| The Devil's Advocate | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Guy Green |
| Written by | Morris West, based on his novelThe Devil's Advocate |
| Produced by | Lutz Hengst,Helmut Jedele |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Billy Williams |
| Music by | Bert Grund |
Release date |
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Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | West Germany |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $3 million[1] |
The Devil's Advocate, originally released asDes Teufels Advokat, is a 1977West German English-language drama film, directed byGuy Green (his final theatrical film) and based on the 1959novel of the same name by the Australian writerMorris West.
It starsJohn Mills,Paola Pitagora,Stéphane Audran,Leigh Lawson,Jason Miller andDaniel Massey. The film is set in Italy but was filmed predominantly inBavaria.
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 inSouthern Italy (Scontrone), before being executed by Italian Communistpartisans 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 theBritish Army during World War II and was hiding in this village, where he began a relationship with a local woman.
The film touches on homosexuality, priests cohabiting, theItalian Holocaust, and other sensitive topics.
Morris West wrote the screenplay from his novel of the same name. In January 1976J. Lee Thompson was announced as director.[4] Guy Green said it had the "possibility of being a great film" but "there was a fly in the ointment by the name of Morris West."[5]