The Sign of the Cross

Name: Le Diable au couvent
Genre: Short, Fantasy, Horror
Released: 1900-06-30
Duration: 3 min
Rating: 6.4
Cast: Georges Méliès

Original title: Le Diable au couvent

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

1.4K

YOUR RATING

Fantasy Horror Short

Satan appears in a convent and takes the guise of a priest. Before long he is causing all manner of perturbation and despair.Satan appears in a convent and takes the guise of a priest. Before long he is causing all manner of perturbation and despair.Satan appears in a convent and takes the guise of a priest. Before long he is causing all manner of perturbation and despair.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.4/10

1.4K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos15

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Georges Méliès

The Devil
(uncredited)

Director
- Georges Méliès
Writer
- Georges Méliès
All cast & crew
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Trivia
In 2010, the Cinémathèque Basque received a donation of a box of 35mm films, recovered by a private individual in 1995 from a garbage bin in Bilbao. The box was found to contain 32 films, including hand-colored prints of The Devil in a Convent, and another 1899 Méliès film, The Mysterious Knight. Previously, these two films had only been available in black-and-white copies. The hand-colored print of The Devil in a Convent was judged to be in too advanced a state of decomposition to be restored completely, however, the third scene of the film was in good enough condition to be restored. Both films were entrusted to the Filmoteca de Catalunya for restoration, under the supervision of two Méliès scholars, Roland Cosandey and Jacques Malthête. (Source: Wikipedia; Quévrain, Anne-Marie (October 2014), "Deux films en couleurs de Georges Méliès retrouvés en Espagne!")

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Review

Featured review

6/10

A fairly routine Méliès fantasy short

This is another of Georges Méliès fantasy shorts. In this one Satan appears in a convent and takes the guise of a priest. Before long he announces himself and scares away the nuns. H then proceeds to make the place his own with various demonic décor and a selection of minions. The religious authorities eventually rise up and defeat him, banishing him from the convent.

I wouldn't say this is one of Méliès best. It's still inventive and full of trick shots. We would expect nothing less from the great man. But it's perhaps not as visually interesting as some others he made at the time. Still well worth seeing if you are interested in the earliest days of film.