Svengali

Please note that the 16mm print being screened features some considerable wear to its image and soundtrack.

A Pre-Code sound take on George du Maurier’s 1894 novel Trilby, this eerie mystery stars John Barrymore as the titular music teacher, who controls (and ultimately destroys) the young women under his tutelage through his curious powers of suggestion. Svengali sets his sights on Trilby O’Farrell (Marian Marsh), an artist’s model, and the sinister teacher’s pattern of manipulation and ruin seems to be repeating itself yet again—but Trilby’s old lover, Billee (Bramwell Fletcher), seeks to discover the truth about Svengali’s hypnotic influence. Barrymore’s turn in the lead role is itself a feat of silver-screen mesmerism, portraying Svengali as a cruel yet magnetic figure who wields his own charisma as an instrument of terrible power. 16mm collection print courtesy of the UCLA Film & Television Archive.