Svengali
Directed by Archie Mayo
Written by J. Grubb Alexander from a novel by George L. Du Maurier
1931/US
Warner Bros.
IMDb page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime (free to Members)
Svengali: [to Trilby] There is nothing in your mind… nothing in your heart… nothing in your soul… but Svengali… Svengali… Svengali… !
I have several quibbles with this movie but loved my introduction to Marian Marsh.
The setting is Paris, France. Greasy, creepy singing teacher Svengali (John Barrymore) uses his hypnotic powers to seduce his students and for other evil purposes. He lives in a dumpy apartment and is famous for his lack of bathing.
One day, he meets beautiful artist’s model Trilby (Marsh). He overhears her singing badly but remarks that the shape of her throat make her an ideal singer. Trilby is sweet and is in love with Englishman Billee (Bramwell Fletcher). Svengali tells him he can take away her frequent headaches with hypnosis and she allows him to try.
Eventually he hypnotizes her into being a celebrated concert soprano and into marrying him. But can he hypnotize her heart?
Marian Marsh is adorable as the gamin-like Trilby. The film goes for a German Expressionist look but cheap production values do not help. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many obviously fake beards in one movie. The title role may be Barrymore’s hammiest performance ever – he looks and acts like a combo of Fagin and Rasputin and he can’t seem to decide whether his accent should be Swedish, Yiddish, or German. Worth seeing for Marsh.
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