The Mephisto Waltz

A dying pianist makes a deal with the devil to possess the body of a younger man.

The Mephisto Waltz has one thing going for it: Jacqueline Bisset. She’s gorgeous and when she’s on screen you don’t mind the plodding story and you overlook the gaping plot holes. When she’s not on screen however, these faults become very apparent.

The rest of the cast does a decent, if unremarkable job. Curd Jürgens is enjoyable as the satanic pianist, and Alan Alda tries very hard to make us believe Jacqueline Bisset could be married to him.

Until the finale, which is right out of left-field ala Tales From the Crypt, the script is predictable with no real suspense or surprises. The real problem however, is that there’s only 45 minutes of story here, but The Mephisto Waltz runs more than twice that length.

The direction is adequate, with decent atmospherics, but on the whole, the production never seems to rise above T.V.-movie status.

With a shorter running time, this would have made a great Tales From the Crypt episode, but as it stands The Mephisto Waltz is quite forgettable.