I've only watched the film once by way of Roan's fine if not outstanding DVD - and this happened fairly recently. SVENGALI follows its source novel ("Trilby" by George Du Maurier) pretty closely, which is rare for horror film-adaptations of the 1930s. Apart from John Barrymore's appropriately mesmerizing leading performance (here revisiting the genre after a whole decade), I recall one particularly amazing tracking shot demonstrating Svengali's hypnotic powers over Trilby, and there are even brief flashes of nudity (remember this was a Pre-Code film, but also that our heroine is a model)! Barrymore followed SVENGALI with the thematically-similar THE MAD GENIUS (1931) but, unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to watch that one
59 Reviews
Barrymore as Svengali
blanche-223 March 2010
Wow. Creating opera singers in Paris was at one point, apparently, all the rage in literature - we have Christine Daae coached by the Phantom of the Opera and here, we have Trilby becoming an opera star under the tutelage of the great Svengali. This 1931 film stars John Barrymore in the title role, Marian Marsh as Trilby, along with Bramwell Fletcher as Billee, Trilby's boyfriend, and Donald Crisp.
The poor, unkempt, dirty Svengali becomes obsessed with the artist's model Trilby. He hypnotizes her and takes over her mind. Though her boyfriend (Bram Fletcher) and the artists believe her dead, five years later, Svengali, now prosperous and clean, appears in concert with his wife, the phenomenal Mme. Svengali, the great opera star. After performing "The Mad Scene from Lucia," she leaves the theater, and her friends recognize her. Just one small problem - Svengali has a weak heart, and he is more and more losing control over her. And now that Billee has seen her, he keeps showing up.
This is a classic film, thanks to the performance of Barrymore and the great sets, which, as many people have mentioned, were inspired by The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Barrymore brings great humor and a vulnerability to an overtly scary role, and Marsh is adorable. Seventeen years old here, she retired at the age of 30, except for some TV appearances, and died at the age of 93. Blond Bramwell Fletcher, who often appeared on stage throughout his career, is Trilby's love interest. Eleven years after this film was made, he married Barrymore's daughter Diana.
Had this film been made a few years later, it might have been a touch better. The actors and studio were still getting used to the sound process, so the rhythm of the dialogue is a little off. Nonetheless, this is an excellent film, and I'll take any opportunity I can to see the great Barrymore.
The poor, unkempt, dirty Svengali becomes obsessed with the artist's model Trilby. He hypnotizes her and takes over her mind. Though her boyfriend (Bram Fletcher) and the artists believe her dead, five years later, Svengali, now prosperous and clean, appears in concert with his wife, the phenomenal Mme. Svengali, the great opera star. After performing "The Mad Scene from Lucia," she leaves the theater, and her friends recognize her. Just one small problem - Svengali has a weak heart, and he is more and more losing control over her. And now that Billee has seen her, he keeps showing up.
This is a classic film, thanks to the performance of Barrymore and the great sets, which, as many people have mentioned, were inspired by The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Barrymore brings great humor and a vulnerability to an overtly scary role, and Marsh is adorable. Seventeen years old here, she retired at the age of 30, except for some TV appearances, and died at the age of 93. Blond Bramwell Fletcher, who often appeared on stage throughout his career, is Trilby's love interest. Eleven years after this film was made, he married Barrymore's daughter Diana.
Had this film been made a few years later, it might have been a touch better. The actors and studio were still getting used to the sound process, so the rhythm of the dialogue is a little off. Nonetheless, this is an excellent film, and I'll take any opportunity I can to see the great Barrymore.
A complex villain in an open-ended tale
AlsExGal21 February 2010
Such a story could only be committed to celluloid during the precode era. John Barrymore, as Svengali, makes us empathize with him as we are presented with a very complex villain.
The opening twenty minutes or so of the film are pretty much light-hearted fare as Svengali is presented as a fortune-hunter when it comes to his women pupils and also a very creative panhandler when it comes to his British artist acquaintances also living in the artists' section of Paris. By chance, Svengali meets artists' model Trilby. Trilby is a bit of a dual-natured creature herself. She has the language and bearing of a free spirit, yet she also has angelic delicate features and sports a gendarme's coat that seems to say "No Trespassing!". Svengali is captivated, perhaps for the first time in his life, with another human being, not just with what that human being can do for him. The movie takes a sharp turn into darker territory when Svengali uses his hypnotic hold on young model Trilby to turn her into a singing sensation. He can make her do anything he wants through his hypnotic powers - even marry him. However, when he lets her out of her trance she feels nothing for him. There is a particularly touching scene in which Svengali talks to "the real" Trilby and she says that she has tried to love him but simply does not. Frustrated, he quickly puts her into a trance, and his marionette parrots back her love for him. Heartbroken, he realizes all that is happening when she speaks her affection is that he is talking to himself. As time passes it is interesting to see how Svengali ages, as the weight of holding back Trilby's true will seems to be slowly killing him. The ending is not sewed up neatly at all, and it is a bit shocking to see how it breaks off.
The best parts of this film are John Barrymore's great performance as Svengali and also the art design. If you've ever seen The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, the art design is quite similar to that, especially in the first part of the film in Paris. The windows and doors all have odd shapes and angles, as the visual style of the whole film takes on a nightmarish and surreal quality.
The opening twenty minutes or so of the film are pretty much light-hearted fare as Svengali is presented as a fortune-hunter when it comes to his women pupils and also a very creative panhandler when it comes to his British artist acquaintances also living in the artists' section of Paris. By chance, Svengali meets artists' model Trilby. Trilby is a bit of a dual-natured creature herself. She has the language and bearing of a free spirit, yet she also has angelic delicate features and sports a gendarme's coat that seems to say "No Trespassing!". Svengali is captivated, perhaps for the first time in his life, with another human being, not just with what that human being can do for him. The movie takes a sharp turn into darker territory when Svengali uses his hypnotic hold on young model Trilby to turn her into a singing sensation. He can make her do anything he wants through his hypnotic powers - even marry him. However, when he lets her out of her trance she feels nothing for him. There is a particularly touching scene in which Svengali talks to "the real" Trilby and she says that she has tried to love him but simply does not. Frustrated, he quickly puts her into a trance, and his marionette parrots back her love for him. Heartbroken, he realizes all that is happening when she speaks her affection is that he is talking to himself. As time passes it is interesting to see how Svengali ages, as the weight of holding back Trilby's true will seems to be slowly killing him. The ending is not sewed up neatly at all, and it is a bit shocking to see how it breaks off.
The best parts of this film are John Barrymore's great performance as Svengali and also the art design. If you've ever seen The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari, the art design is quite similar to that, especially in the first part of the film in Paris. The windows and doors all have odd shapes and angles, as the visual style of the whole film takes on a nightmarish and surreal quality.
Fantastic design and Barrymore in his prime.
Bobs-919 April 2004
The remark of an earlier commentator below caught my eye when he stated that the change in perspective from comedy to serious drama in this film didn't work for him. I've found this to be a most striking feature of the film as well, but I always thought it very effective in giving the film, and the characters, more scope than the average uniform, by-the-book comedy, thriller, horror film, drama, etc. A bit like real life, no?
