Lionel Barrymore Movies
Like his younger brother John, American actor Lionel Barrymore wanted more than anything to be an artist. But a member of the celebrated Barrymore family was expected to enter the family trade, so Lionel reluctantly launched an acting career. Not as attractive as John or sister Ethel, he was most effectively cast in character roles - villains, military officers, fathers - even in his youth. Unable to save what he earned, Barrymore was "reduced" to appearing in films for the Biograph Company in 1911, where he was directed by the great D.W. Griffith and where he was permitted to write a few film stories himself, which to Lionel was far more satisfying than playacting. His stage career was boosted when cast in 1917 as Colonel Ibbetson in Peter Ibbetson, which led to his most celebrated role, Milt Shanks in The Copperhead; even late in life, he could always count on being asked to recite his climactic Copperhead soliloquy, which never failed to bring down the house. Moving on to film, Barrymore was signed to what would be a 25-year hitch with MGM and begged the MGM heads to be allowed to direct; he showed only moderate talent in this field, and was most often hired to guide those films in which MGM wanted to "punish" its more rebellious talent. Resigning himself to acting again in 1931, he managed to cop an Academy Award for his bravura performance as a drunken defense attorney in A Free Soul (1931), the first in an increasingly prestigious series of movie character parts. In 1937, Barrymore was crippled by arthritis, and for the rest of his career was confined to a wheelchair. The actor became more popular than ever as he reached his sixtieth birthday, principally as a result of his annual radio appearance as Scrooge in A Christmas Carol and his continuing role as Dr. Gillespie in MGM's Dr. Kildare film series. Barrymore was aware that venerability and talent are not often the same thing, but he'd become somewhat lazy (if one can call a sixtyish wheelchair-bound man who showed up on time and appeared in at least three films per year "lazy") and settled into repeating his "old curmudgeon with a heart of gold" performance, save for the occasional topnotch part in such films as It's a Wonderful Life (1946) and Down to the Sea in Ships (1949). Denied access to television work by his MGM contract, Barrymore nonetheless remained active in radio (he'd starred in the long-running series Mayor of the Town), and at one point conducted a talk program from his own home; additionally, the actor continued pursuing his hobbies of writing, composing music, painting and engraving until arthritis overcame him. On the day of his death, he was preparing for his weekly performance on radio's Hallmark Playhouse; that evening, the program offered a glowing tribute to Barrymore, never once alluding to the fact that he'd spent a lifetime in a profession he openly despised. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide- 1932
Director Ernst Lubitsch gained international acclaim for his sophisticated romantic comedies, but he also had a talent for more serious themes, as evidenced by this 1932 drama. French musician Paul (Phillips Holmes) joined the Army at the height of WWI. On the field of battle, Paul shot and killed his German friend Walter Holderlin (Tom Douglas), another musician enlisted in his country's army. One year after the Armistice, Paul is still haunted by the memory of Walter's death, and he travels to Germany to locate Walter's father, Dr. Holderlin (Lionel Barrymore). Holderlin, his wife (Louise Carter), and Walter's fiancee, Elsa (Nancy Carroll are still shattered by the death of their loved one. Paul informs them of his friendship with their son, but cannot bring himself to unveil his responsibility for Walter's death. The Holderlins welcome Paul in friendship, and gradually, he settles into the household, bringing to both parents a new lease on life. Because of his lingering guilt, he feels tempted to run away, but Elsa discovers the truth about Paul and refuses to let him leave. Meanwhile, the presence of a Frenchman drums up hostilities in the Holderlins' village and the local women gossip continually about the developing relationship between Paul and Elsa. Perhaps because moviegoers completely snubbed The Man I Killed (also released as Broken Lullaby) and turned it into a financial detriment for Paramount, Lubitsch returned to lighter themes after this anti-war drama, and it was the last "serious" picture he would make before his death in 1948. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Barrymore, Nancy Carroll, (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)
- 1931
