Each October, the Unsung Horrors podcast does a month of themed movies. This year, they will again be setting up a fundraiser to benefit Best Friends, which is working to save the lives of cats and dogs all across America, giving pets second chances and happy homes.

Today’s theme: Made for TV Movie

The ABC Movie of the Week for January 9, 1973, The Devil’s Daughter, is very much Rosemary’s Baby, the home edition, and that’s perfectly fine. It gets so many of the 1970s occult rules right.

It stars Belinda Montgomery (Stone Cold Dead, Silent Madness, Doogie Howser’s mother) as Diane Shaw, a young woman who has just lost her mother Alice (Diane Ladd). At the funeral, she meets the rich Lilith Malone (Shelley Winters, fulfilling the most important law of Satanic film, that Old Hollywood wants to eat the young), who was a member of a cult with her mother, one that has been following Diane her entire life, ready for her to marry a demonic prince.

I’ve said it before, and I will say it so many more times but never come home to settle your parent’s estate after their mysterious death. Bad things always happen. As Diane works to settle down in a new town and work on the estate with Judge Weatherby (Joseph Cotten, yes, more Old Hollywood, a year fresh from Baron Blood). She gets a place to stay with Lilith, who gives her a ring that belonged to her mother. The symbol on this ring is the same one as a painting of Satan above the fireplace in Lilith’s home, as well as her baby book and even her favorite brand of cigarettes. Yes, even in 1973, Satan had a great marketing team. Or perhaps this is all predestined.

Diane even gets to go to elite parties. That’s not a good thing. There, she learns that she’s the Princess of Darkness who will marry the Demon of Endor. Yes, the place where Ewoks come from. You knew they were nefarious. At that party — shot very much like Rosemary’s Baby — you’ll even see Jonathan Frid from Dark Shadows as the butler, Lucille Benson (who ran the Susan B. Anthony Hotel for Women on Bosom Buddies) and Abe Vigoda as Alikhine, probably named for noted chess player Alexander Alekhine, as these devil worshippers have checkmated poor Diane.

Also, Abe Vigoda is the same age as I am now, and he always looked ancient. Now, I feel quite old.

Diane runs and gets a roommate, Susan (Barbara Sammeth), who is the sacrifice in this, dying ata horse’s hoovese! As much as she tries to avoid Lilith, she can’t escape. Not even when she meets a nice man named Steve Stone (Robert Foxworth), an architect who soon marries her. But if you know your demonic films, you won’t be shocked to learn that he’s the demon that Wicket W. Warrick prays to every night, the Demon of Endor.

Director Jeannot Szwarc made plenty of TV movies and episodes of Night Gallery before directing Jaws 2, Bug and Santa Claus: The Movie. I love that this was written by Colin Higgins. Yes, the same man who wrote Harold and Maude would go on to direct 9 to 5 and Foul Play.

Do you think your father is terrible? Diane’s dad is Satan. And her husband? He has blank eyes because he has no soul! The best part is the reveal that Satan, who we have seen in shadow and who has crutches, ends up being Joseph Cotten and he has cloven hooves for feet! I don’t know if I can love a movie as much as I love The Devil’s Daughter.

You can watch this on Daily Motion.