Ethel Barrymore Movies

It's hard to separate fact and fancy from the many accounts of what happened on the set when all three of the fabulous Barrymores -- Ethel, John and Lionel -- appeared together for the only time in Rasputin and the Empress. As for the end result, John offers the subtlest (!) performance as Russian Prince Paul Chegodieff; Lionel throws all caution to the four winds in the role of "Mad Monk" Rasputin; and Ethel comes off as rather artificial as Empress Alexandra (Ethel was more appealing in her character roles of the 1940s and 1950s). The plot covers the years 1913 through 1918, during the tumultuous final years of the Romanov regime in Russia. When young Prince Alexis (Tad Alexander), a hemophiliac, hovers near death after an accident, the royal physicians regretfully predict an imminent demise. At the advice of Prince Paul's impressionable sweetheart Natasha (Diana Wynyard), Alexandra and her husband, Czar Nikolai (Ralph Morgan), call in the mysterious Rasputin to look after Alexis. Using hypnosis, Rasputin is able to "cure" the boy-and to slowly gain control over the royal family. Prince Paul, concerned that Rasputin's despotic misuse of his new-found authority will cause the people to revolt, does his best to discredit the oily holy man, but to no avail. When Natasha is raped by Rasputin, Paul attempts to shoot the miscreant down. But Rasputin, who has taken the precaution of wearing a bullet proof vest, is not so easily killed off. In a last, desperate measure, Paul and his cohorts try to poison Rasputin to death-and even this doesn't work. Only a climactic fight to the death puts an end to Rasputin's reign. Alas, the damage has already been done, and the royal family is doomed to be toppled from power...and, ultimately, to be shot down like dogs by the Bolsheviks. Perhaps it's true that the three Barrymores spent more time trying to upstage one another than concentrating on the script at hand, but we wouldn't have it any other way. When seen today, Rasputin and the Empress seems rather choppy in spots, with isolated lines of dialogue and sometimes whole scenes completely missing. This is due to a million-dollar lawsuit brought against MGM by Prince Yusupov, the man who really engineered Rasputin's assassination. The Prince wasn't offended by being depicted as a murderer, but he was distressed when MGM suggested that his wife had been raped by Rasputin. As a result, Rasputin and the Empress was withdrawn from distribution, and all prints were later bowdlerized when released to television. Also as a result, all future Hollywood films were obliged to carry the "Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental" disclaimer. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Whirlpool was based on the novel of the same name by Victoria Morton. Alice Brady stars as Belle Cavello, the mercenary sweetheart of moonstruck Arthur Hallam (William B. Davidson). In order to keep Belle in the manner to which she is accustomed, Arthur resorts to robbery and as a result is accused of a murder he didn't commit. Sobered by this turn of events, the covetous Belle decides to henceforth live a virtuous life, and to that end she marries the highly respectable Judge Reverton (H.E. Herbert). Inevitably, however, Belle's past catches up with her, and her bad traits resurface. The heroine's multitude of personal problems are straightened out -- if such a thing is possible -- by a prominent "brain specialist" (W.E. Williams), who tries to purge the heroine of her inbred wickedness. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Actor/director Frank Reicher, most familiar to modern movie fans as "Captain Englehorn" in King Kong (1933), wielded the megaphone for the 1917 silent American Widow. In one of her very rare silent-film appearances, Ethel Barrymore plays a young widow who marries a man she doesn't love in order to earn an inheritance. She plans to quietly annul the marriage, then wed the man of her dreams, a European aristocrat. Soon, however, she learns that her new husband was the right man for her all along. This yarn was old in 1917, but Ethel Barrymore brings a welcome-if a bit overplayed-touch of artistry and class to the proceedings. Always a Widow was adapted from a play by Kellett Chambers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Egypt (Ethel Barrymore) and Faro are about to be married when the chief of their Gypsy camp (Frank Montgomery) interrupts the ceremony. He sells Egypt off to a wealthy man (William Mandeville), pawning her off as the man's daughter. But before they are separated, the lovers swear to wait for each other. However, Egypt grows impatient and becomes engaged to Nicholas Van Kleet, a society man (William B. Davidson). The old chief dies and Faro takes his place. He plans to go fetch Egypt, believing she is still waiting for him, but he gets in a brawl and kills the sheriff's brother. He takes refuge in Egypt's home, and she now refuses to return with him. But when he is captured, her loyalty comes to the fore. She helps him escape, and they run off together. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Ethel Barrymore's first starring film was a 5-reel version of her stage success The Nightingale. Already quite matronly-looking, Barrymore nonetheless managed to convey the impression of extreme youth in the role of Isola Franti, aka "The Nightingale." The film was a rags-to-riches affair, with the heroine rising from humble tenement origins to the heights of stardom as a singer, only to have her life and well-being threatened by sinister underworld influences. Many critics felt as though the screen version of The Nightingale was better than the stage original, citing the "radiance" exuded by the leading lady. Nonetheless, Ethel Barrymore despised motion pictures, and would not return to them on a regular basis until it became financially necessary for her to do so. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide