The Sorrows of Satan (1917 film)
The Sorrows of Satan is a 1917 British silent fantasy film directed by Alexander Butler and starring Gladys Cooper, Owen Nares and Cecil Humphreys. It was made at Isleworth Studios. It was based on the 1895 novel of the same name by Marie Corelli (1855-1924). The plot involves a poverty-stricken author who is so depressed about his life that he agrees to sell his soul to the Devil. The Devil was depicted as a sympathetic character in the novel on which this film is based, having begged for forgiveness from God who  cruelly refuses him, thus making the blockbuster novel a topic of controversy when it was published. This film version does not follow the novel that closely, with Satan appearing as a handsome, wealthy prince. Christopher Workman opines "Despite being terribly unoriginal, the film...was by all accounts commercially successful". It was remade in 1926 by Paramount, directed by D. W. Griffith.