John Barrymore Movies
Like his brother Lionel and his sister Ethel, American actor John Barrymore had early intentions to break away from the family theatrical tradition and become an artist, in the "demonic" style of Gustav Doré. But acting won out; thanks to his natural flair and good looks, Barrymore was a matinee idol within a few seasons after his 1903 stage debut. His best-known Broadway role for many years was as an inebriated wireless operator in the Dick Davis farce The Dictator. On stage and in silent films (including a 1915 version of The Dictator), John was most at home in comedies. His one chance for greatness occurred in 1922, when he played Hamlet; even British audiences hailed Barrymore's performance as one of the best, if not the best, interpretation of the melancholy Dane. Eventually, Barrymore abandoned the theatre altogether for the movies, where he was often cast more for his looks than his talent. Perhaps in revenge against Hollywood "flesh peddlers," Barrymore loved to play roles that required physical distortion, grotesque makeup, or all-out "mad" scenes; to him, his Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) was infinitely more satisfying than Don Juan (1926). When talkies came in, Barrymore's days as a romantic lead had passed, but his exquisite voice and superb bearing guaranteed him stronger film roles than he'd had in silents; still, for every Grand Hotel (1932), there were the gloriously hammy excesses of Moby Dick (1930) and Svengali (1931). Unfortunately, throughout his life, Barrymore was plagued by his taste for alcohol, and his personal problems began catching up with him in the mid-1930s. From Romeo and Juliet(1936) onward, the actor's memory had become so befuddled that he had to recite his lines from cue cards, and from The Great Profile (1940) onward, virtually the only parts he'd get were those in which he lampooned his screen image and his offstage shenanigans. In 1939, at the behest of his latest wife Elaine Barrie, Barrymore returned to the stage in My Dear Children, a second-rate play that evolved into a freak show as Barrymore's performance deteriorated and he began profanely ad-libbing, and behaving outrageously during the play's run. Sadly, the more Barrymore debased himself in public, the more the public ate it up, and My Dear Children was a hit, as were his humiliatingly hilarious appearances on Rudy Vallee's radio show. To paraphrase his old friend and drinking companion Gene Fowler, Barrymore had gone over Niagara Falls in a barrel; we are lucky indeed that he left a gallery of brilliant film portrayals before the fall. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1914
This lighthearted Famous Players five-reeler was tailor-made for the talents of young John Barrymore. The "Great Profile" plays an ambitious stockbroker who goes out on a toot during his wife's absence. His celebrating gets out of hand, earning him a 30-day jail sentence. Briefly released on his own recognizance, Barrymore tells his wife that he's been called away to Mexico on business and won't be back for a month. This little white lie snowballs into an exhausting variety of comic complications, resolved only when it is revealed that wifey has a little secret of her own. Many of John Barrymore's staunchest fans are of the opinion that he was never better than when he was starring in such inconsequential fluff as The Man From Mexico. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1915
The otherwise pedestrian The Incorrigible Dukane benefited immeasurably from the leading performance by John Barrymore. The son of constuction-firm executive James A. Dukane Sr. (William P. Carleton), James Jr. (Barrymore) does not exactly share his father's work ethic. Even so, he is aware that several of his father's employees are skimming money from the firm by using shoddy building materials. In the end, it is James Jr. who saves his father from ruin by exposing the vipers within the company's bosom. As a bonus, he wins the heroine, ranchowner's daughter Enid Crofton (Helen Weir). The film's highlight should have been the climactic dam-bursting sequence, but this scene was compromised by lackluster special effects. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1915
Adapted by Leo Ditrichstein from an earlier German farce, Are You a Mason? served as one of John Barrymore's most popular stage vehicles. The film version likewise starred Barrymore, who breezed through the assignment with the youthful panache that would leave him all too soon. The hero, a young bridegroom, manages to get out of all sorts of scrapes by pretending to be a Mason, supremely confidant that he'll either be rescued or forgiven by his "fellow" Masons. Things get hairy when it turns out that Barrymore's new father-in-law has likewise been posing as a Mason for years, and for many of the same reasons. Hoping to make the material more "cinematic," director Thomas M. Heffron attempted at one point to stage a drunk scene from the drunk's besotted point of view. Charlie Chaplin was more successful with this gimmick in his 1916 two-reeler One AM. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1915
