Through hypnotism and telepathic mind control, a sinister music maestro controls the singing voice, but not the heart, of the woman he loves.Through hypnotism and telepathic mind control, a sinister music maestro controls the singing voice, but not the heart, of the woman he loves.Through hypnotism and telepathic mind control, a sinister music maestro controls the singing voice, but not the heart, of the woman he loves.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 2 nominations total
- Marta
- (uncredited)
- Mme. Vinard
- (uncredited)
- Maid
- (uncredited)
- Trilby's Mother
- (uncredited)
- Concertgoer
- (uncredited)
- Man with Opera Glasses
- (uncredited)
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
- Concertgoer
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis pre-Code film stirred controversy due its nude modeling scene featuring a teenage Marian Marsh. The actress wore a body stocking for the scene and, in the long shot where she runs from the room, an older body double was used instead of her.
- GoofsIn the bathtub, Svengali says "Gott strafe England" ("God punish England"). This saying was created by German-Jewish poet Ernst Lissauer (1882-1937) during WWI. However, Svengali (1931) takes place during the mid-19th century.
- Quotes
Trilby O'Farrell: Svengali, I've tried, but I...
Svengali: Ja, ja, ja, ja. But you know very well why you can't. It is the magnificent young Englander. The head of the Purity Brigade. Sir Galahad. This stiff-necked little Billie... What is he, Liebchen? With his silly paints in one hand, and these twiddling brushes of pig's bristles in the other... What does he amount to, compared to Svengali? Ah, he paints his silly pictures and sends them to London, where they hang up on the wall like... dead soldiers on parade. And the people pass in a long procession - "ah" - and yawn.
Svengali: [continues, gesturing dramatically] Svengali will go to London himself, where he will be all alone on the platform. And princesses, and countesses, and serene highnesses will *fling* him their jewels, and applaud him, and invite him to their palaces! And he will take you with him, Liebchen, and never look at *them.* Da, we could be so happy!
Trilby O'Farrell: But I... I don't like palaces.
Svengali: No. Nor anything else that other women like. Except the little Bi--. Look at me .. in the eyes!
[He hypnotizes Trilby and she closes her eyes]
Svengali: Open your eyes.
Trilby O'Farrell: Oh .. I *do* love you.
Svengali: Ah, close your eyes.
Trilby O'Farrell: I love...
Svengali: Ah, don't say it. You are beautiful, my manufactured love. But it is only Svengali talking to himself again.
- ConnectionsFeatured in When the Talkies Were Young (1955)
- SoundtracksBen Bolt (Oh Don't You Remember)
(uncredited)
Music by Nelson Kneass
Lyrics by Thomas Dunn English from his poem
Performed by Marian Marsh
"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.
- secondtake
- Apr 10, 2011
- Permalink
- How long is Svengali?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 21 minutes
- Color