Seven Footprints to Satan

In the 1920s and early 30s in the realm of mystery/horror/comedies Benjamin Christensen may have been the greatest director working in them. He directed a trilogy of mystery/horror films that not only define the genre, but his talents.

Paul Leni and Roland West may have been the only directors as talented as him working on these types of films at the time, but in terms of the quality of the image, the composition, the framing and the mise-en-scene, he surpasses even them. Each had their own specialty, though; Leni-set design; West-special camera effects.

His previous film, 'The Haunted House' (1928) was at the time hailed as his best of these. It may be the greatest 'lost' horror film in terms of artistic merit. He then made 'Footprints' and 'House of Horror' in 1929. Only 'Footprints' seems to have survived to this day.

The only version of this film that seems to be available is an Italian title-carded version of which I viewed a copy. Luckily for me, I had someone translating Italian for me (my sister) so I could figure out what was going on. I still felt like I was missing something, so I watched it again.

Upon second viewing, and having known the plot, I was able to view the real story of this film - the movement of images, the magnificent cutting and the chiaroscuro - still excellent in this worn print. This film actually seems to be about movement rather than a plot. The camera does not move much, but it does in key spots. The interplay and blocking of the characters is outstanding and is seamlessly edited to create a truly visceral experience.

The constant parade of gorillas, dwarfs, madmen, and wenches that our hero (Creighton Hale) experiences is exhaustive. Christensen takes us as our designer and guide in this nearly literal carnival ride through the 'house of Satan'. Some of the horror images are as amazing as you will see from the 1920s!

Sadly, since this film is finally available, after being believed lost for many years, it has garnered no attention. Perhaps because it is an exercise by Christensen, and not a once-in-a-lifetime masterpiece like Haxan, no one is as interested. Perhaps the ending, which may disappoint many, is the reason. Or maybe because it is only in Italian? It is certainly not the filmmaker's fault.

Christensen, like Rex Ingram was very painterly. However, even more than Ingram, Christensen had really mastered the editing of his 'painted' images and has created something here that deserves much attention from silent film scholars and fans. If not for his lack of a moving camera, he was as skilled and as talented as almost any director in the 1920s. 'Footprints' is an artistic gem that deserves more attention from silent and horror film fans.

This is one of those Silent horror films I thought I'd only get to read about in reference books, as it was considered lost – until an Italian print, albeit extremely faded, eventually surfaced. Actually, the version I watched has been renamed Satan'S STAIRWELL – which I assume is a literal translation of the film's Italian title – while the intertitles themselves have been translated back into English (and which tend to remain on screen for an inordinate length of time)! Of course, one is happy to take such rare films in any form they may come…

Typical of many latter-day Silents, the horror element here is mingled with intermittent doses of comedy – though not so much as in, say, THE CAT AND THE CANARY (1927), with which it shares leading man Creighton Hale in a similar role; he's partnered in this case with the popular and tragic Thelma Todd, who comes off somewhat better than Laura La Plante from the earlier film (from the cast, I also recognized Sojin and the ubiquitous Angelo Rossitto – but had no idea that 'The Spider' was played by Sheldon Lewis, who had over-acted so horrendously in the rival 1920 version to the John Barrymore DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE). Also, like THE CAT AND THE CANARY, Christensen's film boasts a very striking visual style highlighted by inventive – and impressive – art direction, camera-work (simulating, for instance, the motion of going up the various floors of the main 'haunted house' set), lighting and editing (at one point, a door opening is quickly followed by a succession of gunshots, only to be revealed as the hero engaged in target practice).

What makes the film unique, perhaps, is its relentless parade of grotesques (a dwarf, a gorilla, a pock-marked cripple, an ape-man, a sinister Oriental, an androgynous servant, etc.) and assorted maidens (either scantily-clad hostages or perverted followers of a satanic cult); all of this gives the film a creepy overall tone which is not easy to shake off and has seldom been replicated with such gusto: the climactic orgy is downright chilling – a veritable Pre-Code moment – with its suggestive flagellation (anticipating a famous scene in THE SIGN OF THE CROSS [1932]) and satanic audience (though the Devil himself is depicted as nothing more scary than a mysterious figure in a hood!). Which brings us to the cop-out ending that's moralistic (in a good-natured way) but not really unexpected for a horror film of its time (think London AFTER MIDNIGHT [1927]) and, in any case, shouldn't be seen as too much of a let-down considering just how satisfying – and immensely enjoyable – the lead-up to it has been!

