’s Brain) directed the original TV episodes on location in Sweden, bringing his signature European gothic flair to the ice-cube murder and prehistoric telepathy segments.
- Lon Chaney Jr.’s Diabolical Turn: Top-billed Lon Chaney Jr. delivers a delightfully hammy, booming performance as Satan. Sitting atop a throne made of artificial rocks while gazing into glowing crystal balls and projection screens, Chaney’s theatrical framing segments give the low-budget anthology its distinct drive-in appeal.
