The Sorrows of Satan (1926 film)
| The Sorrows of Satan | |
|---|---|
 Promotional release poster | |
| Directed by | D. W. Griffith |
| Written by | Forrest Halsey George C. Hull John Russell |
| Based on | The Sorrows of Satan by Marie Corelli |
| Starring | Adolphe Menjou Ricardo Cortez Carol Dempster Lya De Putti Ivan Lebedeff |
| Cinematography | Harry A. Fischbeck Arthur De Titta |
| Edited by | Julian Johnson |
| Music by | Hugo Riesenfeld |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 111 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | Silent film English intertitles |
The Sorrows of Satan is a 1926 American silent film directed by D. W. Griffith, and based on the 1895 novel The Sorrows of Satan by Marie Corelli. At this point in his career, Griffith had given up his independent filmmaker status by joining Paramount Pictures.
A previous version of Corelli's novel had been filmed in England in 1917, but that version was not nearly as faithful to the novel as the 1926 remake.[1][2][3] Reportedly Griffith did not want to do this project, but as his first Paramount assignment he was not given a choice. Remarkably, however, the film turned out to be one of Griffith's most fully realized works and its critical stock has risen considerably in the last several decades. After Griffith finished the film, it was taken out of his control and re-edited by Julian Johnson. This was Carol Dempster's final screen role, although she lived until 1991.[4]
A still from the film was used on the cover of the 1979 song "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by the English band Bauhaus.[5]
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Adolphe Menjou | Prince Lucio de Rimanez |
| Ricardo Cortez | Geoffrey Tempest |
| Carol Dempster | Mavis Claire |
| Lya De Putti | Princess Olga |
| Ivan Lebedeff | Amiel |
Plot
Adolphe Menjou stars as Prince Lucio de Rimanez, who is in fact really Satan assuming a human form. When struggling writer Geoffrey Tempest (Ricardo Cortez) is moved to curse God for his misfortunes, Prince Lucio makes a sudden appearance, informing Tempest that he has inherited a fortune. The only proviso is that Tempest must place his fate entirely in the Prince's hands. As he ascends to the uppermost rungs of European society, Tempest is ordered by Lucio to marry Russian Princess Olga (Lya De Putti), even though the writer still loves his sweetheart Mavis Claire (Carol Dempster). Eventually, Prince Lucio reveals his true identity, but not before Olga has committed suicide. After rejecting the devil and all his false promises, Tempest lives happily ever after with Mavis.
Production
This film, like The Queen of Sheba and Ben-Hur, was released in a different edit in Europe due to nudity. The American version of The Sorrows of Satan had Lya de Putti's character play a nightclub scene with enough attire to pass the censors. In the European version, Griffith shot the nightclub scene with de Putti bare breasted.[6]
References
- ^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 305. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
- ^ the Sorrows of Satan 1917 directed by Alexander Butler; silentera database
- ^ The Sorrows of Satan 1926 D.W. Griffith; silentera database
- ^ Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 305. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
- ^ "BAUHAUS Exhumed—An Interview with Kevin Haskins". Post Punk.com. Retrieved August 15, 2019.
- ^ The Love Goddesses documentary c.1965 narrated by Robert Youngson ...Retrieved April 15, 2018
External links
- The Sorrows of Satan at IMDb
- The Sorrows of Satan at AllMovie
- The Sorrows of Satan available for free download @ Internet Archive
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