Seven Footprints to Satan is a 1929

1929 in film

-Events:The days of the silent film are numbered. A mad scramble to provide synchronized sound is on.*January 20 - The movie In Old Arizona is released. The film is the first full-length talking film to be filmed outdoors....

 American dark comedy film

Comedy film

Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

 directed by Danish filmmaker

Cinema of Denmark

Denmark has been producing films since 1897 and since the 1980s has maintained a steady stream of product due largely to funding by the state-supported Danish Film Institute. Historically, Danish films have been noted for their realism, religious and moral themes, sexual frankness and technical...

 Benjamin Christensen

Benjamin Christensen

Benjamin Christensen was a Danish film director, screenwriter and an actor both in film and on the stage. As a director he is most well known for the 1922 film Häxan and as an actor, he is best known for his performance in the film Michael , in which he plays Claude Zoret, the jilted lover of the...

. Based on the book of the same name by Abraham Merritt, it stars Thelma Todd

Thelma Todd

Thelma Alice Todd was an American actress. Appearing in about 120 pictures between 1926 and 1935, she is best remembered for her comedic roles in films like Marx Brothers' Monkey Business and Horse Feathers, a number of Charley Chase's short comedies, and co-starring with Buster Keaton and Jimmy...

, Creighton Hale

Creighton Hale

Creighton Hale was an Irish-born American movie actor who worked in the silent film era.-Career:While starring in Charles Frohman's Broadway production of Indian Summer, Hale was spotted by a representative of the Pathe Film Company...

, William V. Mong

William V. Mong

William V. Mong was an American film actor, screenwriter and director. He appeared in 195 films between 1910 and 1939.He was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and died in Studio City, California.-Selected filmography:...

 and Sheldon Lewis

Sheldon Lewis

Sheldon Lewis was an American actor of the silent era best known for his antagonistic roles. He appeared in 93 films between 1914 and 1936.He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and died in San Gabriel, California...

, and contains appearances by Sojin

Sojin

Sōjin Kamiyama or just Sōjin was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in over 70 films between 1917 and 1954...

 and Angelo Rossitto

Angelo Rossitto

Angelo Rossitto was an American actor. He had dwarfism and was 2'11" tall.Rossitto was discovered by John Barrymore and made his screen debut opposite Barrymore in The Beloved Rogue . He appeared in the then controversial 1932 film Freaks directed by Tod Browning. He appeared in another...

 among others. It was produced as both a silent film and as a part-talkie, with dialog scenes, a full musical score, and sound effects.

Plot summary

Jim and Eve, a young society couple, are kidnapped

Kidnapping

In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...

 on the eve of Jim's departure for Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

 and brought to a mansion that is home to a strange and glamorous satanic cult.

Production

Seven Footprints to Satan is the fifth of seven films made by Christensen during his tenure in Hollywood, and is one of only four that survive in a relatively complete state (Eagle's Nest and Haunted House are believed to be lost; House of Horror exists only in sound elements). Seven Footprints to Satan is also notable one of the first films of Loretta Young

Loretta Young

Loretta Young was an American actress. Starting as a child actress, she had a long and varied career in film from 1917 to 1953...

, who appears uncredited as an extra.

According to Internet reviews, only a silent version of the film, with Italian intertitles, is currently available for viewing.

External links

• Grosset & Dunlap's Photoplay Edition