''The Devil'' is a surviving 1921 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-g ...

directed by James Young and starring stage actor

George Arliss George Arliss (born Augustus George Andrews; 10 April 1868 – 5 February 1946) was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award – which he ...

in a film version of his 1908 Broadway success of

Ferenc Molnár Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; 12 January 18781 April 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarian-born author, stage-director, dramatist, and poet, widely regarded as Hungary’s most celebrated and controversial playw ...

's play, ''

The Devil Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood. ...

'' (aka ''Az ordog'') Long thought to be a lost film, a print was discovered in the 1990s and restored by the Library of Congress. This was George Arliss' first film following a successful career on Broadway. Arliss' wife Florence Arliss co-starred with him in the film, and continued to do so until he died in 1946. Director Young was silent screen star Clara Kimball Young's ex-husband. Future Oscar-winner Fredric March had an uncredited bit part in the film.

Plot

The Devil, in the guise of a human named Dr. Muller (Arliss), meets a young couple (Marie and her fiance Georges) who remark upon looking at a Renaissance painting of a martyr that Evil could never triumph over Good. The Devil, taking this as a challenge, decides to bring about the couple's downfall. In the end, Marie resorts to the power of prayer and a shining crucifix appears that causes the Devil to disappear in a burst of flames.

Cast

as Dr. Muller *

Lucy Cotton Lucy Cotton (August 29, 1895 – 12 December 1948) was an American actress who appeared in 12 films between 1910 and 1921. Biography Cotton was born in Houston, Texas, United States and died in Miami Beach, Florida.Roland Bottomley Roland Bottomley (1880-1947) was a British born American stage and film actor from Liverpool, England. Some sources have him born in 1878 and others in 1879.''American and British Theatrical Biography'', p.125 c.1979 by J. P. Wearing .. He came to ...

as Georges Roben * Sylvia Breamer as Mimi *

Florence Arliss Florence Kate Arliss (née Montgomery; 29 July 1870 – 12 March 1950)Gerald Lawrence, revised by K. D. Reynolds, "Arliss, George eal name Augustus George Andrews(1868–1946)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Pre ...

as Marie's Aunt (credited as Mrs. George Arliss) *

Edmund Lowe Edmund Dantes Lowe (March 3, 1890 – April 21, 1971) was an American actor. His formative experience began in vaudeville and silent film. Biography Lowe was born in San Jose, California. His father was a local judge. His childhood home was a ...

as Paul de Veaux *

Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary ''Variety'', April 16, 1975, p ...

as Bal Masque Participant (uncredited)

Preservation status

A copy of ''The Devil'' is preserved in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

collection and the Archives Du Film Du CNC, Bois d'Arcy.Progressive Silent Film List: ''The Devil''
at silentera.com

References

External links

* * 1921 films American silent feature films American films based on plays Pathé Exchange films Associated Exhibitors films Films directed by James Young American black-and-white films Films based on works by Ferenc Molnár American remakes of foreign films Remakes of Hungarian films Silent American drama films 1921 drama films 1920s American films {{1920s-silent-drama-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Preservation status

See also

References

External links