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.

A young man longing for adventure end up in the middle of a robbery and trapped in castle like home where some very strange people are wandering about. It all builds as all the "old dark house" conventions are played up to the max before it ends in a manner that is both logically right and completely wrong. I dare not say anything else since this is such fun to watch.

Benjamin Christensen's Seven Footprints to Satan was thought lost for years. During that time it gained a reputation as one of the great films. Thankfully the re-emergence of an Italian titled print proves that Christensen had indeed made what is probably one of the greatest "old dark house" thrillers ever made.

This movie is a blast. There are hooded villains, sliding panels, dwarfs,half humans, gorillas, weirdly shaped people and a sense of fun lacking from many movies of this type. Its a damn near perfect blueprint of how to make a movie like this. The film is also an absolute masterpiece of the directors art. I've never/rarely seen a film that is such a marriage of image and story with camera moves that pure genius. This is a film to study if you want to see how to make a movie.

The movie as it stands has two problems. First the title cards are in Italian, which makes watching it difficult if you don't read the language. I don't. Only after reading a synopsis of the entire plot was I able to really enjoy the madness that was going on on screen. The other problem is that this film is silent. I had always thought it was purely a silent film, however the entries on IMDb and my watching of the film make me think that perhaps part of this was indeed sound. There are sequences that contain a great deal of on screen talking and very little titling which lead me to think there once was more to this film than there is now.

See this movie. This is a masterpiece. Its also a lot of fun.

Now if someone like Criterion or Kino could get their hands on this and set about restoring it we'd all be so much richer.

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.

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.

Seven Footprints to Satan (1929)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Very good and creepy film from director Benjamin Christensen about a couple (Thelma Todd, Creighton Hale) who are kidnapped and taken to an old dark house ran by Satan. Inside the house the two are terrorized by a dwarf (Angelo Rossitto of Freaks fame), a gorilla, an ape man like creature and other weirdos. The atmosphere of this film is so incredibly thick that you'll actually feel as if you're walking among all of these characters. There are several creepy moments as the couple walk around this house, which just has one weird room after another. The film isn't as great as the director's Haxan but it's still among the best of its genre. The set design is terrific and the editing is among some of the best I've seen from this period. You easy to see that this film influenced Universal's Dracula, Paramount's Island of Lost Souls and some of the orgy scene from Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut appears to have been influenced by this film.