The Dictator, based on the novel and play by colorful journalist Richard Harding Davis, was brought to the screen in 1915 with the equally colorful John Barrymore in the starring role. On the lam from the New York Police because of a false murder charge, playboy Brooke Travers (Barrymore) escapes to a Central American banana republic. Forced by circumstance to trade places with the nation's dictator, Colonel Bowie (Robert Broderick), Travers proves to be a most unorthodox leader of men. He also spearheads a revolution and rescues the heroine Juanita (Ruby Hoffman), with a little help from such friends as the U.S. Navy. Filmed partly on location in Cuba, The Dictator was sheer escapist fun from beginning to end. The material fared even better when it was refilmed as a Wallace Reid vehicle in 1922. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1916
Better known in 1916 for light comedy rather than heavy drama, John Barrymore effortlessly breezed through the four reels of Famous Players' The Red Widow. Even Barrymore's character name -- Cicero Hannibal Butts -- was conceived to induce loud laughter. While embarking on his honeymoon, Butts receives all sorts of portents of bad luck, beginning with an upside-down horseshoe. He'd been warned not to marry a widow, and now Butts seems to be paying dearly for his marital misstep. But after several slapsticky situations -- not the least of which involves a gang of Russian Nihilists -- our hero is at last able to settle down for some well-deserved connubial bliss. The Red Widow was based on a stage play by Channing Pollock and Rennold Wolf. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1916
Bertie (John Barrymore) is a bashful young man, and his sweetheart is just barely able to squeeze a marriage proposal out of him. His friends give him the usual bachelor bash, and on his way home, he's bashed on the head by some thugs. The result is that he loses his memory and winds up in the hands of the crooks. The gang takes him to rob a house, which coincidentally just happens to belong to his fiancée's family. When he sees the girl, his memory starts to come back, and he helps capture the crooks. After an operation, Bertie and his sweetheart are reunited. This comedy-drama was an extremely lightweight vehicle for John Barrymore. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1916
In spite of his acclaim as a stage actor, during his early motion picture career, John Barrymore generally played lightweight comedic roles. In this film -- another one of those mythical kingdom tales -- he plays a swashbuckler. It begins with an out-of-work actor (Barrymore) glumly contemplating the prospects of future employment. His valet approaches him with a screenplay he has written himself, and as the thespian reads it, the action comes to life: A crown prince (Barrymore again) is supposed to marry the princess of a neighboring principality, but he's in love with a dancer, so he leaves the country and has an American actor, Merriwell (Barrymore once again), take his place. Merriwell has already met and fallen in love with the princess on the voyage across the Atlantic, so the situation promises to be a happy one. But Merriwell is unmasked as an impostor and the Regent orders that he be put to death. However, it just happens to be the princess' birthday, and now that she has reached her majority, the regency is over and the people must do her bidding -- which is to leave her husband, impostor or no, in peace. A brief cut back to the unemployed actor shows that he approves of his valet's work. Whether they can convince a studio to buy the property is never addressed. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1917
Author E.W. Hornung's charismatic rogue was tailor-made for John Barrymore. As Raffles, he wins the heart of Mrs. Vidal (Christine Mayo) and loses his own to the beautiful Gwendolyn (Evenlyn Brent), all while making off with the Melrose jewels, much to the frustration of another thief, Crawshay (Mike Donlin). Detective Bedford (Frederick Perry) is determined to catch Raffles. Instead, he loses a bet to the gentleman crook, who uses the money to help a friend (Frank Morgan) pay off a gambling debt. He then returns the jewels to Gwendolyn and admits his true identity but also insists that he has reformed. The Great Profile may have been the best Raffles of the silent era (the other one of note was House Peters), but when the talkies came in, both Ronald Coleman and David Niven also made the character their own. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- 1918