Anyway, I've always been a fan of this film, and I don't think the acting is at all hokey for its era or genre. The stylized acting of the time, which appears artificial by today's standards, seems to me to go well with the weird expressionist set design in evoking a fantastic world where fantastic things can occur. Also, the chance to see Barrymore ham it up in grand style as Svengali is, in my view, a rare treat, like experiencing a bit of show biz history. I bristled a bit at the review of this film by Scott Weinberg of the Apollo Movie Guide (see "external reviews" link). He states that in 1931 you could entertain people by showing 75 minutes of an airport runway, and that his being born in the 70s may explain why this film put him to sleep. Maybe so. I myself was born in the 50s and also did not grow up with this style of filmmaking, though I probably saw more of it on TV than he did. That doesn't preclude my appreciation of it, any more than it precludes my appreciation for films of the 70s, the 80s, or the 20s for that matter. Good film is good film, and having no appreciation for the first 3 decades of cinema and some of its greatest innovators seems a severe handicap for anyone who writes about film, but at least he was honest about it.
I'm not saying that this film is on a par with the work of Murnau or Eisenstein, but I do think it's a fascinating and stylish look into a bygone era of cinema, and can be appreciated as such.
Anyway, I've always been a fan of this film, and I don't think the acting is at all hokey for its era or genre. The stylized acting of the time, which appears artificial by today's standards, seems to me to go well with the weird expressionist set design in evoking a fantastic world where fantastic things can occur. Also, the chance to see Barrymore ham it up in grand style as Svengali is, in my view, a rare treat, like experiencing a bit of show biz history. I bristled a bit at the review of this film by Scott Weinberg of the Apollo Movie Guide (see "external reviews" link). He states that in 1931 you could entertain people by showing 75 minutes of an airport runway, and that his being born in the 70s may explain why this film put him to sleep. Maybe so. I myself was born in the 50s and also did not grow up with this style of filmmaking, though I probably saw more of it on TV than he did. That doesn't preclude my appreciation of it, any more than it precludes my appreciation for films of the 70s, the 80s, or the 20s for that matter. Good film is good film, and having no appreciation for the first 3 decades of cinema and some of its greatest innovators seems a severe handicap for anyone who writes about film, but at least he was honest about it.
I'm not saying that this film is on a par with the work of Murnau or Eisenstein, but I do think it's a fascinating and stylish look into a bygone era of cinema, and can be appreciated as such.
Svengali (1931) ***
JoeKarlosi20 February 2010
Svengali (John Barrymore) is an eccentric mystical music teacher/pianist who makes his daily bread giving singing lessons to aspiring students in Paris. His long hair, forked beard, and piercing eyes make the unusual instructor a prime target of ridicule among the local townsfolk. One day a stunning and earthy young model named Trilby (Marian Marsh, perfectly cast and the living picture of the girl you heard about in the song "You're Sixteen") makes her way into the life of Billee (Bramwell Fletcher from the 1932 MUMMY), and wins his devotion. But like all the red-blooded men in this tale, the sly Svengali takes a liking to her himself, and hypnotizes the girl into following him. It's always exciting to discover an old classic from Hollywood's Golden Age that still captivates. SVENGALI is only borderline horror at best, yet it remains a true gem, an absorbing achievement in every way: from the powerful lead performance of Barrymore, to the delicious beauty of 16 year-old Marian Marsh, to the bizarre set designs of Anton Grot, to the wonderful direction by Archie Mayo. This is when movies were movies. *** out of ****
Well Worth Catching.
rmax3048232 April 2011
Warning: Spoilers
There never was an historical figure named Svengali, nor a hypnotized Trilby on whom he worked his will. The novel was written in the late 1800s. The book was a big smash in those days, when people still read, so the name and the relationship became icons of vernacular culture.
Barrymore is Svengali, a pianist and teacher of music, who lives in a decrepit boarding house in Paris with a couple of other half-starved artists. (The novel devoted a lot of time to a description of la vie Boheme on the Left Bank.) A young artist's model, Marian Marsh, falls in love with Billie (Fletcher) but falls under the hypnotic spell of the older Svengali. Well, it's more than hypnosis really. He can enter her head from across the city.
Under his spell, Trilby becomes a famous soprano. Svengali fakes her death and whisks her off elsewhere. Svengali marries her. She becomes the toast of Europe with her soprano. The only thing that Svengali can't get past is her love for Billie. He has to hypnotize her to get her to cooperate in the boudoir and by the end, he's disgusted with himself for making love to a marionette. He longs for her love and gets it in the end, though it costs him dearly.
There are a couple of good reasons for watching this old flick if the opportunity arises. For one thing, the direction, performances, and sets are pretty good for their time. In particular, a traveling shot across a miniature Paris is right out of German expressionism. And rooms are filled with dark, angular shadows.
Then there's the way the story is shot. This was before the imposition of the infamous code, so there are scenes that wouldn't have made it past the censors a few years later. There's a semi-nude scene, for instance, which suggests that Trilby looks good all over.
And then there's the dialog. Svengali has been described by his neighbors as "a Polish scavenger." Indeed, he's unkempt and clomps slowly about. I think he once played Rasputin, the Mad Monk. If he didn't, he should have. But, what with his hypnotic eyeballs, he has this power over women. When a rich woman enters his studio for her music lesson at the beginning, he asks, "What did we do last?" The woman replies, "Don't you remember?" And he says, "Ahh, yes, but I meant the music." The wealthy woman then tells him, "I worship you, Svengali. I have left my husband for good." And Svengali squints thoughtfully and says, "Yes, but how much did he leave YOU?" When he discovers that she came to him without a penny, he throws her out and she commits suicide. "Her body was found in the river!" Svengali: "Ah, that is impossible -- in this weather." Later, fighting Trilby's love for Billie, he dismisses Billie as "that stiff-necked Englander, the head of the Purity Brigade." Barrymore plays all this with a comic relish, like Richard III. He revels in his exercise of evil.
Marian Marsh, on the other hand, is one of the most beautiful young woman to appear in the screen in the early 30s. She doesn't have Garbo's knowing languour, although she's equally attractive, but rather the winsome eagerness of a child. She's like a porcelain doll with perfect features and a smile that has the same effect on a viewer as Svengali's glowing eyeballs.
I wonder how many of today's kids would recognize the name of Svengali. (Never mind Trilby.) He may be disappearing along with much of the rest of our shared data base in vernacular culture. I once asked my college class if they had heard of Sinbad the Sailor. Forget it.
Barrymore is Svengali, a pianist and teacher of music, who lives in a decrepit boarding house in Paris with a couple of other half-starved artists. (The novel devoted a lot of time to a description of la vie Boheme on the Left Bank.) A young artist's model, Marian Marsh, falls in love with Billie (Fletcher) but falls under the hypnotic spell of the older Svengali. Well, it's more than hypnosis really. He can enter her head from across the city.
Under his spell, Trilby becomes a famous soprano. Svengali fakes her death and whisks her off elsewhere. Svengali marries her. She becomes the toast of Europe with her soprano. The only thing that Svengali can't get past is her love for Billie. He has to hypnotize her to get her to cooperate in the boudoir and by the end, he's disgusted with himself for making love to a marionette. He longs for her love and gets it in the end, though it costs him dearly.
There are a couple of good reasons for watching this old flick if the opportunity arises. For one thing, the direction, performances, and sets are pretty good for their time. In particular, a traveling shot across a miniature Paris is right out of German expressionism. And rooms are filled with dark, angular shadows.
Then there's the way the story is shot. This was before the imposition of the infamous code, so there are scenes that wouldn't have made it past the censors a few years later. There's a semi-nude scene, for instance, which suggests that Trilby looks good all over.