Based upon a much-filmed play by Michael Morton (which may in turn have been based upon a story by Frank Harris, The Yellow Ticket is also an indirect descendant of the opera La Tosca. In pre-Revolutionary Russia, a Jewish peasant girl named Marya Kalish (played by Elissa Landi) has reason to believe that her poor father is dying in St. Petersburg. She wishes to visit him, but the only way she can obtain passage is through disguising herself and obtaining a yellow ticket -- a pass that will mark her as a woman of low repute. Once in St. Petersburg, she discovers that her father has died. She also encounters the sinister Baron Andrey (Lionel Barrymore), head of the Czar's secret police, who comes to have designs upon her. She, however, develops an interest in British journalist Julian Rolphe (Laurence Olivier). She tells Rolphe the truth about life for most people in Russia, and his stories begin to change in tone, becoming critical and unflattering. This does not escape the attention of the secret police, who attempt to imprison the journalist. Meanwhile, Baron Andrey tells Marya that he will give her his own card with which she may travel, thereby eliminating the stigma and the difficulties that the yellow ticket presents. This is actually just a ploy to lure her into his clutches, and when he makes a move on her, she shoots him. Rescuing Rolphe, the two lovers flee via an airplane as Austria invades the country. Yellow Ticket features Olivier's second U.S. appearance, as well as Boris Karloff in a small role as a drunken orderly. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Elissa Landi, Lionel Barrymore, (more)
- 1931
In this Academy Award-winning film, Stephen Ashe (Lionel Barrymore) is a hotshot Californian lawyer from a well-to-do family, whose main failing is his indulgence in alcohol. After winning a case for mobster Ace Wilfong (Clark Gable), Stephen brings his client along to a party at his parents' house for a little celebrating. However, when they arrive at their destination, Ace manages to steal the heart of Stephen's wild daughter, Jan (Norma Shearer), and the two run off together, much to the family's dismay. Stephen struggles to win his foolhardy daughter back from the clutches of her lowlife boyfriend, as she defies her father at every turn. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, (more)
- 1931
The titular hands belong to Lionel Barrymore, who plays a prominent defense attorney. To save his daughter (Madge Evans) from a cad (Alan Mobray), Barrymore murders the man and arranges to make the deed look like suicide. The victim's mistress (Kay Francis) suspects foul play, but the lawyer has done his cover-up job too well. Barrymore very nearly pulls off his ruse--until the corpse itself has the "last word." The central gimmick of Guilty Hands, in which Barrymore establishes an alibi by positioning a revolving cardboard silhouette to create a continually moving shadow, was later appropriated for comic purposes in the Astaire-Rogers musical Gay Divorcee (34). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Barrymore, Kay Francis, (more)
- 1931
Ten cents a dance, that's what they pay her -- "her" being downtrodden taxi dancer Barbara (Barbara Stanwyck). The only thing Barbara sells is her time, or at least that's the story she gives her jellyfish husband Eddie (Monroe Owsley). But when wealthy Carlton (Ricardo Cortez) starts making goo-goo eyes at Barbara, Eddie accuses his wife of infidelity. This, in Eddie's mind, provides him with an adequate excuse to steal money from Carlton, which action leads to the no-good husband's downfall. Barbara's fate is more merciful: she ends up with Carlton, with whom she has fallen in love. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Barbara Stanwyck, Ricardo Cortez, (more)
- 1930
Metropolitan opera star Lawrence Tibbett headed the cast of The Rogue Song, an opulent Technicolor adaptation of the Franz Lehar operetta Gypsy Love. Set (vaguely) in 19th-century Russia, the film stars Tibbett as Yegor, dashing leader of an outlaw band called "The Robbing Larks." During one of his excursions into Moscow, Yegor falls in love with beautiful Russian princess Vera (Catherine Dale Owen). But when Yegor's sister (Florence Lake) is betrayed by Vera's brother Prince Serge (Ulrich Haupt), the bandit kills the prince and kidnaps the princess. Upon her rescue, she orders Yegor's arrest and has him flogged. As the defiant bandit merrily sings away while the whip tears across his back, Vera realizes that she's still in love with him. Knowing that they can never live together as man and wife, Vera bids Yegor a tearful farewell as he rides off into the sunset with his comrades. After previewing the rough cut of Rogue Song, MGM realized that the film was in desperate need of comedy relief, so the studio borrowed Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy from Hal Roach, casting the team as two members of Yegor's outlaw gang. Written and directed without credit by Hal Roach himself, Laurel & Hardy's scenes wear spotted throughout the picture, bearing only the faintest relevance to the plot. In typical fashion, the two comedians tried to eat a wheel of cheese while being plagued by pesky flies, attempted to shave one another while being distracted by pretty girls and a flock of chickens, shared a darkened cave with a surly bear, and in general behaved more like "Stan and Ollie" than