This farce was originally a stage play by Augustus Thomas, and starred William Collier, Sr.. On film, another notable stage actor, John Barrymore, played the lead role of Robert Ridgway. At the time, Barrymore was primarily known for the heavy dramas in which he starred on Broadway, so his comedies took filmgoers by surprise. There's not much plot to be had here -the usual nonsense about a man in pursuit of the girl he loves, in this case Lois Meredith. Basically the flimsy story is just there to give Barrymore a chance to be funny and acrobatic. At one point, he leaps through a window and somersaults through the hood of the girl's car!. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
In 1920, filmgoers were treated to no fewer than two different film versions of Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In this one, John Barrymore plays the humanitarian Dr. Henry Jekyll, who becomes obsessed with the notion of separating the good and evil impulses within every man. To this end, he develops a potion which unleashes his own darker side: the demonic Mr. Hyde. This was the adaptation which established the cliché of having both a "good" and "bad" leading lady, to parallel the doppelganger aspects of the Jekyll/Hyde personality. Martha Mansfield is the good girl, while Nita Naldi, wearing costumes that were daring indeed in 1920, is the bad one. The adaptors also borrowed the character of Lord Henry from Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray in order to provide Jekyll with an evil mentor/blackmailer. Sadly, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde proved to be one of the last starring films for leading lady Martha Mansfield: she died horribly during filming of The Warrens of Virginia (1924) when her costume touched a discarded match and burst into flame. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Martha Mansfield, (more)
- 1921
Director Marshall Neilan proved to be a little ahead of his time when he made this satirical comedy-drama, based on the book by Albert Payson Terhune -- trade paper Variety opined that "the general public will be vaguely dissatisfied by the barbed humor pricking their bubble of romance" -- something screwball comedies made a habit of ten years later! A somewhat posey John Barrymore plays naive Jacques Lenoi, who marries money-hungry Madge Vance (Anna Q. Nilsson). When Madge realizes he isn't as moneyed as she assumed she turns a cold shoulder to him and he takes off on a balloon trip to China. The craft crashes onto a South Seas island, where the victims of several other wrecks have established an idyllic community. They all dress in Grecian-style costumes, no money passes hands, and everyone pursues their hearts' desires. Lenoi pursues pretty Mavis (rising star Colleen Moore), and they fall in love. But eventually he decides to return to New York and Madge -- e! xcept that he discovers upon his return that Madge has married someone else. When forced to choose between the two men, she runs off with a third, so Lenoi happily returns to the island, and to Mavis. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Colleen Moore, (more)
- 1922
John Barrymore's impressive performance in this picture is a testament to the strength of his talent, because it had a lot to overcome -- according to director Albert Parker, the famed thespian was on a bender for much of the shoot. This version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's stories (adapted from the play by William Gillette) was shot on location in London and Switzerland; when the crew headed back to the States to complete shooting, Parker pleaded with Barrymore to quit drinking. Surprisingly, Barrymore obliged, and was sober for the rest of production. The storyline follows the play pretty closely, including Holmes' early days, in which he decided to study criminology after college graduation. Along with his faithful assistant, Dr. Watson (Roland Young), Holmes comes face to face with arch criminal Professor Moriarty (Gustav von Seyffertitz). Moriarty is causing trouble for Prince Alexis (Reginald Denny), and Holmes craftily outwits the villain. This excellent picture had only a few faults -- one was its lengthy subtitles. The other noticeable gaffe was casting Carol Dempster (who was borrowed from D.W. Griffith) to play the romantic interest, Alice Faulkner -- her performance is only passable. A young William Powell has a small supporting role. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Roland Young, (more)
