The Sorrows of Satan (1926 film)

1926 film

The Sorrows of Satan

Release insert 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
James Smith
Music by| Hugo Riesenfeld
Distributed by| Paramount Pictures

Release date

* October 12, 1926 (1926-10-12)

Running time

| 111 minutes
Country| United States
Language| Silent (English intertitles)
Budget| $1,050,000[1]
Box office| $1,750,000[1]
The full film

The Sorrows of Satan is a 1926 American silent drama film directed by D. W. Griffith, and based on the 1895 allegorical horror novel The Sorrows of Satan by Marie Corelli.[2]

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 in her final screen role, although she lived until 1991.[3]

## Plot

[edit]

As described in a film magazine review,[4] the old tale is told of how the archangel Lucifer defied the authority of God and was dismissed from heaven until by a redemption of souls he again earns his right in the high places. Struggling writer Geoffrey Tempest denounces God and declares himself willing to sell his soul to the devil in return for worldly possessions. His wish is granted when Prince Lucio de Rimanez appears and leads him on a merry pace, informing Tempest that he has inherited a fortune with the only proviso is that Tempest must place his fate entirely in the Prince's hands. Rimanez, who is in fact really Satan, influences Tempest to abandon his sweetheart Mavis Claire. Tempest tastes life at its sweetest, or at its bitterest, as you will, and ascends to the uppermost rungs of European society. He is ordered to marry Russian Princess Olga, who becomes infatuated with Rimanez. The latter spurns her, but Tempest sees her infidelity. The Princess commits suicide, and Tempest continues on his way. Later, when he can no longer stand this sort of life, he realizes that money is not everything. It is here that Rimanez drops his role of benefactor and reveals himself in his true light. Tempest returns to Mavis, whose belief in God is sufficient to thwart the devil. Rimanez fades from view, the inference being that he is now closer to heaven. Tempest lives happily ever after with Mavis.

## Cast

[edit]

Actor | Role

|

Adolphe Menjou | Prince Lucio de Rimanez
Ricardo Cortez | Geoffrey Tempest
Carol Dempster | Mavis Claire
Lya De Putti | Princess Olga
Ivan Lebedeff | Amiel
Nellie Savage | The Dancer

## Production

[edit]

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.[3]

A version of Corelli's novel had been filmed in England in 1917,[5] but Griffith's adaptation was closer to the novel.[3]

This film, like The Queen of Sheba (1921) and Ben-Hur (1925), was released in a different edit in Europe due to its 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]

## Cultural influence

[edit]

A still from the film was used on the cover of the 1979 song "Bela Lugosi's Dead" by the English band Bauhaus.[7]

## See also

[edit]

* The Devil (1921)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Griffith's 20 Year Record". Variety. September 5, 1928. p. 12. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
2. ^ Progressive Silent Film List: The Sorrows of Satan at silentera.com
3. ^ a b c Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era. Midnight Marquee Press. p. 305. ISBN 978-1936168-68-2.
4. ^ "The Sorrows of Satan". The Film Daily. 38 (38). New York City: Wid's Films and Film Folks, Inc.: 8 November 14, 1926. Retrieved December 23, 2023. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
5. ^ The Sorrows of Satan 1917 directed by Alexander Butler; silentera database
6. ^ Saul J. Turell (1965). The Love Goddesses: A History of Sex in the Cinema (documentary film). Paramount Pictures. Event occurs at 17:43. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
7. ^ "BAUHAUS Exhumed—An Interview with Kevin Haskins". Post Punk.com. March 16, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2019.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Sorrows of Satan (1926 film).

* The Sorrows of Satan at IMDb
* The Sorrows of Satan is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive

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Films directed by D. W. Griffith