a pair of Russian bandits. Critics were divided as to the merits of Laurel & Hardy's contributions to the film, but audiences loved their antics, and indeed they were billed above star Lawrence Tibbett on some movie marquees. No matter what the reason, The Rogue Song was a huge moneymaker for MGM, earning a "Best Picture" Oscar nomination in the bargain. Alas, the film has apparently vanished from the face of the earth; the negative was destroyed decades ago, and no original prints are known to survive. In the mid-1970s, the film's soundtrack discs were rediscovered, and in the early 1980s a Laurel & Hardy collector came across a worn Technicolor dupe of a three-minute routine. A few years after that, a black-and-white print of the film was found in a Czechoslovakian archive -- with all the musical numbers and Laurel & Hardy scenes removed! One of the ten highest-priority titles on the American Film Institute's "most wanted" list of lost movies, The Rogue Song may indeed turn up intact some day, but the chances grow slimmer with each passing year. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lawrence Tibbett, Catherine Dale Owen, (more)
- 1930
Buster Keaton's talkie debut (discounting his non-speaking guest appearance in Hollywood Revue of 1929) was Free and Easy, an uneven but generally amusing comedy with a Hollywood setting. When pretty Elvira (Anita Page) of Gopher City, Kansas wins a beauty contest, her prize includes a trip to Tinseltown and a screen test at MGM. Appointing himself protector of Elvira and her formidable mother (Trixie Friganza), gas-station attendant Elmer Butts (Keaton) accompanies them to California. Once they've arrived, Elmer manages to disrupt the daily MGM routine, stumbling into films in progress, knocking over sets and breaking props, and finding himself taking a screen test in which he repeatedly blows the single line "The queen has swooned" ("The sween has quooned", "The coon has sweened") over and over. Meanwhile, latin-lover film star Lorenzo (Robert Montgomery) sets his sights on innocent Elvira, attempting to seduce her while Elmer's back is turned. But Lorenzo turns out to be a good guy -- in fact, his real name is Larry, and he's a Kansas boy himself -- and he arranges for Elvira to get her big break. In a surprise turnaround, Elvira doesn't win a contract, but Elmer and Elvira's mom become popular musical-comedy stars! The film is studded with guest appearances by such MGM contractees as directors Cecil B. DeMille, Lionel Barrymore, Fred Niblo, and actors Gwen Lee, John Miljan, William Haines, Karl Dane and Keaton's then-girlfriend Dorothy Sebastian. Free and Easy was also filmed in French, Spanish and German-language versions, with Keaton speaking his words phonetically in all three. The film was remade as Pick a Star in 1937, and as Abbott and Costello in Hollywood in 1945. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Buster Keaton, Anita Page, (more)
- 1930
Love Comes Along was based on Conchita, a stage melodrama by Edward (Kismet) Knoblock. The story takes place on the mythical island of Caparjota, a gathering spot for virtually every hot-to-trot sailor in the universe. One of these amorous tars is Johnny Stark (Lloyd Hughes), who falls hard for pretty cabaret singer Peggy (Bebe Daniels). Only one problem: Peggy is already involved with island potentate Sangredo (Montague Love), who has a nasty habit of rendering his rivals lifeless. The plot of Love Comes Along covers only about 2/3 of the action: the remaining footage is taken up by a series of sprightly but forgettable musical numbers, written by Oscar Levant and Sidney Clare and rendered by the delightful Bebe Daniels. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bebe Daniels, Lloyd Hughes, (more)
- 1929
A group of Londoners gather at the home of their host in order to solve the murders of two company officers. Once assembled the host announces that half of one of the deceased's fortune will go to the guests and if anyone should die, that person's share would go to the others. Before any money is doled out, the doors are locked and the host insists that the murderer confess. Mayhem ensues, but eventually the killer tells all. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ernest Torrence, Roland Young, (more)
- 1929
In this adventure set in South America, the captain of a yacht moored there is really a fugitive criminal. The passengers are too busy trying to find the missing son of the boat's owner to pay the captain much mind. Later the hapless passengers find themselves having to deal with angry natives and a big, mean ape. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- H.B. Warner, Louise Fazenda, (more)
- 1929
