Episode 543: The Mephisto Waltz (1971)

#Shocktober2021 continues with a look at Paul Wendkos’s The Mephisto Waltz (1971). Based on the novel by Fred Mustard Stewart, the film stars Alan Alda as Myles Clarkson, a pianist turned author along with Jacqueline Bisset as Myles’s wife Paula who isn’t a big fan of Myles’s new friend, the crotchety professional pianist Duncan Ely (Curd Jürgens), who harbors a dark secret. Rahne Alexander and Andrew Nette join Mike to discuss the film, its similarities to Rosemary's Baby, and how this and other supernatural flicks paved the way to the '80s "satanic panic".