The Sorrows Of Satan

In a shabbily lit world of late Victorian anxieties, a poor, failed author is drowning in debt and doubt. He dreams of fame but is haunted by failure and hunger. A compelling stranger arrives with an offer: wealth, status, and the chance to publish to acclaim, all in exchange for his soul. He accepts, drawn by the promise of redemption through success, and soon the familiar trappings of his life start to bloom around him. Yet as his fortunes rise, so do strange temptations and morally dangerous choices, testing his resolve and his relationships. The film tells this tale in silent, visual terms, relying on expression and atmosphere to convey battles of conscience and the seductive pull of dangerous power.

Directed by Alexander Butler, The Sorrows of Satan adapts Marie Corelli and Harry Engholm for the screen, starring Gladys Cooper. Made at Isleworth Studios, this 1917 silent fantasy leans on mood and melodrama to frame a moral fable about temptation and ambition.

Box office data for this release is not widely documented; silent era records often failed to preserve grosses, and Isleworth productions did not consistently circulate numbers. What survives is limited to reviews, program notes, and the film's occasional screenings historically.

There are no documented awards or nominations for The Sorrows of Satan. It belongs to an era when genre experimentation and theatrical performance mattered more to audiences than prize lists. Even so, the film helped shape British fantasy cinema and gave Gladys Cooper a chance to project intensity on screen.

Critically the film is seen as a sober mood piece that uses silence and expression to probe deceit and desire. It treats ambition as a moral test and leans into Gothic imagery to highlight the consequences of making a deal with forces beyond reason, a hallmark of its era today.