Allied Artists Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films by Michael R. Pitts

A review in Film Daily described the film as a 'has of weird and wild doings in a mysterious house with a lot of phony thrills.' Movie Age opined that 'Maybe we haven't seen all the so-called mystery-drama-thrillers so far released, but of those what we have seen, this Seven Footprints to Satan is one of the poorest. Pitts described that contemporary critics were overall 'not impressed' with Seven Footprints to Satan. Pitts described the film as a 'box office flop', with a gross of $129,950. The silent release is listed at being 168 feet shorter than the sound release, with a restored silent version running at around 77 minutes. Pitts noted that most contemporary reviews stated the film had a 60 minute running time seemingly referring to the sound version of the film. In his book Thrills Untapped: Neglected Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films, 1928-1936, Michael R. The original running time of Seven Footprints to Satan is in question. The silent version of the film was released on Januwhile a version with sound was released on February 17, 1929. The picture likewise killed the booksale for people who saw the picture felt no impulse thereafter to read the book.' Ĭhristensen cast actor Creighton Hale in the role of Jim in an attempt to capitalize on Hale's having starred in The Cat and the Canary, an earlier similar 'old dark house' film. The only similarity between the book and the picture was the title. Initially overjoyed that his story would be adapted into a film, Merritt later spoke about the film in a 1933 interview, stating that he 'sat through the picture and wept. The screenplay was written by director Benjamin Christensen under the name Richard Bee. Seven Footprints to Satan was adapted from the 1928 novel 7 Footprints to Satan by Abraham Merritt. It is revealed to be a hoax played on Jim by his uncle Joe, Eve, and his uncle's employees to convince Jim to forget his adventure plans, stay at home, work for his uncle, and settle down with Eve. In the end, he is confronted by Satan himself who puts him to a final test. During the course of the film, Jim encounters an old witch, a dwarf, a gorilla and a strange shaggy creature called 'The Spider' (played by Sheldon Lewis).

Jim and his fiancee Eve, a young society couple, are kidnapped on the eve of Jim's departure for Africa and brought to a mansion that is home to a strange and glamorous cult with a hooded leader called 'Satan.' Jim is put through a number of strange adventures in the old house and tries to maintain his courage. It was first released as a silent film and later as a part-talkie.

Based on the 1928 story of the same name by Abraham Merritt, it stars Thelma Todd, Creighton Hale, William V. Seven Footprints to Satan is a 1929 American mystery film directed by Danish filmmaker Benjamin Christensen.

Allied Artists Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Films by Michael R. Pitts