''Seven Footprints to Satan'' is a 1929 American mystery film directed by Danish filmmaker

Benjamin Christensen Benjamin Christensen (28 September 1879 – 2 April 1959) was a Danish film director, screenwriter and an actor, both in film and on the stage. As a director, he is best known for the 1922 film ''Häxan'' (aka ''Witchcraft Through the Ages' ...

. Based on the 1928 story of the same name by

Abraham Merritt Abraham Grace Merritt (January 20, 1884 – August 21, 1943) – known by his byline, A. Merritt – was an American Sunday magazine editor and a writer of fantastic fiction. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inducted him in 1999, ...

, it stars

Thelma Todd Thelma Alice Todd (July 29, 1906 – December 16, 1935) was an American actress and businesswoman who carried the nicknames "The Ice Cream Blonde" and "Hot Toddy". Appearing in about 120 feature films and shorts between 1926 and 1935, sh ...

Creighton Hale Creighton Hale (born Patrick Fitzgerald; May 24, 1882 – August 9, 1965) was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s. Career Born in Cou ...

William V. Mong William V. Mong (June 25, 1875 – December 10, 1940) was an American film actor, screenwriter and director. He appeared in almost 200 films between 1910 and 1939. His directing (1911–1918) and screenwriting (1911–1922) were mostly for ...

and

Sheldon Lewis Sheldon Lewis (April 20, 1868 – May 7, 1958) was an American actor of the silent era best known for his antagonistic roles. He appeared in more than 90 films between 1914 and 1936. Lewis was married to actress Virginia Pearson, and they were ...

. It was first released as a silent film and later as a part-talkie.

Plot

Jim and his fiancee Eve, a young society couple, are kidnapped on the eve of Jim's departure for

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and brought to a mansion that is home to a strange and glamorous cult with a hooded leader called "Satan." Jim is put through a number of strange adventures in the old house and tries to maintain his courage. During the course of the film, Jim encounters an old witch, a dwarf, a gorilla and a strange shaggy creature called "The Spider" (played by Sheldon Lewis). In the end, he is confronted by Satan himself who puts him to a final test. It is revealed to be a hoax played on Jim by his uncle Joe, Eve, and his uncle's employees to convince Jim to forget his adventure plans, stay at home, work for his uncle, and settle down with Eve.

Cast

Production

''Seven Footprints to Satan'' was adapted from the 1928 novel ''7 Footprints to Satan'' by

. The screenplay was written by director

under the name Richard Bee. Initially overjoyed that his story would be adapted into a film, Merritt later spoke about the film in a 1933 interview, stating that he "sat through the picture and wept. The only similarity between the book and the picture was the title. The picture likewise killed the booksale ..for people who saw the picture felt no impulse thereafter to read the book." Christensen cast actor Creighton Hale in the role of Jim in an attempt to capitalize on Hale's having starred in '' The Cat and the Canary'', an earlier similar "old dark house" film.

Release

The silent version of the film was released on January 27, 1929 while a version with sound was released on February 17, 1929. The original running time of ''Seven Footprints to Satan'' is in question. In his book ''Thrills Untapped: Neglected Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928-1936'', Michael R. Pitts noted that most contemporary reviews stated the film had a 60 minute running time seemingly referring to the sound version of the film. The silent release is listed at being 168 feet shorter than the sound release, with a restored silent version running at around 77 minutes. Pitts described the film as a "box office flop", with a gross of $129,950.

Critical response

Pitts described that contemporary critics were overall "not impressed" with ''Seven Footprints to Satan''. A review in '' Film Daily'' described the film as a "has of weird and wild doings in a mysterious house with a lot of phony thrills." ''Movie Age'' opined that "Maybe we haven't seen all the so-called mystery-drama-thrillers so far released, but of those what we have seen, this ''Seven Footprints to Satan'' is one of the poorest. There is not a convincing situation in it, and the explanation of it all at the end takes the cake...no rhyme or reason." A review in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' similarly called the film "all hokum", noting "another of those fright producers, wholly baffling from start to finish. An utterly moronic sound film appealing to all the passions." One reviewer in ''Photoplay'' stated that they loved the title of the film but found it "just a hodgepodge mystery story" A review in '' Harrison's Reports'' commented that "People will no doubt enjoy this picture provided they don't take it seriously. It is one of the wildest mystery trapdoor melodramas that has been produced in many a moon."

References

Footnotes

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External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seven Footprints To Satan (Film) 1929 films 1929 mystery films American silent feature films American mystery films Films directed by Benjamin Christensen Films based on American horror novels American black-and-white films First National Pictures films 1920s American films Silent mystery films