And then there's the dialog. Svengali has been described by his neighbors as "a Polish scavenger." Indeed, he's unkempt and clomps slowly about. I think he once played Rasputin, the Mad Monk. If he didn't, he should have. But, what with his hypnotic eyeballs, he has this power over women. When a rich woman enters his studio for her music lesson at the beginning, he asks, "What did we do last?" The woman replies, "Don't you remember?" And he says, "Ahh, yes, but I meant the music." The wealthy woman then tells him, "I worship you, Svengali. I have left my husband for good." And Svengali squints thoughtfully and says, "Yes, but how much did he leave YOU?" When he discovers that she came to him without a penny, he throws her out and she commits suicide. "Her body was found in the river!" Svengali: "Ah, that is impossible -- in this weather." Later, fighting Trilby's love for Billie, he dismisses Billie as "that stiff-necked Englander, the head of the Purity Brigade." Barrymore plays all this with a comic relish, like Richard III. He revels in his exercise of evil.
Marian Marsh, on the other hand, is one of the most beautiful young woman to appear in the screen in the early 30s. She doesn't have Garbo's knowing languour, although she's equally attractive, but rather the winsome eagerness of a child. She's like a porcelain doll with perfect features and a smile that has the same effect on a viewer as Svengali's glowing eyeballs.
I wonder how many of today's kids would recognize the name of Svengali. (Never mind Trilby.) He may be disappearing along with much of the rest of our shared data base in vernacular culture. I once asked my college class if they had heard of Sinbad the Sailor. Forget it.
A Real Treat!
MarcoAntonio15 August 2005
I just love this version of the classic tale "Trilby". John Barrymore is excellent as Svengali and pretty Marian Marsh is utterly charming as Trilby. The film has a very bohemian look and feel to it which is one of the reasons why you should enjoy it. The expressionistic sets were by Anton Grot and there is the famous striking miniature set of the rooftops of Paris that the camera tracks over in the classic scene where Svengali wills Trilby from her apartment to his one stormy midnight. Warner Brothers paired Barrymore and Marsh once again in "The Mad Genius" which is a rather adult, pre-code story with Barrymore just as menacing as he is in "Svengali", but not the demoniac that he is in this film. Note: The Roan Group (Roan Group.com) has the best DVD edition of "Svengali" available on the market.
A Svengali in any language
SimonJack20 April 2016
It's been many years since I read DuMaurier's "Trilby." I was a young man then, probably much more impressionable than I am now. I didn't know that there had been a movie made based on the book - let alone several versions. When I came across the title on IMDb recently, I read the summaries and comments on all of them. It seemed to me that only one came close to the book - this 1931 Warner Brothers film, named after the villain of the story. Comparing the casts, one also could come to the conclusion that this would be the best of the films. So, I bought and watched the dvd of this film.
John Barrymore does an excellent job as "Svengali." Marian Marsh is very good as Trilby, and this is her first starring role after a few uncredited roles in films. The rest of the cast are fine in their roles. I did notice that the ending was different, if in the same vein.
The film didn't seem to be as sinister as I recalled Svengali from the book. Perhaps the front of gentleness displayed by Barrymore here assuages somewhat the terror of his character's demonic side. I don't recall if his character had a gentle or sweet side in the book.
The filmmakers did an excellent job in setting the story with the stark appearance of the lodgings and spacious empty hallways in the beginning. Once Trilby comes under Svengali's spell, it seems that the film moves very quickly to the end. I thought there was a little more to the intervening years in the book.
This was a very good portrayal of one person controlling another, especially with dark powers. DuMaurier's villain's name soon transposed into common language. A manipulating person who seeks to control someone is referred to as a Svengali.
John Barrymore does an excellent job as "Svengali." Marian Marsh is very good as Trilby, and this is her first starring role after a few uncredited roles in films. The rest of the cast are fine in their roles. I did notice that the ending was different, if in the same vein.
The film didn't seem to be as sinister as I recalled Svengali from the book. Perhaps the front of gentleness displayed by Barrymore here assuages somewhat the terror of his character's demonic side. I don't recall if his character had a gentle or sweet side in the book.
The filmmakers did an excellent job in setting the story with the stark appearance of the lodgings and spacious empty hallways in the beginning. Once Trilby comes under Svengali's spell, it seems that the film moves very quickly to the end. I thought there was a little more to the intervening years in the book.
This was a very good portrayal of one person controlling another, especially with dark powers. DuMaurier's villain's name soon transposed into common language. A manipulating person who seeks to control someone is referred to as a Svengali.
Exceptional classic film
km_dickson13 August 2005
An exceptional classic film. In a storyline very similar to Dracula, the strange Maestro Svengali (John Barrymore) falls in love with a young girl (Marian Marsh) and uses his powers of hypnotism and mind control to seduce her. Erie, eye catching, strangely romantic and a little twisted, Svengali was everything Dracula should have been. The film is a masterpiece of visuals. The slanted, disproportionate sets and imaginative camera work give many scenes a dreamlike feel. John Barrymore is perfect as the title character. He does not play Svengali as a flatly evil man, but gives him charm, humor and vulnerability. He causes us to pity him for his unrequited love almost more than we fear him for his actions. The talent of the supporting cast does not go to waste either. Marian Marsh gives a good performance as Trilby, the object of Svengali's desire, and Donald Crisp and Luis Alberni provide some comic relief as a couple of struggling artists. Complete with a dark, somewhat open ending, this movie has all the right touches. Svengali is better and more effective than a horror movie without quite being one itself.
Some Impressive Black-and-White Atmosphere
LanceBrave7 November 2013
Warning: Spoilers
1931: Greatest year for horror ever? It certainly produced some of the most iconic films of the genre, such as "Dracula," "Frankenstein," "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," "M," and, much further down the list, "Svengali." Despite its reputation, "Svengali" isn't really a horror movie. The story resides squarely in the world of Gothic melodrama. George du Maurier's novel "Trilby" was as much about the bohemian scene of 1850s France as it was about the wicked hypnotist and his attempt to manipulate the beautiful but tone-deaf Trilby into being his personal diva. There's some of that in the movie, with awkward comic relief coming from the other tenets of the apartment. As you'd expect, Svengali is only one corner of a love triangle. Before coming under the hypnotist's influence, Trilby is in love with some guy named Billie. Billie is an ineffective hero and does little beside react to those around him. The romance still works, thanks to Marian Marsh's charming performance. A scene between the two involving a pie is especially memorable.
The horrific content is negligible but "Svengali" does pile on some impressive black-and-white atmosphere. A sequence about forty minutes in seriously impresses. The camera spins around Svengali's room. His eyes have gone completely white, deep in hypnotic trance. We pan out of the apartment, across the city, to Trilby's home. This visually illustrates the man's influence over her. It's also extremely creepy, the wind blowing and a church bell ominously chiming being the only sounds during the scene. It's hard to tell how much of an influence "Dracula" had on this film but the close-ups on John Barrymore's eyes glowing as he works his powers seem to purposely recall similar shots of Lugosi in the same year's film.
Which brings us to the second thing the movie has going for: John Barrymore's performance. Barrymore establishes the character's sinister intent early. After seducing another music student, and discovering she's not as rich as she let on, Svengali hypnotizes her into suicide. However, we only see Barrymore looming over the girl, his back to the camera. He cuts an intimidating figure. His manipulation of Trilby plays out in an especially cruel manner, like in a scene where he reminds her of her promiscuous past. However, he's not a heartless monster. Svengali legitimately loves her. After hypnotizing her into being his wife, he finds the charade unfulfilling. Mesmerizing the girl takes a great physical toll on the man and eventually cost him his life, his subconscious guilt manifesting itself.
