Main Cast: Adolphe Menjou, Ricardo Cortez, Carol Dempster, Lya de Putti, Ivan Lebedeff
Release Year: 1926
Country: US
Run Time: 111 minutes
Plot
Though D.W. Griffith had given up his independent-filmmaker status by joining Paramount Pictures in 1926, he had lost none of his artistry, if this film is any indication. Based on a mystical novel by Marie Correlli, Adolphe Menjou stars as the elegant, sartorially splendid Prince Lucio de Rimanez--but you and I know that he's really the Prince of Darkness. When struggling writer Ricardo Cortez is moved to curse God for his misfortunes, Prince Lucio makes a sudden appearance, informing Cortez that he's inherited a fortune. The only proviso is that Cortez must place his fate entirely in the Prince's hands. As he ascends to the uppermost rungs of European society, Cortez is ordered by Lucio to marry Russian princess Lya DePutti, even though the writer still loves his pre-wealth sweetheart Carole Dempster. Eventually, Prince Lucio reveals his true satanic identity, but not before Lya has taken her own life. By rejecting the Devil and all his false promises, Cortez is permitted a happily-ever-after with Dempster. A tantalizing contemporary article describes how Sorrows of Satan was supposed to have opened with an impressive special-effects sequence, wherein we see Satan literally falling from grace; alas, this prologue was excised from the film and has been lost forever. If it is true that Griffith intensely disliked the Correlli novel upon which Sorrows of Satan was based, one would never know it from his masterful, sensitive direction. The film represented the final screen appearance of Griffith's protege (and reputed lover) Carole Dempster, who actually evinces some acting ability this time around. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Marcia Harris - The Landlady; Lawrence D'Orsay - Lord Elton; Nellie Savage - Dancing Girl; Josephine Dunn; Dorothy Hughes - Mavis's Chum; Jeanne Morgan; Owen Nares; Raymond Griffith; Claude Brooke
Credit
Charles Kirk - Art Director, Frank Walsh - First Assistant Director, D.W. Griffith - Director, Julian Johnson - Editor, Hugo Riesenfeld - Composer (Music Score), Harry A. Fischbeck - Cinematographer, Julian Johnson - Intertitle Writer, Forrest Halsey - Screenwriter, George Hull - Screenwriter, John Russell - Screenwriter, Marie Corelli - Short Story Author
The Sorrows of Satan is a silent film by D.W. Griffith released in 1926. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Marie Corelli. At this point in his career Griffith had given up his independent filmmaker status by joining Paramount Pictures. Reportedly the director did not want to helm this project, but as his first Paramount assignment he was not given a choice. Remarkably, 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.
Adolphe Menjou stars as Prince Lucio de Rimanez, who is in fact really Satan assuming a human form. When struggling writer Geoffrey Tempest is moved to curse God for his misfortunes, Prince Lucio makes a sudden appearance, informing Cortez that he's inherited a fortune. The only proviso is that Tempest must place his fate entirely in the Prince's hands. As he ascends to the uppermost rungs of European society, Tempest is ordered by Lucio to marry Russian Princess Olga, even though the writer still loves his sweetheart Mavis Claire. Eventually, Prince Lucio reveals his true identity, but not before Olga has committed suicide. After rejecting the Devil and all his false promises, Tempest lives happily ever after with Mavis.
