John Barrymore had some wonderful performances over his film career. But, he also had some really terrible performances as well--ones which were far from subtle and terribly overacted. One of these embarrassingly bad performances was his famous "Svengali" and another was the follow-up film, "The Mad Genius". In fact, both performances seem just about identical--with Barrymore playing essentially the same sort of guy--a creepy manipulator who is troll- like and with a thick, thick accent. The plot of "Svengali" involves a creepy guy using his hypnotic-like powers to bend a woman to his will and make her a star. Here, it's a guy instead...but otherwise it's the same 'ol same 'ol.
The bottom line is the film lacks subtlety and originality. While it might have played well back in the day, today it just seems very dated and dumb. Barrymore was capable of so much better than this and the film is extremely difficult to finish.
The bottom line is the film lacks subtlety and originality. While it might have played well back in the day, today it just seems very dated and dumb. Barrymore was capable of so much better than this and the film is extremely difficult to finish.