In conclusion, I wanted to comment on Christensen's Hollywood career: one may think it a shame that he seems to have gotten stuck in the 'old dark house' subgenre – what with his having directed two more of those, THE HAUNTED HOUSE (1928) and HOUSE OF HORROR (1929), both also featuring Todd and both of which, unfortunately cannot be assessed due to unavailability – but, the fact remains that he seriously bungled his one chance at working with the great Lon Chaney on the hoary and ill-suited Russian Revolution melodrama, MOCKERY (1927). However, while his work may have been overshadowed by that of other European directors employed in Hollywood during the final days of the Silent era, this viewing of SEVEN FOOTPRINTS TO Satan more than restores his reputation as a visual stylist and someday I would love to be able to check out his only remaining surviving film, the intriguing THE DEVIL'S CIRCUS (1926)

Visually, this movie is dazzling, but as a narrative, it is the ultimate proof that no matter how many crazy events and dramatic turns you throw into a movie, you need good characters and good pacing to make it work. SEVEN FOOTPRINTS TO SATAN is plain tiresome after the twenty minute mark. At first, the craziness and kinky overtones are amusing, but it gets old when it's pushed nonstop in your face without a quiet moment or an active protagonist.

For years "Seven Footprints to Satan" has been considered a lost film. Often it was mentioned in magazines like FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND with mysterious photos that only titillated film collectors and horror buffs who had heard stories, but had never seen the film.

A little background on the film: the film was shot silent, but during the transition to sound, was given a music and sound effects track, and a talkie end sequence was shot. Of two extant prints, the one that has been bootlegged is a silent print made for foreign release with Italian intertitles.

The basic story is about James Kirkham and his girlfriend Eve being kidnapped to an old dark house involving jewel thieves and a cult led by "Satan". I won't give too much away, just review in general.

The film starts off very atmospheric, with the editing done so that when you think one thing is occurring, it's really something else. The whole theme of the film is very early art deco, and it is a pleasure to see Sol Polito's master camera-work, even if it is ravaged by the hands of time.

The film in style is not unlike Christensen's other film, HAXAN(1922), with bizarre orgies, scantily clothed women, bizarre characters and obtuse sets that overshadow characters at times. The whole atmosphere of the movie is a low key sort of insanity, and even with the wide sets seems claustrophobic.

The acting is a little over the top at times, but generally due to pantomime that was not uncommon of silent films of that period. Creighton Hale doesn't seem very heroic, more like a scared schoolboy, and Thelma Todd can't make up her mind if she's the heroine or the damsel in distress. Sheldon Lewis, Sojin, and Angelo Rossitto all have memorable characters in the movie, and add to Christensen's bizarre world of "Satan", the hooded villain of the film.

The ending really crashes the picture into a brick wall, but overall the movie is worth a viewing, though not the classic everyone expected(or at least, not myself).

I don't expect much to offend anyone in this film of today's audience, but definitely not for squares. There's very little violence, and what is is pretty stagy. There is a scene where a gorilla attacks a naked woman in chains, but there is no nudity and the violence is off screen and implied. The story line is rather complicated, and the Italian intertitles don't help, so it's probably not something for children. People who enjoy Christensen films, Tod Browning films, old dark house mysteries, and/or silent era/early films will enjoy this movie.

My rating 6/10. Has good sets, lighting and camera-work, and a decent story, which fails to come full circle and the acting is a little edgy.

This is an old-dark-house movie. A young couple creep around a weird mansion said to be run by Satan, where they run from and into one after another of an ill-assorted crew: a lady in distress, an ape, an ape-man, a midget, various odd-looking people, and (for some reason) two Chinese. They end up in a throne room where the hero is required to play a "Price Is Right" sort of contest involving a climb up seven steps with seven illuminated footprints; hence the title. For my taste it's too much of the same thing. The creeping around fun-house corridors is amusing for a while, then becomes repetitive. By comparison with Harold Lloyd or Buster Keaton or Laurel and Hardy doing the same bit in two reels, it isn't truly funny. It's not frightening either, and apparently wasn't intended to be: the household is too absurd. Most films in this genre balance the comedy with a genuine threat, and usually two--one that the characters are led to believe is real, and another for which it's a cover. Here the cover isn't to be taken seriously, and neither is what covered. A few moments of fun emerge from the mix, but it's rather heavy fun. The novel on which the film was based was a straight thriller and I think could have been played straight to better effect--and still could be.