The Mad Genius (1931)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Michael Curtiz

Writers:

Martin Brown (play)
J. Grubb Alexander (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

7 November 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Romance

Plot:

A crippled puppeteer rescues an abused young boy and turns the boy into a great ballet dancer. Complications ensue when...

Plot Keywords:

Puppeteer | Ballet | Ballerina | Self Sacrifice | Berlin Germany

Cast

John Barrymore	...	Vladimar Ivan Tsarakov
Marian Marsh	...	Nana Carlova
Charles Butterworth	...	Karimsky
Donald Cook	...	Fedor Ivanoff
Luis Alberni	...	Sergei Bankieff
Carmel Myers	...	Sonya Preskoya
André Luguet	...	Count Robert Renaud (as Andre Luguet)
Frankie Darro	...	Fedor as a Boy

Runtime:

81 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The play opened in Great Neck, New York, USA in 1929, and never made it to Broadway.

Quotes:

Vladimar Ivan Tsarakov: I will create my own being: that boy! That boy will be my counterpart, he shall be what I should have been... I will mold him, I will pour into him my genius, my soul. In him all my dreams, all my ambitions will be fulfilled -- the greatest dancer of all time!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Taxi! (1932)

Soundtrack:

Danse Russe Trépak

Another bit of Hollywood history.

There is a story that has since become part of Hollywood folklore that Boris Karloff, still a relatively unknown supporting player, was summoned to the office of director Michael Curtiz. The Hungarian expatriate took one look at the slender, soft spoken Englishman and allegedly said "Good God, you're not Russian! I sent for you because your name is Karloff. It certainly sounds Russian! Oh well, now that you're here I guess I'll have to use you." It seems like a lot to go through for a role that lasts about 2 minutes onscreen and was probably completed in 1 day but Boris got the part anyway. In truth, Boris is so convincing hidden behind a beard and using a Russian accent that many people do not realise it is him! In those pre-FRANKENSTEIN days you could also spot Karloff in THE YELLOW TICKET in which he has no lines at all; or in THE PUBLIC DEFENDER where he is quite noticeable; or even CRACKED NUTS where he appeared opposite comedians Wheeler and Woolsey. It was not long after THE MAD GENIUS that director James Whale asked Karloff to test for, as he (Whale) put it, " . . .a damned awful monster." The rest, as they say, is history. Frankie Darro, whose role is almost as small as Boris', had already costared with Rin Tin Tin Sr in THE LIGHTNING WARRIOR (1930) and would meet up with Rinty Jr in THE WOLF DOG (1934).