The Criterion Collection talks about itself as “dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions of the highest technical quality” — and arguably, a film has never fit that purpose quite as well as All That Money Can Buy. Starting life as RKO Pictures production in 1941, at the same time as Citizen Kane, it's understandably always been a bit overshadowed. For a long time, it wasn't even possible to view it in its entirety. After its initial theatrical run, it was recut to a swift 87 minutes and renamed — first to The Devil and Daniel Webster (the title of the short story it was adapted from), and later to Daniel and the Devil. It wasn't until its initial Criterion release on LaserDisc in the 90s that the original 106-minute cut of All That Money Can Buy was preserved and made publicly available.
Although it's now over 80 years old, All That Money Can Buy remains painfully relevant today. Jabez Stone (James Craig), is a down-on-his-luck farmer pushed to the edge of his limits by an economic downturn in his industry, while he also has a young family and ageing mother to support. It seems the only hope for him and other farmers in the area is Senator Daniel Webster (Edward Arnold) — a charismatic orator with his sights set on the United States Presidency.
It may be accused, at times, as being a bit on the nose, but that doesn't take away from the relevancy and endurance of the moral lessons that All That Money Can Buy presents. For example, in a scene where Daniel Webster is writing a speech, he has the Devil (Walter Huston) quite literally on his shoulder telling him he'll never be elected as President if he keeps fighting for what's right. It's not quite in those words but the idea is clear. Perhaps it's a sign of the times we now live in, but it is actually quite refreshing to see political commentary that's both completely transparent and totally obvious about the message it bears.
As Jabez continues to face hardships, he finally snaps. On a rainy evening when nothing seems to be going right for him, he exclaims that he'd happily sell his soul for two cents if he could. Either fortunately or unfortunately, the Devil is in earshot to offer him just that kind of deal. This is where All That Money Can Buy starts to lean on the folklore history of the area that it's set in — New England. In a similar vein to films like Robert Eggers's The Witch, or even Disney's Hocus Pocus, it's established that this is an area with a long history of weird stuff going on. The Devil himself even makes reference to it — insisting that he wouldn't expect a man from New England to turn his offer down.
It's no coincidence that all of this stuff can happen in this part of the world. With its rural, working-class Christian history, it's the perfect setting for All That Money Can Buy to explore its real purpose — to examine how religion and capitalism interact with one another, and how they influence the systems that we've created to govern ourselves with. Jabez, Daniel Webster and the Devil are all products of New England, and none of them would exist with the same morality if they weren't.
With this new release by Criterion, the visual art of All That Money Can Buy has finally been found again. A brand new 4K restoration presents the film with a clarity that it hasn't been seen in for a long time — if ever. Its cinematography is reminiscent of Citizen Kane in a few ways — deep focus, low angles, and even similar lighting techniques to induce heavy shadows. With them both being released theatrically by the same distributor in the same year, it's natural to wonder whether All That Money Can Buy might have been afforded more praise for some of their common elements if it had preceded Citizen Kane rather than coming alongside it.
All That Money Can Buy is as important now as it has ever been. Religion and capitalism are two systems that still clash with one another, and democracy is still an imperfect solution to attempt to govern them. The portrayal of working-class morality within all of these competing ideologies still feels as if it's speaking directly to the modern day. As a Criterion release, it's just as important — it's a case study of why the collection is such an essential part of the film industry itself. Without it, we may have never seen the full original version of such a pertinent film at all.
All That Money Can Buy will be released on Blu-ray on 8th April 2024
