Svengali (1931 film)
Svengali | |
---|---|
Directed by | Archie Mayo |
Written by | J. Grubb Alexander |
Starring | John Barrymore |
Cinematography | Barney McGill |
Edited by | William Holmes |
Music by | David Mendoza |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 81 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Svengali_%281931%29_2.jpg/260px-Svengali_%281931%29_2.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/Svengali-Marsh-Barrymore.jpg/260px-Svengali-Marsh-Barrymore.jpg)
Svengali is a 1931 American pre-Code supernatural drama/horror film produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The film stars John Barrymore and co-stars Marian Marsh. It was directed by Archie Mayo and the screenplay was written by J. Grubb Alexander. It is based on the gothic horror novel Trilby (1894) by George du Maurier. The film was originally released on May 22, 1931. Warner Brothers was so pleased by the box office on this film that the studio hurriedly reteamed Barrymore and Marsh for another horror film The Mad Genius, released on November 7, 1931. The region 1 DVD of Svengali was released on October 17, 2000 by the Roan Group.
Cast
- John Barrymore as Svengali
- Marian Marsh as Trilby O'Farrell
- Donald Crisp as The Laird
- Bramwell Fletcher as Billee
- Carmel Myers as Madame Honori
- Luis Alberni as Gecko
- Lumsden Hare as Monsieur Taffy
- Paul Porcasi as Bonelli
Awards and honors
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, one for Best Art Direction by Anton Grot, and one for Best Cinematography by Barney McGill.[1]
Preservation
The film survives complete. It was transferred onto 16mm film by Associated Artists Productions[2] in the 1950s and shown on television. This film and The Kennel Murder Case were the two Warner Brothers films that lapsed into the public domain and have been available freely for decades.[citation needed]
References
- ^ "NY Times: Svengali". NY Times. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
- ^ "Media History Digital Library : Free Texts : Free Download, Borrow and Streaming : Internet Archive". archive.org.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Wikiquote-logo.svg/34px-Wikiquote-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Svengali at IMDb
- Svengali is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- Svengali at AllMovie
- Svengali at the TCM Movie Database
- Svengali at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- 1931 films
- 1930s drama films
- American films
- American drama films
- 1930s horror films
- English-language films
- American black-and-white films
- Films made before the MPAA Production Code
- Films directed by Archie Mayo
- Warner Bros. films
- Films based on British novels
- Films based on works by George du Maurier
- Films featuring hypnosis
- Trilby (novel)