Alexandre Brisson's weepy 1906 play had already been filmed three times when the 1929 talkie Madame X made its debut. Ruth Chatterton stars as a low-born wife of a socialite, whose aristocratic in-laws kick her out when she gives birth to a baby boy of dubious parentage. The boy, who has been led to believe his mother is dead, grows up to become a renowned attorney (Raymond Hackett). Mama Chatterton takes to the streets, but proudly monitors her son's progress from afar. When Chatterton is accused of murder, her defense attorney is none other than her son. She refuses to tell him the truth about their relationship, even though that information may make the difference between execution and exoneration. Madame X would be remade three more times over the next five decades; to avoid confusion with these later versions, the 1929 Madame X has been retitled Absinthe for its TV showings. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ruth Chatterton, Lewis Stone, (more)
- 1929
Jules Verne's fantastic 19th century novel Mysterious Island provided the title and little else for this spectacular filmization. Lionel Barrymore plays an altruistic scientist who has built an underground city, hoping to use the modernistic devices he has installed to bring about world peace. But evil Slavic nobleman Montagu Love, whom Barrymore regards as a friend, has other plans. He kidnaps Barrymore's daughter and forces the kindly scientist to gear up his inventions to make war. With the help of hero Lloyd Hughes, and with the unexpected assistance of a race of duck-like underwater humanoids, Barrymore destroys his subterranean domain and foils the villain's plans--at the cost of his own life. Though essentially a silent film, Mysterious Island includes several well-integrated sound sequences; its highlight was a Technicolor submarine ride, which unfortunately exists only in black and white today. The 1961 version of Mysterious Island has absolutely nothing to do with the 1929 version beyond its claim (again) to be based on the Verne original. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Barrymore, Jane Daly, (more)
- 1929
Based on Olympia, a 1928 Ferenc Molnar stage soufflé, His Glorious Night has gone down in history as having more or less single-handedly caused the downfall of silent-screen matinee idol John Gilbert, whose ardent declarations of "I love you, I love you" to an overly inert Catherine Dale Owen were parodied twenty-odd years later in MGM's otherwise highly apocryphal Singing in the Rain (1952). Owen, from the Broadway stage, plays Princess Orsolini, who refuses an arranged marriage in favor of dallying with Kovacs (Gilbert), a dashing cavalry officer. But on the advice of her mother (stage luminary Nance O'Neil), the princess reluctantly informs Kovacs that she cannot love the offspring of a peasant. In revenge, the latter indulges in a bit of blackmail, but true love wins out in the end -- to the energetic strains of Franz Von Suppé's "Light Cavalry Overture". Rumors to the contrary, the problem was not with Gilbert's voice but with screenwriter Willard Mack's overly florid dialogue, which might have been fine as subtitles but sounded downright embarrassing to audiences when spoken by a cast suffering from the stilted direction of a microphone-conscious Lionel Barrymore. His Glorious Night was rather more successful in three foreign-language versions: Olimpia featuring Maria Alba and José Crespo, Olympia with Nora Gregor and Theo Schall, and Si L'empereur Savait Ça featuring Françoise Rosay and André Luguet. The story was remade by director Michael Curtiz in 1960 as A Breath of Scandal starring Sophia Loren and John Gavin. ~ Hans J. Wollstein, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Gilbert, Catherine Dale Owen, (more)
Rain, the famous John Colton-Clemence Randolph theatrical adaptation of Somerset Maugham's short story about religious hypocrisy, was such a "hot potato" in 1928 that the Hays Office, Hollywood's self-appointed censorship bureau, would not allow the play to be filmed under its original title. Thus, the silent film version of Rain went out as Sadie Thompson, which happened to be the name of the central character. Gloria Swanson plays Sadie, a woman of loose morals and sordid reputation who travels to the South Seas, seeking out a new life. She makes little effort to curb her hedonism, especially when she's "entertaining" a group of US marines stationed in the tiny island where she lives. Sadie falls genuinely in love for the first time with marine Raoul Walsh (who also directed the film), which displeases visiting bluenose Lionel Barrymore (a clergyman in the original play, but a private citizen here). Threatening to expose Sadie to the local authorities if she doesn't clear out, the sanctimonious Barrymore declares that the fallen woman can only save herself by embracing the word of God. The repentant Sadie sobbingly promises to do so--whereupon Barrymore, in a moment of weakness, seduces Sadie himself. Barrymore commits suicide, leaving Sadie free to start life over with Walsh. Lip-readers had a field day watching Gloria Swanson mouth the most colorful of obscenities, which were immediately "laundered" by censor-approved subtitles. Current prints of Sadie Thompson are incomplete; the final reel has been reconstructed with reshot titles and still pictures. The film would be remade under the original title Rain in 1932, with Joan Crawford in the lead; 22 years later, a heavily bowdlerized musical version of Rain, starring Rita Hayworth, was released as Miss Sadie Thompson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lionel Barrymore, Gloria Swanson, (more)