The ending is surprisingly downbeat. The hero proves how useless he is by failing to rescue his lady. Even as he lay dying, Svengali reaches out to his true love. While a little thin, "Svengali" is a moody character study, well shot and with an impressive lead performance. It might not be as strong as some of 1931's other classics but I liked it all the same.
The horrific content is negligible but "Svengali" does pile on some impressive black-and-white atmosphere. A sequence about forty minutes in seriously impresses. The camera spins around Svengali's room. His eyes have gone completely white, deep in hypnotic trance. We pan out of the apartment, across the city, to Trilby's home. This visually illustrates the man's influence over her. It's also extremely creepy, the wind blowing and a church bell ominously chiming being the only sounds during the scene. It's hard to tell how much of an influence "Dracula" had on this film but the close-ups on John Barrymore's eyes glowing as he works his powers seem to purposely recall similar shots of Lugosi in the same year's film.
Which brings us to the second thing the movie has going for: John Barrymore's performance. Barrymore establishes the character's sinister intent early. After seducing another music student, and discovering she's not as rich as she let on, Svengali hypnotizes her into suicide. However, we only see Barrymore looming over the girl, his back to the camera. He cuts an intimidating figure. His manipulation of Trilby plays out in an especially cruel manner, like in a scene where he reminds her of her promiscuous past. However, he's not a heartless monster. Svengali legitimately loves her. After hypnotizing her into being his wife, he finds the charade unfulfilling. Mesmerizing the girl takes a great physical toll on the man and eventually cost him his life, his subconscious guilt manifesting itself.
The ending is surprisingly downbeat. The hero proves how useless he is by failing to rescue his lady. Even as he lay dying, Svengali reaches out to his true love. While a little thin, "Svengali" is a moody character study, well shot and with an impressive lead performance. It might not be as strong as some of 1931's other classics but I liked it all the same.
"Don't point that beard at me! It might go off!"
gridoon202410 April 2017
Warning: Spoilers
That's what Groucho Marx said in "A Day At The Races", and I wonder if John Barrymore's Svengali was one of his inspirations for that line. Seriously, with that thing, it took me about half an hour to realize that this wasn't intended as a comedy. There is one traveling shot, where the camera circles around Svengali and then flies outside his house and into the house of Trilby, which is genuinely impressive, and the "hypnotizing eyes" effects are successful, but the story is slow-as-molasses, and Barrymore's performance doesn't date well; it constantly calls attention to itself, as if it's the performance that matters and not the film that it serves. ** out of 4.
The pleasure to watch the classics
Mme_Jannings18 July 2005
I felt very touched by J. Barrymore's performance as Maestro Svengali, although I had already tasted the pleasure to watch this great actor in Grand Hotel. The movie is short to me, while the way it develops is slow as slow the way Maestro Svengali speaks, to give a more sense of fatality to the movie. The little resources that movie makers could use during those old times are more than enough to give an impact still to the spectators of our century. The eyes, the decorations, all is very well portrayed and gives an eerie feeling all through the movie. The scene where maestro svengali looks at his beloved (before the end of the movie) when he speaks slowly while crying in silence is a masterpiece.
I recommend this movie to people who want to discover more the classics, and those who like suspense and thriller movies.
I recommend this movie to people who want to discover more the classics, and those who like suspense and thriller movies.
Svengali films differ from Trilby novel
sandra-16817 October 2005
Warning: Spoilers
Both the Svengali films (1931, 1954) differ from the Trilby novel, especially in the endings. In the book, after Svengali died Trilby was left in a weak psychological state that led to physical illness from which she never recovered. A mysterious painting of Svengali in a military uniform arrived by courier to symbolize his return to take her. She uttered his name three times and died shortly after. Billy also died not too long after that. Mrs. Bagot forgave Trilby and actually admired her for her humility and good nature. Taffy eventually married Billy's sister and they lived a happy life.
The films dwelt heavily on the hypnotic trance that Svengali used to control Trilby. In the earlier film, Trilby never awoke as she immediately followed Svengali to her own death. In the later film, it was implied that she awoke from the trance to start a new life with Billy after Svengali died. Both of the accounts are creative departures from the novel, and the later film is even misleading.
The films dwelt heavily on the hypnotic trance that Svengali used to control Trilby. In the earlier film, Trilby never awoke as she immediately followed Svengali to her own death. In the later film, it was implied that she awoke from the trance to start a new life with Billy after Svengali died. Both of the accounts are creative departures from the novel, and the later film is even misleading.
hopelessly outdated curio
planktonrules30 March 2006
I love most of John Barrymore's films, so when this came on I jumped at the chance to see it. However, I was less than thrilled because this production of SVENGALI really showed its age. Instead of the subtle and engaging performances he was capable of doing, this was John Barrymore at his loudest and least convincing. In 1931, I am sure this style of excessive emoting was acceptable, but today it just looks old,...really, really old. A lot of reviewers on IMDb loved his acting--I am, so far, the lone dissent.
The story itself is kind of fun to watch as long as you suspend your disbelief. Nearly everyone knows that the hypnotic trances and weird glowing eyes are only something you see in movies, but I can forget that for a while and just watch. And, on that level the film does work and it's an interesting curio of the age. Not a particularly GOOD film, but interesting nonetheless. And, it's pretty short so you aren't out much if you, too, think it's only at best average.
The story itself is kind of fun to watch as long as you suspend your disbelief. Nearly everyone knows that the hypnotic trances and weird glowing eyes are only something you see in movies, but I can forget that for a while and just watch. And, on that level the film does work and it's an interesting curio of the age. Not a particularly GOOD film, but interesting nonetheless. And, it's pretty short so you aren't out much if you, too, think it's only at best average.
Engaging production of George du Maurier's famous novel
pooch-85 January 1999
John Barrymore tackles the delicious role of Svengali, the evil musician who casts a spell over pretty young Trilby, an artist's model (portrayed by Marian Marsh). The chief reason to see Archie Mayo's production is the unique set design by Anton Grot (who, I am speculating, was rather inspired by The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari). Also of note are the splendid special effects, still impressive even after all these years. All of the hypnosis/possession sequences are remarkable, as great attention is paid to the piercing, penetrating eyes of Svengali as he mesmerizes the hapless ingenue. The weak link here is the lukewarm Bramwell Fletcher, playing Trilby's true love. He registers blandly, and behaves more as the passive mollycoddle than as the proactive hero.
A fantasy weak in plot and acting, but with splendid sets and photography.
Art-2213 October 1998
I'm not a believer in telepathic communication, so the plot had a strike or two against it from the start. The film has an uneven tone in that there is too much comedy in the first part due mostly to John Barrymore (he's a terrible ham, although fun at times). Considering he caused the suicide of one of his pupils, it somehow seemed out of place. Perhaps it was to show how sinister and unfeeling he was, but it didn't work for me. After Svengali meets Trilby, there was almost no comedy. The acting of the two protagonists, Marion Marsh and Bramwell Fletcher was passable, but not exceptional. However, the sets and photography were splendid. There's one sequence that stood out for me. It starts with an extreme close-up of Barrymore's eyes with those cups in them to make it eerie, as he starts his telepathic communication with Marsh. The camera pulls back through a window until the entire house is in view and then moves laterally past several houses until Marsh's house is in view. It moves slowly through her window until we see her in close-up, and she awakens. The camera expressed the idea of telepathy beautifully, and nothing was ever out of focus.