John Barrymore is virtually the entire show as 18th-century British fashion plate Beau Brummel. Thanks to his sartorial splendor and quick wit, Brummel is a favorite of the Prince of Wales (Willard Louis)--and with several ladies, though his heart belongs to the beautiful, unobtainable Lady Margery Avanley (played by 17-year-old Mary Astor, who during filming was carrying on a most passionate affair with her leading man). The arrogant Brummel falls from grace after insulting the Prince and then refusing to apologize. We last see Brummel in an asylum, dressed in rags, but with still enough pride to turn away his true love rather than allow her to throw her life away on him. John Barrymore is superb throughout, especially in the poignant sequences after his descent into poverty and disgrace. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Mary Astor, (more)
- 1926
Historically important as the first film to carry a Vitaphone sound track (consisting of music and sound effects, but no dialogue) Don Juan is a first-rate production by any standards, and would have been just as good with or without musical accompaniment. John Barrymore plays the legendary lover Don Juan, raised by his cynical father (also played by Barrymore) to "love 'em and leave 'em", and to never trust any woman. All of this changes when he meets the beautiful Adriana Della Varnese (Mary Astor). When it seems that Adriana has betrayed him in favor of a wealthy marriage to the lecherous Count Donati (Montague Love), Don Juan renounces her and returns to his rakish ways. What he doesn't know is that Adriana is a political pawn, who has been forced into an alliance with Donati by the calculating Borgias (Estelle Taylor and Noah Beery Sr.). By the time Don Juan finds out that his true love is still true, he has been tossed in prison for killing Donati in a spectacular duel. He breaks out, rescues Adriana from the Borgias' torture chamber, and escapes with his beloved to the safety of Spain. The plot is, of course, more complicated than that, but so fascinating is John Barrymore's performance that it's difficult to concentrate on anything else. The film's highlights include the out-sized duel between Barrymore and Montagu Love, capped by Barrymore's spectacular leap from the top of a huge staircase, and the torture chamber sequences, wherein Barrymore sneaks past the Borgia guards by assuming the facial characteristics of fiendish torturer Gustav von Seyfertitz--and this without makeup. "In the know" film historians may read a lot more into the Barrymore/Mary Astor love scenes than is readily apparent, forearmed as they are with the knowledge that John and Mary had once been passionate lovers offscreen. Scenarist Bess Meredyth used the Lord Byron poem Don Juan as a mere stepping stone for this imaginative, exquisitely filmed romantic adventure. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Mary Astor, (more)
This silent screen adaptation of "Moby Dick" features John Barrymore in action as Captain Ahab Cooley, played against one of the most famous denizens of the deep, Herman Melville's great white whale. At the beginning of the story, Ahab and his step brother Dererk (George O'Hara) compete for the affections of a winsome minister's daughter, Esther Wiscasset (Dolores Costello). Meanwhile, the albino whale has been eluding harpooners, and bears the scars of many failed attacks against him. His fame has reached epic proportions. One day, Ahab and Derek are on the same whaler as the whale hoves into view. With the visual drama enhanced by the water and pitching boat, Ahab raises his harpoon to kill the beast. At that moment, Derek pushes him overboard and Ahab loses a right leg to the whale. In this scene, Barrymore's portrayal of agonizing pain as an antiseptic is poured over what remains of his leg contributed to his fame as a silents actor. Not long after this incident, the shallow Esther rebuffs Ahab as her suitor once she catches sight of his peg leg. Heartbroken at this turn of events, Ahab blames neither Esther nor his brother - instead he transfers blame and an undying hatred onto the whale. The following saga of Ahab's pursuit of the whale takes on the aura of a super-human quest, far beyond the proportions of its first motivation. One of the most popular of Barrymore's films, this version extends the story beyond the final battle of man versus whale in a variation on Melville's book. Adding publicity to the film was a bit of early Hollywood hype, unintentional though it may seem. The actress Priscella Bonner was fired by Barrymore from the role of Wiscasset, and in a curious parallel to Ahab and the mighty whale, she successfully sued the studio and won a considerable out-of-court settlement. Doubtless due to the popularity of this film, another was released in 1930 under Melville's original book title, with Barrymore again in the role of Captain Ahab. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Dolores Costello, (more)
