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- 1933
Reunion in Vienna is a trapped-in-amber adaptation of Robert Sherwood's popular stage play. John Barrymore brings virtually the only life to the proceedings as an amorous Austrian archduke, long exiled from his homeland. Returning to Vienna after twelve years, Barrymore tries to take up where he left off with his former mistress Diana Wynyard, who has since married likeable Freudian psychiatrist Frank Morgan. Since Morgan feels that the best way to dispel past "ghosts" is to confront them, Wynyard is permitted a reunion with Barrymore. Much of the risque comic thrust of Sherwood's stage play is blunted in the filmization of Reunion of Vienna--though those art-deco sets are a joy to behold. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Diana Wynyard, (more)
- 1933
Producer David O. Selznick's adaptation of Marcel Pagnol's satirical play Topaze stars John Barrymore, delivering a peerless comedy performance a full year before Howard Hawks allegedly "discovered" Barrymore's comic potential in Twentieth Century. Barrymore plays a French science teacher who is dismissed because he refuses to compromise his integrity by passing the student of a wealthy man. To console himself, Barrymore tinkers in his laboratory, where he stumbles upon the formula for a health tonic. Hired by unscrupulous tycoon George Mason to market the drink, Barrymore finds himself becoming as dishonest as his fellow businessmen. On the road to redemption toward the end, Barrymore wins the love of Mason's mistress Myrna Loy, who likewise seeks to change her ways. Eschewing much of the cynicism of the Pagnol original, Topaze aims more for whimsical chuckles than knowing nods. The property would be remade with most of its sardonic humor restored by Fernandel in 1951 and Peter Sellers in 1963. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Myrna Loy, (more)
- 1933
This suspense drama was based on a novel by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Riviere (John Barrymore), who operates an air delivery service, is fanatical in his dedication to service, putting prompt delivery before the safety of his men or his fleet after receiving a contract to help transport the mail. Riviere's risk-taking earns him the contempt of his pilots, including Jules (Clark Gable), who, despite his misgivings, does his best to satisfy Riviere's punishing schedule. When Jules is lost after a dangerous mission, Riviere has to tell his wife (Helen Hayes) that her husband has died, but despite losing another pilot (William Gargan), Riviere responds by demanding that more pilots be called up to ensure that the letters will be delivered on time. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Helen Hayes, (more)
- 1932
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
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Ethel Barrymore, (more)
Based on Vicki Baum's novel and produced by Irving Thalberg, this film is about the lavish Grand Hotel in Berlin, a place where "nothing ever happens." That statement proves to be false, however, as the story follows an intertwining cast of characters over the course of one tumultuous day. Greta Garbo is Grusinskaya, a ballerina whose jewels are coveted by Baron von Geigern (John Barrymore), a thief who fancies Flaemmchen (Joan Crawford), a stenographer and the mistress of Preysing (Wallace Beery), businessman boss of Kringelein (Lionel Barrymore), a terminally ill bookkeeper who is under the care of alcoholic physician Dr. Otternschlag (Lewis Stone). Grand Hotel won Best Picture at the 1932 Academy Awards. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, (more)
- 1932
John Barrymore plays a burglar and his brother Lionel Barrymore is the detective trying to catch him in this cleverly cast drama. An upscale thief who works under the name of Arsene Lupin is making the rounds of the homes of the wealthy and privileged, and Detective Guerchard (Lionel Barrymore) is determined to track him down. What he doesn't know is that the suave and sophisticated Duke of Charmerace (John Barrymore) is actually the man behind the robberies. Will Guerchard find out the thief's true identity before he can execute a daring theft from the Louvre Museum? Karen Morely co-stars as Sonia, the Duke's love interest. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, (more)
- 1932
Katharine Hepburn made her auspicious film debut in the otherwise undistinguished A Bill of Divorcement. Based on a play by Clemence Dane, the film is set on the day that Hepburn's mother, Billie Burke, is to divorce her insane and long-institutionalized husband John Barrymore. But Barrymore escapes from the asylum and returns home, only vaguely aware of the passage of time (he was shell-shocked during WWI). His presence puts Burke in an uncomfortable spot, especially since she plans to wed Paul Cavanaugh. Pressured by her idiotically traditional family to renew her vows with her first husband, Burke is saved from a lifetime of misery by her spunky daughter Hepburn, who takes care of her child-like father. The film's attitude towards male-female relationships, not to mention its archaic approach to the problem of mental illness, make Bill of Divorcement a chore to sit through today. Its saving grace is the warm rapport between Katharine Hepburn and John Barrymore (contrary to Hollywood legend, they did not despise one another). Even given its dated quality, Bill of Divorcement is more palatable than its empty 1940 remake, which starred Maureen O'Hara and Adolphe Menjou. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Billie Burke, (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)
The George du Maurier novel Trilby, about a hypnotist who controls a female musician, was originally filmed as Trilby, a 1920s silent. In the 1931 talkie, the emphasis shifts from the music student to the teacher, Svengali. John Barrymore gives a scenery-chewing performance as Svengali, who is originally seen tutoring Honori (Carmel Myers). Trilby (Marian Marsh) is making her living as a nude model, but she wants to use her musical talents to earn money and hopes to settle down with Billee (Bramwell Fletcher). Unfortunately, his upper-class family simply wouldn't approve. Svengali falls for Trilby and starts teaching her music while manipulating her hypnotically. Eventually, she becomes so dependent on him that she can't perform outside of his presence. This film became so well-known that the word "Svengali" became incorporated into the English language, meaning "someone who, with evil intent, tries to persuade another to do what is desired." A British version of the film was released in 1955. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Barrymore, Marian Marsh, (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)
- 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)
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)
- 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)
- 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)
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)
- 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)
- 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)
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)
- 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