Mind control
russjones-8088717 August 2020
A sinister music maestro uses hypnosis on a young girl and then his telepathic powers to control her. However, he also wants to make her love him.
Pre-code film starring John Barrymore in the title role, in which he is both forceful but also charmless. Special effects are, for the time, notable. Marian Marsh gives a creditable performance as the girl.
Pre-code film starring John Barrymore in the title role, in which he is both forceful but also charmless. Special effects are, for the time, notable. Marian Marsh gives a creditable performance as the girl.
Astonishing visuals, disarming plot, a rather terrific early talkie
secondtake11 April 2011
Svengali (1931)
"Svengali" is a strange strange film, half nightmare, half plain old German Expressionism thrown into an inventive Warner Bros. set. It's amazing at its best, and the set design and photography both got Oscar nominations. The plot that gets built up of increasingly new elements, comic outsiders (Englishmen who believe in bathing every day) and a overtly beautiful blonde model and her apparent love match (they have just met), until the crux of it clarifies--the title character is a madman who can hypnotize people at will.
John Barrymore in his archly long, dramatic is a creep, appropriately. When he hypnotizes, his eyes turn to these large glowing white orbs. He has fallen in love with a model and starts to control her, which her fiancé only gradually realizes. Other people just find Svengali a quirky artistic type, and see no harm in him at first.
The setting is odd--clearly shot on a studio lot rather than a real Parisian artists colony, it nonetheless is meant to be some kind of rambling set of rooms that are more or less attached, or near each other. For the whole first half, the main characters never really leave the irregular, sometimes offkilter chambers, which look like there were adapted from "Caligari" itself. The light and the framing, and the interesting very shallow depth of field, combine to make a mysterious and really beautiful effect.
The Barrymores, as a group, are amazing, but their theatricality, especially John's, doesn't always transfer well to modern movies. In a way, it's this leading man who cuts into the disarming surrealism and horror overall, simply because he's so campy. This might be just a matter of changing tastes, because his effect reminds me rather a lot of Bela Lugosi in "Dracula" which was released the same year (a few months earlier). The story of Dracula is more archetypal and wonderful for the ages, but in my view (I've seen both movies recently) this is much better filmed. The photography, lighting, and blocking (the way the actors move) are more fluid and involved. Archie Mayo, the director, has a handful of completely wonderful films to his up and down career (click on his name to see). As much as this one has some obvious and forced sections, and a plot that doesn't quite involve the viewer as you would hope, it's a really well made, well constructed movie. For 1931 it's sometimes a pure wonder.
"Svengali" is a strange strange film, half nightmare, half plain old German Expressionism thrown into an inventive Warner Bros. set. It's amazing at its best, and the set design and photography both got Oscar nominations. The plot that gets built up of increasingly new elements, comic outsiders (Englishmen who believe in bathing every day) and a overtly beautiful blonde model and her apparent love match (they have just met), until the crux of it clarifies--the title character is a madman who can hypnotize people at will.
John Barrymore in his archly long, dramatic is a creep, appropriately. When he hypnotizes, his eyes turn to these large glowing white orbs. He has fallen in love with a model and starts to control her, which her fiancé only gradually realizes. Other people just find Svengali a quirky artistic type, and see no harm in him at first.
The setting is odd--clearly shot on a studio lot rather than a real Parisian artists colony, it nonetheless is meant to be some kind of rambling set of rooms that are more or less attached, or near each other. For the whole first half, the main characters never really leave the irregular, sometimes offkilter chambers, which look like there were adapted from "Caligari" itself. The light and the framing, and the interesting very shallow depth of field, combine to make a mysterious and really beautiful effect.
The Barrymores, as a group, are amazing, but their theatricality, especially John's, doesn't always transfer well to modern movies. In a way, it's this leading man who cuts into the disarming surrealism and horror overall, simply because he's so campy. This might be just a matter of changing tastes, because his effect reminds me rather a lot of Bela Lugosi in "Dracula" which was released the same year (a few months earlier). The story of Dracula is more archetypal and wonderful for the ages, but in my view (I've seen both movies recently) this is much better filmed. The photography, lighting, and blocking (the way the actors move) are more fluid and involved. Archie Mayo, the director, has a handful of completely wonderful films to his up and down career (click on his name to see). As much as this one has some obvious and forced sections, and a plot that doesn't quite involve the viewer as you would hope, it's a really well made, well constructed movie. For 1931 it's sometimes a pure wonder.
Amazing
gavin694229 October 2013
Through hypnotism and telepathic mind control, a sinister music maestro (John Barrymore) controls the singing voice, but not the heart, of Trilby O'Farrell, (Marian Marsh) the woman he loves.
Amazingly, this film was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Art Direction by Polish-born Anton Grot, and one for Best Cinematography by Barney "Chick" McGill (who worked at Warner Brothers from 1927 to 1933 before dying prematurely at age 51). That is pretty impressive for what is basically a horror film. And while it has been remade many times, it seems the original has more or less been forgotten -- it deserves a deluxe release!
Director Archie Mayo was quite prolific from the 1920s through the 1940s, and this has to be one of his better films, though "A Night in Casablanca" (1946) with the Marx Brothers is worth singling out.
Barrymore is incredible, his Svengali being a very Rasputinesque figure that uses hypnotism for mind control... but he mixes obsession and love with a dangerous twist. I can see how this man has become a legend and his family has stayed at the top of Hollywood for generations.
Amazingly, this film was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Art Direction by Polish-born Anton Grot, and one for Best Cinematography by Barney "Chick" McGill (who worked at Warner Brothers from 1927 to 1933 before dying prematurely at age 51). That is pretty impressive for what is basically a horror film. And while it has been remade many times, it seems the original has more or less been forgotten -- it deserves a deluxe release!
Director Archie Mayo was quite prolific from the 1920s through the 1940s, and this has to be one of his better films, though "A Night in Casablanca" (1946) with the Marx Brothers is worth singling out.
Barrymore is incredible, his Svengali being a very Rasputinesque figure that uses hypnotism for mind control... but he mixes obsession and love with a dangerous twist. I can see how this man has become a legend and his family has stayed at the top of Hollywood for generations.
Having read the book....
Lebossufantome2 April 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Having read the original book, I watched this one and adored it. One of the things that first struck me was the incredible detail put into it. The set and costume design are matched perfectly with the original illustrations. Svengali, at the start, even plays Chopin's impromptu. Even though the story itself is a trifle different from the book, it is still mesmerizing to watch. In contrast to the book, Svengali is deprived of his malice, and left only with a frightful hypnotizing power. Other than Svengali himself, the other characters are exactly as in the book, and was wonderful. It was very moving, to have the first half hour or so be comical, and light-hearted, then the last half be absolute tragedy. It was such a great film.
