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''The Merry Frolics of Satan'' (french: Les Quat'Cents Farces du diable, literally ''The Four Hundred Tricks of the Devil'') is a 1906 French silent film by Georges Méliès. The film is an updated comedic adaptation of the
Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...
legend, borrowing elements from two stage ''
féerie ''Féerie'', sometimes translated as "fairy play", was a French theatrical genre known for fantasy plots and spectacular visuals, including lavish scenery and mechanically worked stage effects. ''Féeries'' blended music, dancing, pantomime, and ...
'' spectaculars: ''Les Pilules du diable'' (1839), a classic stage fantasy with knockabout comedy, and ''Les Quatre Cents Coups du diable'' (1905), a satirical update of ''Les Pilules du diable'' to which Méliès had contributed two sequences, one of which he incorporated into the present film. In addition to directing and acting in it, Méliès supervised all aspects of the film's design and trick effect work, including extensive use of
stage machinery Stage machinery, also known as stage mechanics, comprises the mechanical devices used to create special effects in theatrical productions. See also * Scenic design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the ...
, in his lavishly individual style, which was already unusual in the mass production-dominated French film industry. The film follows the adventures of an ambitious engineer who abandons his family and responsibilities when he barters with 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 ...
(played by Méliès himself) for superhuman powers. The engineer is forced to face the unexpected consequences of his barter, including a dizzying ride through the sky.


Summary

An English engineer and inventor, William Crackford, is visited in his workshop by a messenger, who tells him that the famous alchemist Alcofrisbas is interested in selling him a powerful
talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...
. Arriving in Alcofrisbas's mysterious laboratory, where they are attacked and confused by magically moving and transforming pieces of furniture, Crackford and his servant John explain to the alchemist that they hope to make a high-speed trip around the world. Alcofrisbas promises to make the trip possible. With the help of his seven laboratory assistants, Alcofrisbas makes a batch of large magical pills for the engineer and demonstrates that, by hurling a pill upon the ground, Crackford can have any wish gratified. Crackford, in his excitement, does not read the terms of the contract he is asked to sign, and so remains blissfully unaware that he has just sold his soul to 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 ...
. When Crackford and John leave, "Alcofrisbas" resumes his true identity—
Mephistopheles Mephistopheles (, ), also known as Mephisto, is a demon featured in German folklore. He originally appeared in literature as the demon in the Faust legend, and he has since appeared in other works as a stock character (see: Mephistopheles i ...
—and his "assistants" are revealed to be the
Seven Deadly Sins The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...
. Crackford comes home to dinner, where his wife and daughters are waiting for him. Wanting to try out the pills, he throws one to the floor. Immediately, two servants in livery burst out of a trunk, opening it to reveal more servants and a smaller trunk, who open it to reveal still more servants and another trunk, and so on; the process goes on until the dining room is full of servants, who load all of Crackford's furniture, as well as Crackford himself and his family, into the trunks. In the blink of an eye the trunks become a miniature train for the family, driven by John the servant. Crackford's high-speed tour has begun. The tiny train wends its way out of the city, meeting with ridicule from onlookers. Arriving in the countryside, most of the train and all of Crackford's family are lost in an accident with a collapsing bridge; Crackford, caring only for his world tour, continues on undismayed. Crackford and John stop at a village inn, the landlord of which is again Mephistopheles in disguise. The two travelers find their attempts to eat confounded by magical disappearances and transformations; in despair, they go to the kitchen to eat with the servants, only to be disrupted by apes and demons in a farcical pandemonium of appearances and disappearances using every possible entrance and exit. Fleeing out of the inn, the travelers make an escape in a
horse and buggy ] A horse and buggy (in American English) or horse and carriage (in British English and American English) refers to a light, simple, two-person carriage of the late 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, drawn usually by one or sometimes by two h ...
, which Mephistopheles promptly transforms into a magical carriage made out of stars and comets and drawn by a bizarre mythological horse. Mephistopheles, following the travelers in an automobile, drives them up the slope of
Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...
and directly into an eruption. In a burst of lava and flames, the infernal carriage is shot into the sky and makes a voyage through space, flying past stars and planets. Colliding with a thunderstorm, the carriage bursts apart; Crackford and John tumble through space and crash through the ceiling of a dining room. Just as Crackford thinks he is about to get a bite to eat at last, Mephistopheles appears to fulfill the terms of the contract. Crackford is led into the Underworld, where gleeful demons turn him on a spit over the infernal flames.


