SVENGALI (1931)
Article #199 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing date: 10-1-2001
Posting date: 2-14-2002

A music instructor with hypnotic powers takes over the will of the fiancee of a friend in order to make her a famous singer.

When I saw this as a child, I found myself caught up in the movie, despite the fact it wasn’t the usual horror fare I enjoyed at the time. Strictly speaking, it isn’t a horror movie at all, despite the hypnotism angle; Svengali isn’t a cardboard villain, but a fully-developed character with weaknesses, comic moments, and the ability to recognize that with all his power, he can’t get what he really wants. The sets were designed in the style of THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI, and John Barrymore does an excellent job in the title role. The cast also features Marian Marsh and Donald Crisp. Still, I always find myself wondering what Bela Lugosi might have done with this role; he was rarely given roles this complex, and many ways the role would have been a natural for him, so I like to speculate on how it would have come out.