Bedazzled

This 1967 comedy isn’t the classic that some fans believe, and is not quite as consistently hilarious as you would like, but it will certainly come as a revelation to anyone who is only familiar with the execrable 2000 Harold Ramis-directed remake with Brendan Fraser. Dudley Moore makes his feature debut as the love-struck, suicidal short-order cook Stanley, while his old Beyond the Fringe partner Peter Cook plays the devil, who grants Stanley seven wishes, only to undermine and befoul them at every turn. The most striking feature of this playful satire, something that Ramis and company never dared to touch, is that Cook’s devil, demonic scamp though he may be, actually takes a personal interest in Stanley’s welfare, while God remains cold, distant, unseen—and a bit of a dick.