Solid Performance from Barrymore in this Lesser Talked about Classic
Reviews_of_the_Dead26 March 2021
This was a movie that I'll be honest is I'm not sure when I first heard about it. It was one that I didn't see until now, I do know that. The name sounds familiar, but that could be getting it mixed up with Svengoolie, which I'm assuming was a play on this title. Regardless though, I didn't know much about this movie aside from reading a brief synopsis and seeing this from 1931 thanks to Letterboxd when I was looking for movies for my Odyssey through the Ones. The synopsis here is through hypnotism and telepathic mind control, a sinister music maestro controls the singing voice, but not the heart of the woman he loves. We start this movie with a sign where we learn that Svengali (John Barrymore) is a famous pianist. Madame Honori (Carmel Myers) shows up where she is stopped by his assistant Gecko (Luis Alberni). Svengali is listening from around the corner of a room as Gecko informs her that his maestro is composing and cannot be bothered. Svengali does come out to speak with her. She is there for her music lessons as she is a singer. Madame Honori does reveal that she left her husband for Svengali. He is intrigued by this, but clearly bothered that she did not take a settlement. Svengali has her leave. Things get dark here is that we learn she killed herself soon after. Svengali then goes to visit his friends who are from Scotland from what I gather. There is Monsieur Taffy (Lumsden Hare) and The Laird (Donald Crisp) who live together. When they learn that Svengali arrives, they try to hide their money as it is hard not to give it to him as he plays the piano so well. This duo is also quite comical. They decide to mess with Svengali by forcing him into the bathtub as he rarely bathes. While he is in the tub, the two leave and go over to their friend down the hall of Billie (Bramwell Fletcher). He's a painter from what we learn. They went to gather him to go get a bunch of kids to show them Svengali in the bathtub as a prank, including taking his clothes. What they don't bank on is Svengali drying off and taking of the Scots' finest suites. Things all change as well when Trilby O'Farrell (Marian Marsh) comes to the apartment as well. She is a model for an artist upstairs and they sent her down to this apartment. Svengali falls in love with her immediately. He notices how her mouth is set up. She could have a great singing voice. To complicate matters though, Svengali isn't the only one who falls for her. Billie does as well and she feels the same for him. Svengali comes to visit and sees the young lovers. Trilby is experiencing a headache and he offers to alleviate her pain. What she doesn't realize is that he hypnotizes her, making her forget everyone aside from him. He then hatches a plan to make her star while he plays the piano, solving his money troubles. The problem really becomes though, he can control her with his mind, but cannot make her love him. This ability also takes it toll on his body. That is where I want to leave my recap for this movie. If you've read any of my other reviews for movies from this era, they do tend to be lacking a bit in the story department. I just really want to preface here as my recap of the movie goes to around the halfway point. The story isn't really the more important here, but much more of a character study of this character Svengali. Now that is where I want to start in my breakdown. Svengali is a refugee from Poland. This is an interesting country to have this character from as it has been volatile and really been in a state of flux. It tended to get conquered quite a bit from places like Germany, Mongolia, becoming a commonwealth with Lithuanian and of course, their issues with Russia. I love the influence of this on Svengali. He's a scavenger and also a bit of a scoundrel in how he treats Madame Honori and Trilby. What is shocking is he's a talented pianist, so he has a way to make money. I'm wondering if his displaced lineage is part of the reason here. There is then this other part of Svengali in that he's trained in the ability to hypnotize people. We don't get much of it with Madame Honori and I'm really glad that the movie doesn't give us that yet. It isn't until he does it to Trilby that we realize what he's capable of. Svengali is feeding lines to Madame Honori, who is paying him for lessons. When she messes this up by leaving her husband without a settlement, she has outlasted her usefulness. I do like the lines he gives to Trilby to help alleviate her headache. Since I was talking about his abilities, I want to go to the effects. We don't get a lot of them, but this is again early cinema. What I have to give credit to here is what they do with Svengali's eyes. I do have some trivia to share that this is one of the first movie to use contacts. They are quite creepy to be honest as they were hard plastic, which probably didn't feel good. Going from here, the cinematography is interesting here. There is this great sequence where the camera pans to see Svengali with his contacts and then pulls back. It is impressive regardless of time period, but even more for this movie being from 1931. I think that the acting should be where I go next. Since this is a character study of Svengali, a good performance is needed. Barrymore does a great job as this character. I know I've seen him in a silent film, so I'm glad to see him in one where he is a talking picture. The look of him is creepy and how he plays the role is spot on. Marsh is cute and I really enjoyed her character as well. It is interesting how things play out with her and the effect she has on Svengali. Fletcher is solid as this young love interest that really becomes a thorn in the side of Svengali. Crisp and Hare also bring some comedy which works well. I'd say that overall the acting is solid across the board. Then the last thing I want to go over would be the soundtrack. I'll be honest; it didn't really stand out to me for the most part. I do think that Madame Honori in the short scene that she sings and Trilby in her performance was good. The piano music that Svengali also works and really fits what was needed. I'd also question if Barrymore is really playing. If he did, I give the movie even more credit. In conclusion here, I think that this is an interesting movie. It feels similar to Phantom of the Opera, but with this creepy looking Svengali using a different method to convince the young and beautiful Trilby to join him. I think Barrymore's performance is great with Marsh and Fletcher bringing an interesting dynamic alongside. The effects used on Svengali's eyes for his ability was solid and there is some interesting cinematography for early cinema. The soundtrack also worked for what was needed in my opinion. If I do have any issues, the movie is lacking a bit for the story, but again this is an early film in the grand scheme of history. I would say this is an above average movie in my opinion. This would be one that I would actually consider seeing again.
spiced ham
hannahma572 January 2017
I'd always wanted to see this famous story, and the much-praised John Barrymore. Unfortunately, I couldn't get past all the outrageously bogus fake beards on everybody, plus the preposterous fake nose Svengali sports, the imitation Yiddish accent, the crude caricatures of the expostulating Italians and so on. Kinda wrecks it for us moderns who are used to decent production . Remember when Spencer Tracy refused to grow a stubble beard for"The Old Man and the Sea?" The director protested that hero was at sea without shaving for a week and had to grow a beard. Tracy said, "I'll ACT the beard." If only Barrymore had made the same choice.
A real forgotten masterpiece!
jluis19847 November 2007
In the early 1930s, the horror genre entered into the era of sound films thanks to producer Carl Laemmle Jr. of Universal Studios, who after the success of "The Cat Creeps" in 1930, and specially "Dracula" and "Frankenstein" in 1931, inaugurated a Golden Age of American horror that produced a lot of classic movies. But while Universal was the major producer of horror movies and literally ruled the genre through the decade, it wasn't the only studio that was producing masterpieces in those years. Warner Bros. Pictures, a studio famous for their musicals, began their history within the genre only three months after Universal's "Dracula" was released, with a movie based on the popular novel by George Du Maurier, "Trilby", in which the legendary actor John Barrymore would enter for a second time in horror history by playing one of the most popular characters in Gothic literature: "Svengali".
Set in France during the 1850s, the movie is the story of Svengali (John Barrymore), a music maestro who often uses his great skill at hypnotism to get what he wants from his pupils. One day he visits a group of artists he knows, hoping to get some money from them, but instead he meets Trilby O'Farrell (Marian Marsh), a beautiful model who has come from England to work with the artists. Svengali falls in love with her, but she prefers one of the artists, Billee (Bramwell Fletcher) instead. Despite this, Svengali doesn't lose hope, and one day when he uses his hypnotic powers to cure her headache, he discovers that while tone deaf, Trillby has actually good vocal chords. With this in mind, Svengali decides to use his power to its full extent and via hypnotism transforms Trillby in "La Svengali", a singer of unparalleled skill completely devoted to him. But Billee won't let him run away with his love.
One of the last works by the experienced writer J. Grubb Alexander, this adaptation of "Trilby" remains close to Du Maurier's novel, but with an important change: the plot is focused completely on Svengali, and the story is shown from his perspective. This is even more interesting because unlike the rest of the villains of the era, Svengali isn't an archetype of pure evil, he is instead a really complex character that can be funny, evil and tragic as well, as he is essentially a human being with a great skill that he chooses to use in his favor. This complexity plays a big role in the film, as one of the central themes is Svengali questioning the morality of his acts and wondering if they are worthy. And despite this, writer Alexander manages to keep an equilibrium between the Gothic horror and the melodrama and the comedy of the script.
