''The Sorrows of Satan'' is a 1917 British silent fantasy film directed by

Alexander Butler Alexander Butler was a British film director who made over sixty features and short films during the 1910s and 1920s including many for G. B. Samuelson's production company. Butler directed several British films in Hollywood in 1920, where Samuel ...

and starring Gladys Cooper,

Owen Nares Owen Ramsay Nares (11 August 1888 – 30 July 1943) was an English stage and film actor. Besides his acting career, he was the author of ''Myself, and Some Others'' (1925). Early life Educated at Reading School, Nares was encouraged by his mo ...

and

Cecil Humphreys Cecil Humphreys (1883–1947) was a British film and theatre actor who played in 46 films between 1916 and 1948, mostly in supporting roles as doctors, aristocrats, and generals. Among his best-known roles were Judge Linton, in the 1939 version ...

. It was made at

Isleworth Studios Isleworth Studios is the common name of two former film studios in Great Britain. __TOC__ Worton Hall Studios 1913–1952 Worton Hall Studios were based on Worton Hall, in Isleworth. This house was built in 1783 and rebuilt and extended in the ea ...

. It was based on the 1895 novel of the same name 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 ...

(1855-1924). The plot involves a poverty-stricken author who is so depressed about his life that he agrees to sell his soul to the Devil. The Devil was depicted as a sympathetic character in the novel on which this film is based, having begged for forgiveness from God who cruelly refuses him, thus making the blockbuster novel a topic of controversy when it was published. This film version does not follow the novel that closely, with Satan appearing as a handsome, wealthy prince. Christopher Workman opines "Despite being terribly unoriginal, the film....was by all accounts commercially successful". It was remade in 1926 by Paramount, directed by D. W. Griffith.Workman, Christopher; Howarth, Troy (2016). "Tome of Terror: Horror Films of the Silent Era". Midnight Marquee Press. p. 194. .

Cast

* Gladys Cooper as Lady Sybil Elton *

as Geoffrey Tempest *

as Prince Ramirez * Lionel d'Aragon as Earl Eaton * Winifred Delavente as Diana Chesney *

Alice De Winton Alice De Winton (born Alice Catherine Wilson 1870 – 1941) was an English actress. She was born and died in London. She was the daughter of Henry Wilson, a retired army surgeon major, and Louisa Ducrow (daughter of equestrian and circus man ...

Minna Grey Minna Grey (1877 in London, England – 1935) was an English actress of the silent era. Death Grey died in 1935, 2 days before her 59th birthday. Selected filmography * '' The Shulamite'' (1915) * ''Just a Girl'' (1916) * '' The Second Mrs. T ...

References

Bibliography

* Harris, Ed. ''Britain's Forgotten Film Factory: The Story of Isleworth Studios''. Amberley Publishing, 2013.

External links

* 1917 films 1910s fantasy films British silent feature films British fantasy films Films based on works by Marie Corelli Films directed by Alexander Butler Films shot at Isleworth Studios British black-and-white films 1910s English-language films 1910s British films {{1910s-UK-film-stub