Svengali (1931) is a drama/horror film starring John Barrymore, Marian Marsh, and Bramwell Fletcher, directed by Archie Mayo, written by J. Grubb Alexander, and released by Warner Brothers. It is based on the gothic horror novel Trilby (1894) by George du Maurier. The film was originally released on May 22, 1931. Warner Brothers was so pleased by the box office on this film that the studio hurriedly reteamed Barrymore and Marsh for another horror...
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Svengali (1931) is a drama/horror film starring John Barrymore, Marian Marsh, and Bramwell Fletcher, directed by Archie Mayo, written by J. Grubb Alexander, and released by Warner Brothers. It is based on the gothic horror novel Trilby (1894) by George du Maurier. The film was originally released on May 22, 1931. Warner Brothers was so pleased by the box office on this film that the studio hurriedly reteamed Barrymore and Marsh for another horror film The Mad Genius, released on November 7, 1931. The region 1 DVD of Svengali was released on October 17, 2000 by the Roan Group.
The ending of the novel is changed in this film to a highly dramatic one by having Trilby die after Svengali is stricken with a fatal heart attack, instead of dying of a mysterious illness a few days later. She faints after he collapses in the stage box, but Svengali revives long enough to gasp, "God grant me the one thing in death that I could not have in life". Trilby then dies, followed by Svengali. In the...
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