Director Archie Mayo was one of the filmmakers who managed to make the jump from silent to "talkies" in the early 30s, and in "Svengali" one can see his experience in the silent era, as it is a very visual film. The most striking feature of the movie is its notoriously expressionist look, that goes beyond what Tod Browning had done in "Dracula" and truly feels like a German silent film at times due to its amazing use of sets and miniatures (including an awe inspiring shot over Paris' rooftops that's still impressive even now). Barney McGill's cinematography is put to great use through the film, and gives the movie a unique, almost surreal look that fits perfectly the themes of hypnotism that the movie handles. Mayo makes his movie to be highly atmospheric, and one can truly feel the tragic sense of impending doom that the characters have.
The legendary John Barrymore returns to the horror genre more than 10 years after his excellent performance in 1920's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", and while lesser known than that famous role, his work as Svengali is simply masterful. As written above, the character is very well developed, and allow Barrymore to show his talent, and while he overacts at times, it strangely doesn't feel out of place in his role as Svengali is after all, an eccentric bohemian artist. Marian Marsh plays Trillby, and while very young at the time (only 17), she makes an excellent counterpart to Barrymore and is a highlight of the film, playing very convincingly the role of the energetic young model that becomes La Svengali under her master's spell. Bramwell Fletcher plays Billee, and while effective, his performance as the story's hero is nothing really amazing.
Some have criticized "Svengali" for its use of comedy, mainly as Svengali is presented as clumsy at times, but in my opinion, that's a strength of the movie, as it offers an atypical villain in the sense that he is very human. Unlike more archetypal villains, it's easier to relate to Svengali, and feel identified with his story of unrequited love, and that's probably what's more disturbing about him: he just had the power to do his will and used it. It's hard to find a real flaw in "Svengali" (although I'm sure may dislike Barrymore's overacting at times), and probably its main problem is that while it has everything to be a classic, it simply gets easily overshadowed by the more influential (and superior in number) output of Universal Studios. However, I personally find it to be easily on the level of anything done by Universal.
Seldom seen by the audiences nowadays, "Svengali" is one of those movies that even now can be impressive. In this movie, director Archie Mayo and John Barrymore give justice to Du Maurier's legendary character and bring him to life in extraordinary fashion. With its excellent performances and the beautiful art design, "Svengali" is definitely a forgotten masterpiece if there ever was one.
9/10
Set in France during the 1850s, the movie is the story of Svengali (John Barrymore), a music maestro who often uses his great skill at hypnotism to get what he wants from his pupils. One day he visits a group of artists he knows, hoping to get some money from them, but instead he meets Trilby O'Farrell (Marian Marsh), a beautiful model who has come from England to work with the artists. Svengali falls in love with her, but she prefers one of the artists, Billee (Bramwell Fletcher) instead. Despite this, Svengali doesn't lose hope, and one day when he uses his hypnotic powers to cure her headache, he discovers that while tone deaf, Trillby has actually good vocal chords. With this in mind, Svengali decides to use his power to its full extent and via hypnotism transforms Trillby in "La Svengali", a singer of unparalleled skill completely devoted to him. But Billee won't let him run away with his love.
One of the last works by the experienced writer J. Grubb Alexander, this adaptation of "Trilby" remains close to Du Maurier's novel, but with an important change: the plot is focused completely on Svengali, and the story is shown from his perspective. This is even more interesting because unlike the rest of the villains of the era, Svengali isn't an archetype of pure evil, he is instead a really complex character that can be funny, evil and tragic as well, as he is essentially a human being with a great skill that he chooses to use in his favor. This complexity plays a big role in the film, as one of the central themes is Svengali questioning the morality of his acts and wondering if they are worthy. And despite this, writer Alexander manages to keep an equilibrium between the Gothic horror and the melodrama and the comedy of the script.
Director Archie Mayo was one of the filmmakers who managed to make the jump from silent to "talkies" in the early 30s, and in "Svengali" one can see his experience in the silent era, as it is a very visual film. The most striking feature of the movie is its notoriously expressionist look, that goes beyond what Tod Browning had done in "Dracula" and truly feels like a German silent film at times due to its amazing use of sets and miniatures (including an awe inspiring shot over Paris' rooftops that's still impressive even now). Barney McGill's cinematography is put to great use through the film, and gives the movie a unique, almost surreal look that fits perfectly the themes of hypnotism that the movie handles. Mayo makes his movie to be highly atmospheric, and one can truly feel the tragic sense of impending doom that the characters have.
The legendary John Barrymore returns to the horror genre more than 10 years after his excellent performance in 1920's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", and while lesser known than that famous role, his work as Svengali is simply masterful. As written above, the character is very well developed, and allow Barrymore to show his talent, and while he overacts at times, it strangely doesn't feel out of place in his role as Svengali is after all, an eccentric bohemian artist. Marian Marsh plays Trillby, and while very young at the time (only 17), she makes an excellent counterpart to Barrymore and is a highlight of the film, playing very convincingly the role of the energetic young model that becomes La Svengali under her master's spell. Bramwell Fletcher plays Billee, and while effective, his performance as the story's hero is nothing really amazing.
Some have criticized "Svengali" for its use of comedy, mainly as Svengali is presented as clumsy at times, but in my opinion, that's a strength of the movie, as it offers an atypical villain in the sense that he is very human. Unlike more archetypal villains, it's easier to relate to Svengali, and feel identified with his story of unrequited love, and that's probably what's more disturbing about him: he just had the power to do his will and used it. It's hard to find a real flaw in "Svengali" (although I'm sure may dislike Barrymore's overacting at times), and probably its main problem is that while it has everything to be a classic, it simply gets easily overshadowed by the more influential (and superior in number) output of Universal Studios. However, I personally find it to be easily on the level of anything done by Universal.
Seldom seen by the audiences nowadays, "Svengali" is one of those movies that even now can be impressive. In this movie, director Archie Mayo and John Barrymore give justice to Du Maurier's legendary character and bring him to life in extraordinary fashion. With its excellent performances and the beautiful art design, "Svengali" is definitely a forgotten masterpiece if there ever was one.
9/10
Interesting, But Somewhat Low on the Horror Part
Witchfinder-General-66619 December 2010
Warning: Spoilers
A classic (not completely faithful) adaptation of George de Maurier's famous 1890s novel "Trilby", "Svengali" of 1931 is an interesting and fantastically shot film that should not be approached with the wrong expectations. An avid fan of Classic Horror cinema, I expected this film to be exactly that, but found it to be regrettably low on the Horror part. "Svengali" was directed by the famous Archie Mayo, who is certainly best known of his Slapstick Comedies, and while this film is a Drama with some Horror elements, the film is nonetheless full of sudden outbursts of Slapstick. The set-pieces are great and the cinematography is astonishing for the time, including one sequence with a camera movement that must have been revolutionary in 1931. John Barrymore was doubtlessly one of the most outstanding actors of the classic era of film, and his performance carries the film. Furthermore, the innocent beauty of the 18-year-old Marian Marsh is overwhelming.
Svengali (Barrymore), an ingenious but ruthless musician and hypnotist hypnotizes the beautiful young model Tribly (Marsh) into becoming a singer, abandoning her fiancé and marrying Svengali. While his hypnotic powers control her singing voice, they can not force her to love him...