- 1927
The same winning combination responsible for Don Juan-star John Barrymore, director Alan Crosland and screenwriter Bess Meredyth, once more aligned their talents for When a Man Loves. This adaptation of the classic novel and opera Manon Lescaut has been slightly rearranged to make the titular heroine (played by Barrymore's future wife Dolores Costello) a secondary figure and to place the emphasis on the male lead, Chevalier Fabian (Barrymore, of course). The luckless Manon is sold into a life of prostitution by her no-good brother Andre (Warner Oland). Servicing only the wealthiest and most influential men in Paris, Manon decides to chuck it all when she falls in love with the dashing Chevalier. But Manon waits too long to abandon her much-older "protector," the Count de Montfontaine (Sam De Grasse),and both hero and heroine suffer as a result. The final scenes find Manon and the Chevalier banished to the penal colony in New Orleans, where they experience a rather more positive denouement than the luckless lovers of the original Manon Lescaut. Among the "fallen women" shipped to New Orleans with Manon in the last reel is a young Myrna Loy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Dolores Costello, (more)
Beloved Rogue stars John Barrymore as legendary Parisian poet/vagabond Francois Villon. The film follows the basic chronology of all Villon dramatizations (If I Were King, The Vagabond King etc.): To ensure the loyalty of his subjects, crotchety King Louis XI (Conrad Veidt) appoints the waggish Villon king for one day. This proves to be a blessing when Villon rouses the thieves, tramps, trollops and other assorted Parisian lowlifes to defend the walled city against the invading Burgundians. Marceline Day, Mack Swain and Slim Summerville also star. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Conrad Veidt, (more)
One of John Barrymore's best-remembered silent films (mainly because it is one of the few that has remained in constant circulation), The Tempest is set before, during and after the Russian Revolution. Barrymore plays a Czarist military officer who is haughtily rejected by aristocratic Camilla Horn. She goes so far as to strip Barrymore of his rank and toss him into prison (allowing him the opportunity for a wholly irrelevant, but fascinating, "mad" scene). Comes the Revolution, and Barrymore is freed. Put in charge of the Red army, Barrymore now wields the power of life and death over the aristocrats. When a humbled Camilla is brought before him, he refuses to sign her death warrant, but instead kills his hateful superior officer and escapes with his new-found love to the safety of Europe. Barrymore's leading lady Camilla Horn has previously made an excellent impression as Gretchen in F. W. Murnau's production of Faust (1926); her casting in Tempest, however, is due less to her histrionic talents that to the fact that she was the girlfriend of United Artists executive Joseph M. Schenck. Originally, the film was to have been directed by Russian expatriate Victor Tourjanksy, but his working methods were too slow for Hollywood tastes; he was replaced by American journeyman Sam Taylor, who was swift, efficient and (in this instance at least) surprisingly imaginative. The principal artistic value in Tempest lies in the performance by John Barrymore and the cinematography of Charles Rosher, whose Rosher Kino Portrait Lens enabled the 46-year-old Barrymore to appear at least two decades younger on screen. An uncredited Lewis Milestone also was among those at work on the production. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Camilla Horn, (more)
- 1929
Basically a filmed vaudeville presentation, The Show of Shows was Warner Bros.' entry in the "all star, all talking, all singing and all dancing" sweepstakes of 1929. Though slightly better than MGM's Hollywood Revue of 1929, the Warners entry pales in comparison to Fox Movietone Follies of 1929 and Paramount on Parade, due mainly to the film's master of ceremonies, the insufferable Frank Fay. Some of the individual acts seen in Show of Shows were pretty good, notably Winnie Lightner's delightful Singing in the Bathtub (a spoof of Hollywood Revue of 1929's Singin' in the Rain) and John Barrymore's brilliant rendition of Richard III's soliloquy from Shakespeare's Henry VI. Also easy to take was "Floradora Sextette," featuring such luminaries as Myrna Loy, Patsy Ruth Miller and cross-eyed comedian Ben Turpin, and "Eight Sister Acts," including such Hollywood siblings as Dolores and Helene Costello, Sally Blane and Loretta Young and Shirley Mason and Viola Dana (also teamed in this number are Ann Sothern and Marion Byron, who were not sisters). But