1908|

* The Adventures of Dollie
* The Fight for Freedom
* The Tavern Keeper's Daughter
* The Black Viper
* The Red Man and the Child
* Deceived Slumming Party
* The Bandit's Waterloo
* A Calamitous Elopement
* The Greaser's Gauntlet
* The Man and the Woman
* The Fatal Hour
* For Love of Gold
* Balked at the Altar
* For a Wife's Honor
* Betrayed by a Handprint
* Monday Morning in a Coney Island Police Court
* The Girl and the Outlaw
* Behind the Scenes
* The Red Girl
* The Heart of O'Yama
* Where the Breakers Roar
* A Smoked Husband
* The Stolen Jewels
* The Devil
* The Zulu's Heart
* Father Gets in the Game
* Ingomar, the Barbarian
* The Vaquero's Vow
* The Planter's Wife
* Romance of a Jewess
* The Call of the Wild
* Concealing a Burglar
* After Many Years
* The Pirate's Gold
* The Taming of the Shrew
* The Guerrilla
* The Song of the Shirt
* The Ingrate
* A Woman's Way
* The Clubman and the Tramp
* Money Mad
* The Valet's Wife
* The Feud and the Turkey
* The Reckoning
* The Test of Friendship
* An Awful Moment
* The Christmas Burglars
* Mr. Jones at the Ball
* The Helping Hand

1909|

* One Touch of Nature
* The Maniac Cook
* Mrs. Jones Entertains
* The Honor of Thieves
* Love Finds a Way
* The Sacrifice
* A Rural Elopement
* Those Boys!
* The Criminal Hypnotist
* The Fascinating Mrs. Francis
* Mr. Jones Has a Card Party
* Those Awful Hats
* The Welcome Burglar
* The Cord of Life
* The Girls and Daddy
* The Brahma Diamond
* Edgar Allen Poe
* A Wreath in Time
* Tragic Love
* The Curtain Pole
* His Ward's Love
* The Joneses Have Amateur Theatricals
* The Hindoo Dagger
* The Politician's Love Story
* The Golden Louis
* At the Altar
* The Prussian Spy
* His Wife's Mother
* A Fool's Revenge
* The Wooden Leg
* The Roue's Heart
* The Salvation Army Lass
* The Lure of the Gown
* I Did It
* The Voice of the Violin
* The Deception
* And a Little Child Shall Lead Them
* A Burglar's Mistake (lost)
* The Medicine Bottle
* Jones and His New Neighbors
* A Drunkard's Reformation
* Trying to Get Arrested
* The Road to the Heart
* A Rude Hostess
* Schneider's Anti-Noise Crusade
* A Sound Sleeper
* Lady Helen's Escapade
* Lucky Jim
* Jones and the Lady Book Agent
* Resurrection
* Two Memories
* Eloping with Auntie
* The Cricket on the Hearth
* The Violin Maker of Cremona
* A New Trick
* The Lonely Villa
* The Son's Return
* Her First Biscuits
* The Country Doctor
* The Cardinal's Conspiracy
* Tender Hearts
* The Friend of the Family
* The Renunciation
* The Mended Lute
* The Sealed Room
* The Little Darling
* The Hessian Renegades
* Comata, the Sioux
* Getting Even
* In Old Kentucky
* Leather Stocking
* Pippa Passes or The Song of Conscience
* Fools of Fate
* His Lost Love
* The Gibson Goddess
* Nursing a Viper
* The Death Disc: A Story of the Cromwellian Period
* Through the Breakers
* The Red Man's View
* A Corner in Wheat
* A Trap for Santa Claus
* In Little Italy
* To Save Her Soul
* The Day After
* Choosing a Husband
* Bill Sharkey's Last Game

1910|

* The Rocky Road
* The Woman from Mellon's
* The Englishman and the Girl
* In Old California
* Faithful
* The Two Brothers
* As It Is In Life
* A Romance of the Western Hills
* The Unchanging Sea
* Ramona
* In the Season of Buds
* A Child of the Ghetto
* In the Border States
* What the Daisy Said
* A Flash of Light
* An Arcadian Maid
* The House with Closed Shutters
* Wilful Peggy
* The Modern Prodigal
* A Mohawk's Way
* The Oath and the Man
* Rose O'Salem-Town
* The Fugitive
* Winning Back His Love