The film's greatest aspects are the fantastic cinematography, Barrymore and Marsh. Personally, I found the plot to be needlessly stretched at times. The humorous outbursts may be enjoyed by fans of classic slapstick cinema, but in a sentimental sense rather than for the actual humor's sake. Two Scottish characters are obviously only there for providing gags. There are a few genuinely eerie moments, most of them focusing on Svengali when he uses his hypnotic powers. While Svengali is villainous (he causes a woman to commit suicide in the beginning), he doesn't really act villainous enough for most of the time to be scary. At some points in the film, he seems to be a comic figure, which effectively reduces his creepiness. Besides Barrymore and Marsh, the performances aren't that good. This is not to say that "Svengali" isn't a good movie. It is. Before seeing it, one should be aware however, that one is about to watch a partly slow-moving drama rather than a Horror film. Barrymore is still great, and the young Marian Marsh is unearthly beautiful.
Overall "Svengali" is recommended to my fellow fans of the classic era of film, though not one of the essentials in my opinion. For total perfection in a Classic Horror film about mind-control, I highly recommend Victor Halperlin's masterpiece "White Zombie" of 1932 starring the great Bela Lugosi in his greatest and creepiest role.
Svengali (Barrymore), an ingenious but ruthless musician and hypnotist hypnotizes the beautiful young model Tribly (Marsh) into becoming a singer, abandoning her fiancé and marrying Svengali. While his hypnotic powers control her singing voice, they can not force her to love him...
The film's greatest aspects are the fantastic cinematography, Barrymore and Marsh. Personally, I found the plot to be needlessly stretched at times. The humorous outbursts may be enjoyed by fans of classic slapstick cinema, but in a sentimental sense rather than for the actual humor's sake. Two Scottish characters are obviously only there for providing gags. There are a few genuinely eerie moments, most of them focusing on Svengali when he uses his hypnotic powers. While Svengali is villainous (he causes a woman to commit suicide in the beginning), he doesn't really act villainous enough for most of the time to be scary. At some points in the film, he seems to be a comic figure, which effectively reduces his creepiness. Besides Barrymore and Marsh, the performances aren't that good. This is not to say that "Svengali" isn't a good movie. It is. Before seeing it, one should be aware however, that one is about to watch a partly slow-moving drama rather than a Horror film. Barrymore is still great, and the young Marian Marsh is unearthly beautiful.
Overall "Svengali" is recommended to my fellow fans of the classic era of film, though not one of the essentials in my opinion. For total perfection in a Classic Horror film about mind-control, I highly recommend Victor Halperlin's masterpiece "White Zombie" of 1932 starring the great Bela Lugosi in his greatest and creepiest role.
An atmospheric gothic shocker ...but without atmosphere or shocks...or goths.
1930s_Time_Machine27 July 2023
This is a particularly unsophisticated creaky old Victorian melodrama which took the world by storm at the end of the nineteenth century - much to the surprise of its author, Daphne du Maurier's grandfather. You can imagine ladies in bonnets fainting with shock as they read this on the omnibus.
Maybe in 1894 it wasn't considered corny but surely by 1931 it must have seemed like a nostalgic old museum piece. Although this was written when Gladstone was running the UK and a young guy called Nicholas thought to himself: "Hey I've just become Tsar of Russia, this might be fun," - so, officially 'the olden days,' this film was made just 36 years after that whereas the timespan from 1931 to now is over 90 years and yet when we watch films from the 30s, they don't seem that distant - weird!
At the beginning of the last century, this was a really, really well known story and had already been filmed five times! When Warner Brothers announced they were making yet another version of the story and wanted top stage actor John Barrymore to star, Mr Barrymore (who incidentally is 12 years older than this silly novel) insisted that he played the role in a subtle comedic style to make this a little more fun, a bit different to the stuffy old Victorian predecessors and relatable to a 'modern' audiences. His decision to play this rather sinister character for laughs actually works and almost makes this a good film because the story is just too daft to be taken seriously so playing the character as a kind of BLACK ADDER, lightens the mood and takes your mind of the absurdity of the narrative.
Classically trained Shakespearian actors didn't often transpose too well to talking pictures but Mr Barrymore, despite the joke shop makeup which is a little off-putting at first actually pulls of a corker with this. With the gentle humour he adds, he manages to imbue some real pathos into his Svengali who is a truly despicable character but one you can't help feeling sorry for. For a film from the early 30s to portray such a three dimensional character with so many anxieties, self-doubts and sadness hidden behind bravado and vindictiveness (and a comedy beard) is pretty rare. That he can evoke such sympathy and depth for such an unbelievable character is a mark of great acting.
Marian Marsh, in her first starring role, is very sweet and as convincing as someone can be who is supposed to be under a supernatural spell. The rest of the supporting cast however are not that supportive. The main problem is the direction. There are admittedly a few very impressive shots, the cinematography is outstandingly exceptional but it people who tell a story and they just don't.
There's not enough tension or atmosphere, you don't feel like you're there.
Making the unbelievable believable requires a director with flair and imagination. They had already borrowed some of Universal's 'expressionist' sets for this so it's shame they didn't borrow Universal's James Whale as well - he could have given this the moody gothic atmosphere that was needed. Warner Brothers themselves however had quite a few fabulous directors at the beginning of the 30s, it's such a shame they didn't use one of those instead of Archie Mayo.
Maybe in 1894 it wasn't considered corny but surely by 1931 it must have seemed like a nostalgic old museum piece. Although this was written when Gladstone was running the UK and a young guy called Nicholas thought to himself: "Hey I've just become Tsar of Russia, this might be fun," - so, officially 'the olden days,' this film was made just 36 years after that whereas the timespan from 1931 to now is over 90 years and yet when we watch films from the 30s, they don't seem that distant - weird!
At the beginning of the last century, this was a really, really well known story and had already been filmed five times! When Warner Brothers announced they were making yet another version of the story and wanted top stage actor John Barrymore to star, Mr Barrymore (who incidentally is 12 years older than this silly novel) insisted that he played the role in a subtle comedic style to make this a little more fun, a bit different to the stuffy old Victorian predecessors and relatable to a 'modern' audiences. His decision to play this rather sinister character for laughs actually works and almost makes this a good film because the story is just too daft to be taken seriously so playing the character as a kind of BLACK ADDER, lightens the mood and takes your mind of the absurdity of the narrative.
Classically trained Shakespearian actors didn't often transpose too well to talking pictures but Mr Barrymore, despite the joke shop makeup which is a little off-putting at first actually pulls of a corker with this. With the gentle humour he adds, he manages to imbue some real pathos into his Svengali who is a truly despicable character but one you can't help feeling sorry for. For a film from the early 30s to portray such a three dimensional character with so many anxieties, self-doubts and sadness hidden behind bravado and vindictiveness (and a comedy beard) is pretty rare. That he can evoke such sympathy and depth for such an unbelievable character is a mark of great acting.
Marian Marsh, in her first starring role, is very sweet and as convincing as someone can be who is supposed to be under a supernatural spell. The rest of the supporting cast however are not that supportive. The main problem is the direction. There are admittedly a few very impressive shots, the cinematography is outstandingly exceptional but it people who tell a story and they just don't.
There's not enough tension or atmosphere, you don't feel like you're there.
Making the unbelievable believable requires a director with flair and imagination. They had already borrowed some of Universal's 'expressionist' sets for this so it's shame they didn't borrow Universal's James Whale as well - he could have given this the moody gothic atmosphere that was needed. Warner Brothers themselves however had quite a few fabulous directors at the beginning of the 30s, it's such a shame they didn't use one of those instead of Archie Mayo.
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