- 1928
The Lion and the Mouse was adapted from the well-worn stage play by Charles Klein. Lionel Barrymore stars as "Ready Money" Ryder, a ruthless businessman who destroys Judge Rossmore (Alec B. Francis), the father of heroine Shirley (May McAvoy). Soon thereafter, Ryder's weak-willed son Jefferson (William Collier Jr.) marries Shirley. Now that she's in a position of authority, the "mousy" Shirley gets even with "lion" Ryder by beating him at his own intimidation game. Originally released silent, Lion and the Mouse was reissued a few weeks later with talkie sequences. It is said that silent star May McAvoy's movie career was ruined because she had a pronounced lisp, but her voice registered quite well in the sound sequences; acting-wise, however, she was rather outclassed by those old barnstormers Barrymore and Francis. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- May McAvoy, Lionel Barrymore, (more)
- 1928
Pioneering filmmaker D.W. Griffith's days of glory were well behind him when he agreed to direct Drums of Love. Indicative of his diminishing status in Hollywood was the fact that he was now merely a hired hand at United Artists, the company he'd helped to form in 1919. The film was based on the venerable melodrama Francesca da Rimini, "updated" from 14th-century Italy to 19th-century South America. Mary Philbin and Don Alvarado were starred as illicit lovers Emanuella and Leonardo, while Lionel Barrymore glowered his way through the role of Emanuella's misshapen husband. The film was stolen by Tully Marshall as the malevolent jester who reveals Emanuella's infidelities. No longer in full control of his films, Griffith was forced to make several demeaning concessions, the most injurious of which was imposing a happy ending on the story. Despite all that was working against him, however, Griffith was occasionally able to invest his old vim and vigor into the proceedings -- especially during a spectacular action setpiece which, reversing the director's usual formula, took place at the beginning of the picture. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mary Philbin, Lionel Barrymore, (more)
- 1928
In this lurid Tod Browning melodrama, boasting a thoroughly creepy performance by Lon Chaney, Chaney plays Phroso, a limehouse magician who is thoroughly in love with his wife Anna (Jacquelin Gadsdon). Also in love with Phroso's wife is ivory-trader Crane (Lionel Barrymore). After a performance, Anna tells Phroso that she is leaving him to go away with Crane to Africa. After Phroso confronts Crane, Crane kicks him down a second-floor landing, crippling him. Months later, Phroso, now known as "Dead Legs" Flint, is now seen to be paralyzed from the chest down, and he gets around by pulling himself forward by his hands. He enters a church where he sees Annie has returned, but she is dead at the altar, leaving her child Maizie, whom Dead Legs assumes to be Crane's child, crying next to her. Hate consumes the soul of Dead Legs, and he swears vengeance on Crane. Years pass. Dead Legs is now lording it over a group of African savages as their god. Maizie (Mary Nolan) has been installed at a brothel in Zanzibar and is now a broken-down alcoholic prostitute. Dead Legs conspires to steal some of Crane's ivory so Crane can appear before Dead Legs, and his revenge can be redeemed. He sends for Maizie and reveals her to Crane. He plans on killing Crane and, due to an African tribal custom that says a man's daughter must be burned at the stake when he dies, have the savages have their way with Maizie. But when Crane arrives and he tells Dead Legs that Maizie is not his daughter but Dead Legs' daughter, Dead Legs is stupefied. Crane leaves and is shot by the savages, his body returned to Dead Legs. Now the bloodthirsty savages want Maizie, so that she can be sacrificed at the stake. Dead Legs, as her father, must now conspire a way to save his daughter from certain death. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lon Chaney, Lionel Barrymore, (more)
- 1928
After holding out for several months, MGM decided to take the talking-picture plunge with Alias Jimmy Valentine. Actually, the film is 90% silent, with a few arbitrarily inserted talkie sequences. Digressing but little from the oft-filmed O. Henry original, the plot concerns a reformed safecracker, here played by popular MGM light leading man William Haines. While working at an honest job at a bank, Haines' past comes back to haunt him in the form of relentless detective Lionel Barrymore. Haines is able to throw the cop off the trail until a little girl is locked in the bank's vault. Forced to utilize his highly individualized safecracking technique to rescue the girl, Haines is certain that he's destined for a long prison term. But Barrymore, taking into consideration Haines' good deed-not to mention his romance with boss' daughter Leila Hyams-pretends not to notice, and lets the former criminal off scot-free. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Haines, Lionel Barrymore, (more)