Background

On 16 February 1839, ''Les Pilules du diable'', a stage spectacular written by
Ferdinand Laloue Ferdinand Laloue (1794 in Passy – 27 September 1850) was a French dramatist, librettist and theatre producer. Administrator of the Théâtre du Cirque-Olympique, he also was director of the Hippodrome and the théâtre des Délassements comiques ...
,
Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois Auguste Anicet, later Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois (25 December 1806 – 12 January 1871) was a French dramatist. He was born in Paris. The first play to bear his name is ''L'Ami et le mari, ou le Nouvel Amphitryon'', a vaudeville in one act. It ...
and Clement-Philippe Laurent, premiered at the Théâtre National de Cirque-Olympique in Paris. The play was frequently revived and became accepted as one of the classics of the ''
féerie ''Féerie'', sometimes translated as "fairy play", was a French theatrical genre known for fantasy plots and spectacular visuals, including lavish scenery and mechanically worked stage effects. ''Féeries'' blended music, dancing, pantomime, and ...
'' genre, a popular French genre known for its lavish production values and fantasy plots. The play follows a bizarre, extended, and supernatural chase in which two young lovers, Isabelle and Albert, must constantly flee from a rich hidalgo, Sottinez, who is vying for Isabelle's hand in marriage. A new adaptation of the classic play, ''Les Quatre Cents Coups du diable'' by Victor de Cottens and Victor Darlay, premiered on 23 December 1905 at the
Théâtre du Châtelet The Théâtre du Châtelet () is a theatre and opera house, located in the place du Châtelet in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, France. One of two theatres (the other being the Théâtre de la Ville) built on the site of a ''châtelet'', a ...
. This version of the play, though still in the ''féerie'' tradition of elaborately staged fantasy, introduced a modernized setting as well as an element of skeptical satire to the story. The De Cottens–Darlay version focused on a Good Genius who travels to Earth to fight the Devil; he soon becomes entangled in a search for three magic charms that the Devil intends to use as supernatural powers. Méliès had previously worked with De Cottens on the 1904
Folies Bergère The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trév ...
revue, for which Méliès produced a satirical film sequence about
Leopold II of Belgium * german: link=no, Leopold Ludwig Philipp Maria Viktor , house = Saxe-Coburg and Gotha , father = Leopold I of Belgium , mother = Louise of Orléans , birth_date = , birth_place = Brussels, Belgium , death_date = ...
; the sequence was screened at three hundred performances of the revue, and was later released commercially by Méliès's studio as ''
An Adventurous Automobile Trip ''An Adventurous Automobile Trip'' (french: Le Raid Paris–Monte Carlo en automobile or ''Le Raid Paris–Monte Carlo en deux heures'') is a 1905 French short film, short silent film, silent comedy film directed by Georges Méliès. The film, ...
''. For ''Les Quatre Cents Coups du diable'', De Cottens and Darlay commissioned Méliès to make two short films to be projected as part of the entertainment. One of these, for the scene titled "Le Voyage dans l'éspace" ("The Space Trip"), showed the Good Genie traveling from the sky to the Earth in a celestial
taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choi ...
(and, on a more practical level, filled the time needed for an elaborate scene change going on just behind the screen). The other filmed sequence was "Le Cyclone" ("The Cyclone"). Méliès also contributed material to the script of the production, which was a marked success, running for some five hundred performances. Contemporary critics singled out Méliès's filmed contributions, and their integration into the stage spectacular, for particular praise.


Production

After working on ''Les Quatre Cents Coups du diable'', Méliès opted to build the filmed sequence "Le Voyage dans l'éspace" into a freestanding film. The new material was made at least six months after the original filmed sequences, with different actors, including Méliès himself as Mephistopheles. Though some elements of the film are derived from the stage play, Méliès devised a new plot, and modified the wording of the French title from ''Les Quatre Cents Coups du diable'' to ''Les Quat'Cents Farces du diable'' to avoid questions of copyright. (Méliès eventually reused the other filmed sequence from the play, "Le Cyclone", as a scene in his later film '' Robert Macaire and Bertrand''.) ''The Merry Frolics of Satan'' is strongly influenced by the legend of
Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...
, but maintains the modernized comic tone of the ''féeries''. It involves numerous recurring themes in Méliès's work, such as a pact with the Devil, a celestial voyage, and a final triumphant scene in Hell; indeed, the end of the film strongly resembles Méliès's earlier ''
The Damnation of Faust ''La damnation de Faust'' (English: ''The Damnation of Faust''), Op. 24 is a work for four solo voices, full seven-part chorus, large children's chorus and orchestra by the French composer Hector Berlioz. He called it a "''légende dramatique' ...
'', complete with its detailed scenery and bat-winged demons. The farcically choreographed kitchen scene, the hectic pacing of which recalls Méliès's '' The Cook in Trouble'' (1904), faithfully reproduces the set and stage machinery that had been traditionally used for the equivalent scene in ''Les Pilules du diable'' ever since 1839. The film was made primarily in Méliès's studio, with the outdoor scenes in the Italian village filmed just outside it, in the garden of the Méliès family property in
Montreuil-sous-Bois Montreuil (), sometimes unofficially referred to as Montreuil-sous-Bois (), is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris in Seine-Saint-Denis. With a population of 109,914 as of 2018, Montreuil is ...
. The many special effects in the film were created using substitution splices,
multiple exposure In photography and cinematography, a multiple exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image, and double exposure has a corresponding meaning in respect of two images. The exposure values may or may not be id ...
s, and especially a large amount of
stage machinery Stage machinery, also known as stage mechanics, comprises the mechanical devices used to create special effects in theatrical productions. See also * Scenic design Scenic design (also known as scenography, stage design, or set design) is the ...
, such as trapdoors, openings in the scenery, rolling backdrops, pyrotechnics, and a model volcano Méliès had previously used in his film ''
The Eruption of Mount Pelee ''Éruption volcanique à la Martinique'', released in the United States as ''The Eruption of Mount Pelee'' and in Britain as ''The Terrible Eruption of Mount Pelée and Destruction of St. Pierre, Martinique'', is a 1902 French short silent film ...
'' (1902).


Release

''The Merry Frolics of Satan'' was released by Méliès's Star Film Company and is numbered 849–870 in its catalogues, where it is advertised as a ''grande pièce fantastique en 35 tableaux''. In an advertisement, Méliès emphasized the film's creative unity by pointing out that he was personally responsible for the scenario, effects, and production design, in marked contrast to the impersonal mass production process already in use at the rival studio Pathé. In his dedication to the individual process, Méliès would continue to stand in sharp contrast with the larger studios in the ensuing years. Prints of the film survive, and a restoration by the film preservationist David Shepard, incorporating fragments colored by hand, was released to home video in 2008.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merry Frolics of Satan, The 1906 films 1906 drama films 1900s English-language films Films directed by Georges Méliès Articles containing video clips French silent short films French drama films The Devil in film French films based on plays Silent drama films Silent horror films