1911|

* The Two Paths
* The Italian Barber
* His Trust
* His Trust Fulfilled
* Fate's Turning
* Heart Beats of Long Ago
* What Shall We Do with Our Old?
* Fisher Folks
* His Daughter
* The Lily of the Tenements
* A Decree of Destiny
* Was He a Coward?
* The Lonedale Operator
* The Spanish Gypsy
* The Broken Cross
* How She Triumphed
* The New Dress
* The Crooked Road
* The White Rose of the Wilds
* The Smile of a Child
* Enoch Arden: Part I
* Enoch Arden: Part II
* The Primal Call
* Fighting Blood
* The Indian Brothers
* A Country Cupid
* The Last Drop of Water
* Out from the Shadow
* The Blind Princess and the Poet
* Swords and Hearts
* The Stuff Heroes Are Made Of
* Her Awakening
* The Making of a Man
* The Adventures of Billy
* The Long Road
* Love in the Hills
* The Battle
* Through Darkened Vales
* The Miser's Heart
* A Woman Scorned
* The Voice of the Child

1912|

* The Eternal Mother
* The Old Bookkeeper
* For His Son
* The Transformation of Mike
* A Sister's Love
* Under Burning Skies
* The Sunbeam
* A String of Pearls
* The Girl and Her Trust
* The Root of Evil
* The Goddess of Sagebrush Gulch
* The Punishment
* The Female of the Species
* Just Like a Woman
* One Is Business, the Other Crime
* The Lesser Evil
* A Beast at Bay
* An Outcast Among Outcasts
* Home Folks
* A Temporary Truce
* The Spirit Awakened
* Man's Lust for Gold
* Man's Genesis
* The Sands of Dee
* The Narrow Road
* The Inner Circle
* A Change of Spirit
* An Unseen Enemy
* Blind Love
* The Massacre
* Two Daughters of Eve
* Friends
* So Near, yet So Far
* A Feud in the Kentucky Hills
* The Chief's Blanket
* In the Aisles of the Wild
* The One She Loved
* The Painted Lady
* The Musketeers of Pig Alley
* Heredity
* Gold and Glitter
* My Baby
* The Informer
* Brutality
* The New York Hat
* My Hero
* The Burglar's Dilemma
* A Cry for Help
* The God Within

1913|

* Three Friends
* The Telephone Girl and the Lady
* An Adventure in the Autumn Woods
* The Tender Hearted Boy
* A Misappropriated Turkey
* Brothers
* Oil and Water
* A Chance Deception
* Love in an Apartment Hotel
* Broken Ways
* A Girl's Stratagem
* The Unwelcome Guest
* Near to Earth
* Fate
* A Welcome Intruder
* The Sheriff's Baby
* The Hero of Little Italy
* The Perfidy of Mary
* The Little Tease
* A Misunderstood Boy
* The Left-Handed Man
* The Lady and the Mouse
* If We Only Knew
* The Wanderer
* The Stolen Loaf
* The House of Darkness
* The Yaqui Cur
* Just Gold
* The Ranchero's Revenge
* A Timely Interception
* Death's Marathon
* The Mothering Heart
* The Sorrowful Shore
* The Enemy's Baby
* The Mistake
* Two Men of the Desert (lost)
* Madonna of the Storm
* The Battle at Elderbush Gulch
* The Conscience of Hassan Bey

1914–1931|

* Judith of Bethulia (1914)
* Battle of the Sexes (1914, lost)
* Brute Force (1914)
* Home, Sweet Home (1914)
* The Escape (1914, lost)
* The Avenging Conscience: or "Thou Shalt Not Kill" (1914)
* The Birth of a Nation (1915)
* Intolerance (1916)
* Hearts of the World (1918)
* The Great Love (1918, lost)
* Lillian Gish in a Liberty Loan Appeal (1918, lost)
* The Greatest Thing in Life (1918, lost)
* A Romance of Happy Valley (1919)
* The Girl Who Stayed at Home (1919)
* Broken Blossoms (1919)
* True Heart Susie (1919)
* Scarlet Days (1919)
* The Greatest Question (1919)
* The Idol Dancer (1920)
* Remodeling Her Husband (1920, lost)
* The Love Flower (1920)
* Way Down East (1920)
* Dream Street (1921)
* Orphans of the Storm (1921)
* One Exciting Night (1922)
* The White Rose (1923)
* America (1924)
* Isn't Life Wonderful (1924)
* Sally of the Sawdust (1925)
* That Royle Girl (1925, lost)
* The Sorrows of Satan (1926)
* Drums of Love (1928)
* The Battle of the Sexes (1928)
* Lady of the Pavements (1929)
* Abraham Lincoln (1930)
* The Struggle (1931)

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