El satario
About El satario
Several women are playing beside a river when a man in a horned satyr costume, called a devil on a title card, comes in and they run. One woman is left behind. The others return, beat him, and drive him off. The reel is a silent stag film.
More about El satario
No director or cast is recorded. The Kinsey Institute dates its print to 1907–1912 and catalogues the film as made in Buenos Aires. Another account places the shooting in Cuba in the 1930s. The horned costume has been read as a parody of Vaslav Nijinsky's ballet Afternoon of a Faun.
Themes
Background
Reels of this kind were shown in private rooms, not in ordinary theatres. A 1913 article by Kurt Tucholsky is one of the few contemporary accounts of that Berlin circuit.
Making
It was made outside the commercial studios. No production papers, cast list, or cameraman have been tied to it.
Preservation
The Kinsey Institute holds a print, dated by the institute to 1907–1912. The country of origin is still argued.
Notes
- The film is also called El Sartorio and The Devil.
- Listed running times are 8 minutes and about 9 minutes.
- A Spanish filmography credits Something Weird Video with a 1970 release of a print.
Scenes
- The women scatter when the horned figure appears.
- They return and drive him off.