Le manoir du diable (1896)

With the help of a magic cauldron, Mephistopheles conjures up a variety of supernatural characters.

Director:

Georges Méliès

Writer:

Georges Méliès

Stars:

Jehanne d'Alcy, Jules-Eugène Legris, Georges Méliès

Cast

Credited cast:
Jehanne d'Alcy	...	Young woman (as Jeanne d'Alcy)
Jules-Eugène Legris	...	Mephistopheles (unconfirmed)
Georges Méliès	...	Mephistopheles

Storyline

A bat flies into an ancient castle and transforms itself into Mephistopheles himself. Producing a cauldron, Mephistopheles conjures up a young girl and various supernatural creatures, one of which brandishes a crucifix in an effort to force the devil-vampire to vanish.

---

Plot Keywords:

vampire | monster | supernatural power | psychotronic film | mephistopheles | 

---

Genres:

Short | Horror

---

Details

Country:

France

Release Date:

24 December 1896 (France)

Also Known As:

Manor of the Devil

Filming Locations:

Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Georges Méliès, Star-Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

3 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Color (hand-colored) Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Star Film Catalogue no. 78-80.

---

Goofs

One of the ghosts (all of whom are wearing a white sheet over their head) cannot see where he is going, and walks right into a wall.

---

Connections

Featured in Sicko-Psychotic: Sicko-Psychotic's Twisted Halloween Special (2016)

User Reviews

Containing some elements of later vampire films.

The very first horror movie was not 1896's Le Manoir Du Diable (The Devil's Castle), in fact, Georges Melies' Un Nuit Terrible that features a giant insect, is his first production in the horror genre, anticipating the creature-on-the-loose plots of the fifties. However, Le Manoir Du Diable is the first film to feature hints of the vampire. Its running time barely three minutes, and made by and starring Melies. Looking at it many years later it seems primitive and crude, but it also displays an imaginative exuberance and joy that makes it one of film history's little treasures.

The Devil played by Melies himself, has a kind of carnival charm. In a castle, a flying bat turns into the Devil. The Devil makes a cauldron magically appear. He also conjures up a beautiful woman, and an old man carrying a book. Satan then makes cauldron, woman, man, and book disappear. A knight shows up carrying a cross. Our villain clearly panicked, there is a puff of smoke and the Devil is gone.

Because of the brazen, Gothic quality of Le Manoir Du Diable, its brief running time is not a limitation. Serious movie lovers should make the extra effort to get real satisfaction. Go to the "Horror Films" and "Classic Horror Films" Web sites. Read books like " The Satanic Screen: An Illustrated Guide to The Devil in Cinema" by Nikolas Schreck and Allan Hunter's "Chambers Concise Encyclopedia of Film and Television." Find odd-man-out wonders like Le Manoir Du Diable and enjoy horror's timeless feast.