Svengali (1931)

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Movie
German title Svengali
Original title Svengali
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1931
length 85 minutes
Rod
Director Archie Mayo
script J. Grubb Alexander
music David Mendoza
camera Barney McGill
cut William Holmes
occupation

Svengali is an American melodrama with elements of comedy and horror film from 1931. The script is based on the novel Trilby by George du Maurier .

action

In the hope of a new love affair, the attractive but untalented Madame Honori tells her music teacher, Maestro Svengali, that she has left her husband even though he has a lot of money. Svengali then stares at the singer in such a way that she leaves the room screaming. Her body is later found in the Seine . Svengali is unmoved and visits the studio of the English artists Laird, Taffy and Billee with his friend Gecko to pump them up. Laird and Taffy allow themselves a joke with Svengali, but it backfires. During her absence, Svengali made the acquaintance of the young model Trilby, who wanted to introduce herself to the artists. Svengali feels drawn to her, but Trilby falls in love with Billee.

The model is accepted by the artists. Svengali offers to cure her headache. To do this, he hypnotizes them and can now control them with his thoughts. He even manages to let her wander to himself at night, but he fails to win her heart. One day Billee sees Trilby posing as a nude model, whereupon he runs away in horror. Svengali then persuades the ashamed and mortally unhappy trilby that she is not good enough for the “innocent” young man. A little later, a farewell letter to Billee and Trilby's clothes appear on the banks of the Seine. Everything points to suicide, but the viewer sees the girl leaving Paris with Svengali in a carriage.

Five years later Trilby has become the singer Madame Svengali. Her English friends attend one of her performances and are surprised to see the woman who was believed to be dead. Billee now visits every performance in the hope of winning it back. Trilby's bond with Billee, who is awakening again, weakens Svengali's influence on his beloved. Due to the presence of the rival, he cancels all European performances in front of the protesting spectators. The duo made one final appearance in an Egyptian cabaret. Svengali suffers a heart attack, the effects of his hypnotic powers evaporate, Trilby fails on stage. As he dies, Svengali asks God that Trilby may love him in death, if not in life. In response, Trilby dies in Bilee's arms.

Reviews

The lexicon of the international film about the film: "The sentimental kitschy film makes fun of the horror films of the silent film era with its horror story and its remarkable optical effects."

Mordaunt Hall of the New York Times found that the film had lost some of the romantic charm of the original. But the imaginative and powerful portrait of John Barrymore and Archie Mayo's knowledgeable camera work compensate for this.

Awards

At the 1931 Academy Awards , Anton Grot was nominated for the Oscar in the category of best production design and Barney McGill in the category of best camera .

background

The world premiere took place on May 22, 1931. In Germany, the film first appeared on August 29, 1970 as part of a TV premiere in the third WDR program .

The film resulted in two remakes , but is also a remake of a German film from 1927 ( Svengali by Gennaro Righelli with Paul Wegener and Anita Dorris ).

Remakes

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Svengali. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed July 17, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ Critique of the New York Times (Eng.)