Film vs Film
Select two cult films to compare side by side.
That Devil, Bateese Synopsis
After her romance with Martin Stuart shatters, Kathleen St. John leaves Montreal for the little village of Montrouge, where she plans to teach school. Kathleen loses her way between the station and the village and is attacked in the woods by the town bully, Louis Courteau. Seeing a pretty woman in distress, Bateese Latour, a warmhearted lumberjack whose drunken temper tantrums have earned him the sobriquet "That devil, Bateese," beats off her attacker. A short time later, Bateese falls in love with Kathleen, and promising to abandon his drinking, he carries her off and marries her. When Martin comes to Montrouge, however, Bateese becomes convinced that Kathleen still loves her former sweetheart and paddles away in his canoe, intending to let the falls carry him to his death. Louis's sister, a pathetic creature who is still clad in the wedding dress she wore when her groom deserted her, recognizes Martin as her long-lost lover, whereupon Kathleen rushes out to find Bateese. Hurt, but still alive on the bank below the waterfall, Bateese returns home with his wife.
The Last Man Synopsis
After a tour of duty in the Philippines, Major Harvey, an army surgeon, returns to his home in Montana to discover his wife Lorna has begun an affair with Lieutenant Horne, whom she marries after Harvey divorces her. Weary of his former wife's high society sophistication, Harvey falls in love with Jeanne MacDonald, a young woman from the mountains, and, giving her a job as an army nurse, returns with her to the Philippines. Meanwhile, Horne has also been stationed there, and brings Lorna with him. The Philippine rebels attack the Americans, and the two couples find themselves under siege together. During the fighting, Lorna, tired of Horne, begins flirting with her ex-husband. After the rebels have been defeated, however, Harvey rejects Lorna and marries Jeanne.
"That Devil, Bateese" holds a slight edge in general audience appreciation, but "The Last Man" offers its own unique cult appeal.
Suggested Watch:
That Devil, Bateese