for the most part, the acts are on a par with "Skull and Crossbones," a boring production number showcasing entertainer Ted Lewis, and "Recitations," a one-joke affair in which three different anecdotes (related by Frank Fay, Louis Fazenda, Lloyd Hamilton and Bea Lillie) are melded into one. Show of Shows was originally released in two-color Technicolor but now exists only in black in white, save for the "Chinese Fantasy" number featuring crooner Nick Lucas and Warner Bros. contractee Myrna Loy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Eternal Love was the last silent film of star John Barrymore and director Ernst Lubitsch; thereafter, both men would concentrate exclusively on talkies. Based on Der Konig der Bernina, a novel by Jakob Christopher Beer, the story is set in the Swiss Alps in 1812. Both forced into loveless marriages, sweethearts Marcus (John Barrymore) and Ciglia (Camilla Horn) continue to carry on a clandestine romance. When Marcus is falsely accused of murdering Ciglia's husband, the two lovers escape into the Alps, with the angry villagers close at their heels. With no other recourse, Marcus and Ciglia elect to commit suicide, walking hand in hand into the path of an avalanche. Filmed on location in the Canadian Rockies, Eternal Love was a most uncharacteristic venture into doom-and-gloom for director Lubitsch, who was never quite so dour again. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Camilla Horn, (more)
- 1929
This costume drama is the first all dialog film in which Barrymore appeared. He plays a mercenary who will serve anyone who pays him. He is currently working for the Austrian Emperor. His mission is to abscond with the crown of the Holy Roman Empire. En route, the hero marries a gypsy and leaves her to await his return in Vienna. While he is off doing the king's bidding, the Austrian ruler begins dallying with his wife. This enrages the mercenary who upon his return, seeks to dethrone the king. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Lowell Sherman, (more)
- 1930
Herman Melville's classic novel gets a major revision in this screen adaptation of his seafaring novel - Hollywood's first talkie adaptation of the work. (A silent version, The Sea Beast, had been produced four years earlier). Captain Ahab Ceely (John Barrymore), a crusty and hard-drinking sailor, falls in love with Faith Mapple (Joan Bennett), the daughter of a man of the cloth. Ahab has a rival for Faith's affections in Derek (Lloyd Hughes), his wicked brother, but as Ahab sets sail, Faith pledges to him that she'll remain loyal to him while he's out to sea. While hunting for whales, Ahab is thrown overboard, and he loses his leg to a mammoth creature known to seamen as Moby Dick. When Ahab returns, he tells Faith that he won't hold her to her pledge to marry him before showing her the wooden peg that has replaced his limb. Faith shrieks in horror, and Ahab is crestfallen to realize that his romance is over. Returning to the sea, Ahab spends the next seven years searching for the great white whale Moby Dick, obsessed with getting revenge on the creature that took his leg and ruined his life. In addition to rewriting the famous first lines of the novel, in this version of Moby Dick, Ishmael doesn't even appear. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Joan Bennett, (more)
- 1930
The difference between social classes provides the basis for this comedy. The trouble begins when a drunken sot wanders into the fancy home of a woman who is hosting a gala dinner. She had invited 13 guests, and so hired Blankely's, a professional company to send her a sophisticated 14th guest. Naturally she mistakes the drunk for the hired guest and invites him to dine. Mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Loretta Young, (more)
- 1931
John Barrymore is the "State's Attorney" in the RKO picture of the same name. A brilliant criminal lawyer, Barrymore counts on his underworld connections to climb the ladder of success to the Governor's chair. "Humanized" by his girlfriend Helen Twelvetrees, a former streetwalker, Barrymore decides at long last to go straight, making mincemeat of his one-time mob patron William "Stage" Boyd in a thrilling courtroom finale. Barrymore's longtime drinking crony Gene Fowler collaborated on the script of State's Attorney with gangster-saga scrivener Rowland Brown. The film was remade (and extensively sanitized) as Criminal Lawyer in 1937. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Helen Twelvetrees, (more)
- 1931
More of a follow-up than a sequel to 1931's popular Svengali, this drama centers on the attempts of a club-footed and insanely bitter dance instructor to cling to his protege. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Marian Marsh, (more)