- 1927
Also known as Women Love Diamonds, this MGM picture was to have been a Greta Garbo vehicle, but when Garbo went on strike for a higher salary the film was deferred to contractee Pauline Starke. The story concerns the beautiful mistress (Starke) of an elderly millionaire (Lionel Barrymore), who falls in love with younger, handsomer Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Upon announcing his intention to marry Starke, Moore is told flatly that such a union is impossible: it turns out that the girl is of illegitimate birth. But Starke proves that she has more inner nobility than anyone else in the family when she selflessly acts as surrogate mother to the children of mortally injured chauffeur Owen Moore. It seems fairly certain that, by refusing to appear in Women Love Diamonds, Garbo didn't hurt her career one teeny bit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pauline Starke, Owen Moore, (more)
- 1927
Body and Soul was a remake of the heavy-breathing 1920 melodrama The Branding Iron. Lionel Barrymore is shameless in his portrayal of double-dyed villain Dr. Leyden. After disgracing his profession, Leyden escapes to Switzerland, where he is smitten by inn servant Hilda (Aileen Pringle). Tricking her into marriage, he treats her atrociously, so it's hardly a surprise when Hilda falls in love with handsome young skier Buffo (Norman Kerry). Tricking the boy into an accident, Dr. Leyden threatens to let Buffo die unless Hilda returns to him. She agrees, but to bind the bargain he brands the poor girl with a red-hot iron. This guy is definitely overdue for a horrible demise -- which comes in due time in the form of a deux ex machina avalanche. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aileen Pringle, Norman Kerry, (more)
- 1927
Long believed to be a "lost" film, The Show resurfaced in the mid-1970s, proving to be a real treasure trove for aficionados of director Tod Browning. Ostensibly based on Tenney Jackson's novel The Day of Souls, the film also owes a great deal to Ferenc Molnar's Liliom. John Gilbert stars as Cock Robin, the swaggering spieler of a Hungarian "freak show" known as the Palace of Illusions. The highlight of the show is a grotesque reenactment of Salome's dance of the seven veils, replete with the beheading of John the Baptist (played by Cock Robin). The actress playing Salome (also named Salome and played by Renee Adoree) is the "kept woman" of the troupe's leading man The Greek (Lionel Barrymore), but she's really in love with Cock Robin and despairs whenever the caddish "hero" betrays yet another wide-eyed maiden. Insane with jealousy, The Greek plots to kill Cock Robin by actually cutting his head off during a performance of "Salome." With the heroine's help, Cock Robin escapes, ultimately redeeming himself by posing as the long-lost son of a pathetic, senile blind man. He then returns to square accounts with The Greek, who in true Tod Browning tradition is hoist on his own murderous petard when he tries to kill Salome with a deadly gila monster. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, (more)
- 1927
This MGM-ized adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina was originally titled Heat but was changed to Love when someone at the studio pointed out the possible implications of having the opening title read "John Gilbert and Greta Garbo in Heat." Heavily updated and revised, the film bore scant relation to the Tolstoy original, save for the fact that heroine Anna Karenina (Greta Garbo) is threatened with ruin by her aristocratic husband Karenin (Brandon Hurst) when she falls in love with dashing Russian officer Vronsky (John Gilbert). The story goes that MGM head Irving Thalberg purchased the novel without reading it, only to discover to his chagrin that Tolstoy's heroine "solves" her problems by throwing herself under a moving train. While it's hardly likely that the well-read Thalberg would not be aware of the book's outcome, it is true that Love was shipped out with two different endings. The original tragic denouement was retained for the European prints, while a ludicrous happy ending -- in which the widowed Anna is permitted to marry Vronsky after a respectable five-year period -- was tacked on in America. Nor was this the only change: when it became obvious that the film's original Karenin, Lionel Barrymore, was stealing focus from Garbo, Barrymore was replaced by the less charismatic Brandon Hurst. As a Tolstoy adaptation, Love was a flop; as a lush, quasi-erotic Gilbert-Garbo vehicle, it was a hit. Nine years later, Garbo would co-star with Fredric March in a more faithful cinemadaptation of Anna Karenina, with the doleful ending intact. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greta Garbo, John Gilbert, (more)
