Seven Footprints to Satan

Seven Footprints to Satan
theatrical release poster
Directed by	Benjamin Christensen
Produced by	Richard A. Rowland
Written by	Benjamin Christensen
Based on	7 Footprints to Satan (1928 novel) by Abraham Merritt
Starring	Thelma Todd Creighton Hale William V. Mong Sheldon Lewis
Cinematography	Sol Polito
Edited by	Frank Ware
Production company	First National Pictures
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release date	January 27, 1929 (silent) February 17, 1929 (sound)
Running time	60 minutes 6 reels (5,405 feet)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$129,950

Seven Footprints to Satan is a 1929 American horror film directed by Danish filmmaker Benjamin Christensen. Based on the book of the same name by Abraham Merritt, it stars Thelma Todd, Creighton Hale, William V. Mong and Sheldon Lewis, and contains appearances by Sōjin Kamiyama and Angelo Rossitto among others. It was produced as both a silent film and as a part-talkie, making it one of the last – if not the last – silent horror films.

Jim and Eve, a young society couple, are kidnapped on the eve of Jim's departure for Africa and brought to a mansion that is home to a strange and glamorous Satanic cult.

Cast notes

Seven Footprints to Satan is the fifth of seven films made by Christensen during his tenure in Hollywood, and is one of only four that survive in a relatively complete state (Eagle's Nest and Haunted House are believed to be lost; House of Horror exists only in sound elements).

Seven Footprints to Satan was released as both a silent film and as a sound film with Vitaphone musical score (after first talking picture The Terror (1928), sound effects and some dialogue sequences. The film received generally negative reviews, including from such publications as The New York Times, Variety – which called it "An utterly moronic sound film ... all hokum" – and the Philadelphia Inquirer, in which Mildred Martin wrote "after all the screams and creaks and thumps it reaches a somewhat tame conclusion..." Despite this it performed well at the box office. A companion "Photoplay" edition of the Merritt novel, published by Grosset & Dunlap and featuring several stills from the film, also sold extremely well.