''The Sorrows of Satan'' is a 1926 American silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by D. W. Griffith, and based on the 1895 allegorical horror novel ''

The Sorrows of Satan ''The Sorrows of Satan'' is an 1895 Faustian novel by Marie Corelli. It is widely regarded as one of the world's first best-sellers – partly due to an upheaval in the system British libraries used to purchase their books, and partly due to its ...

'' by

Marie Corelli Mary Mackay (1 May 185521 April 1924), also called Minnie Mackey, and known by her pseudonym Marie Corelli (, also , ), was an English novelist. From the appearance of her first novel ''A Romance of Two Worlds'' in 1886, she became the bestsel ...

. Reportedly Griffith did not want to do this project, but as his first Paramount Pictures assignment he was not given a choice. 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. The film featured

Carol Dempster Carol Dempster (December 9, 1901 – February 1, 1991) was an American film actress of the silent film era. She appeared in films from 1916 to 1926, working with D. W. Griffith extensively. Early years Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Dempster was ...

's final screen role, although she lived until 1991.Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). ''Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era''. Midnight Marquee Press. p. 305. .

Plot

Adolphe Menjou Adolphe Jean Menjou (February 18, 1890 – October 29, 1963) was an American actor. His career spanned both silent films and talkies. He appeared in such films as Charlie Chaplin's ''A Woman of Paris'', where he played the lead role; Stanley K ...

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

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

n Princess Olga ( Lya De Putti), even though the writer still loves his sweetheart Mavis Claire (

). Eventually, Prince Lucio reveals his true identity, but not before Olga has committed suicide. After rejecting the

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

and all his false promises, Tempest lives happily ever after with Mavis.

Cast

Production

It was Griffith's first film for Paramount Pictures following a string of independent productions. After Griffith finished the film, it was taken out of his control and re-edited by Julian Johnson. A version of Corelli's novel had been filmed in England in 1917, but Griffith's adaptation was closer to the novel. This film, like ''

The Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba ( he, מַלְכַּת שְׁבָא‎, Malkaṯ Šəḇāʾ; ar, ملكة سبأ, Malikat Sabaʾ; gez, ንግሥተ ሳባ, Nəgśətä Saba) is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she bring ...

'' (1921) and '' Ben-Hur'' (1925), 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.

Cultural influence

A still from the film was used on the cover of the 1979 song " Bela Lugosi's Dead" by the English band

Bauhaus The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 20 ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sorrows Of Satan, The 1926 films 1920s romantic fantasy films American silent feature films Films based on British horror novels Films based on works by Marie Corelli American romantic fantasy films Films directed by D. W. Griffith The Devil in film American black-and-white films 1920s American films Films with screenplays by John Russell (screenwriter) Films about writers Silent horror films