The Sorrows of Satan

An allegorical tale in which a struggling young writer succumbs to the temptation of wealth, but renounces it when he discovers it is keeping him from happiness with the only woman he really loves. Presented as struggle between God and Satan in Heaven, Griffith's sense of the spectacular is evident in the sequence showing Satan's banishment from Heaven, and in the beautifully-mounted scenes of hedonistic revelry in high society. The underlying novel by Marie Corelli was acquired in 1919 by Adolph Zukor at Paramount for Cecil B. DeMille. The project was shelved during a disagreement then given to Griffith to make seven years later. The original contract with Marie Corelli stipulated that after five years, materials destroyed.