Beating the Devil

Book excerpt: The film's troublesome production schedule is brought vividly to life through Tony Earnshaw's enthusiastic style - including new research and original interviews. Earnshaw's book tracks the film's development from the original ghost story Casting the Runes by M R James through the various shooting scripts, alternative titles, and the challenging production work, to the final theatrical release. Along the way there are anecdotes, analysis and fascinating insights into British movie making in the 1950s, as well as previously unseen production designs by Sir Ken Adam, who went on to create the gadgets and secret bases that helped make the Bond series an international phenomenon. With a comprehensive location guide and biographies of all the onstage and backstage players, Beating The Devil - the Making of Night of the Demon is the definitive book on what has been described as "The Casablanca of Horror Films".