IMDb RATING
6.8/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
Through hypnotism and telepathic mind control, a sinister music maestro controls the singing voice, but not the heart, of the woman he loves.Through hypnotism and telepathic mind control, a sinister music maestro controls the singing voice, but not the heart, of the woman he loves.Through hypnotism and telepathic mind control, a sinister music maestro controls the singing voice, but not the heart, of the woman he loves.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 2 nominations total
Ferike Boros
- Marta
- (uncredited)
Adrienne D'Ambricourt
- Mme. Vinard
- (uncredited)
Yola d'Avril
- Maid
- (uncredited)
Rose Dione
- Trilby's Mother
- (uncredited)
Julia Griffith
- Concertgoer
- (uncredited)
Henry Otto
- Man with Opera Glasses
- (uncredited)
Sam Savitsky
- Townsman
- (uncredited)
Ellinor Vanderveer
- Concertgoer
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis pre-Code film stirred controversy due its nude modeling scene featuring a teenage Marian Marsh. The actress wore a body stocking for the scene and, in the long shot where she runs from the room, an older body double was used instead of her.
- GoofsIn the bathtub, Svengali says "Gott strafe England" ("God punish England"). This saying was created by German-Jewish poet Ernst Lissauer (1882-1937) during WWI. However, Svengali (1931) takes place during the mid-19th century.
- ConnectionsFeatured in When the Talkies Were Young (1955)
- SoundtracksBen Bolt (Oh Don't You Remember)
(uncredited)
Music by Nelson Kneass
Lyrics by Thomas Dunn English from his poem
Performed by Marian Marsh
Featured review
Svengali (1931)
I've only watched the film once by way of Roan's fine if not outstanding DVD - and this happened fairly recently. SVENGALI follows its source novel ("Trilby" by George Du Maurier) pretty closely, which is rare for horror film-adaptations of the 1930s. Apart from John Barrymore's appropriately mesmerizing leading performance (here revisiting the genre after a whole decade), I recall one particularly amazing tracking shot demonstrating Svengali's hypnotic powers over Trilby, and there are even brief flashes of nudity (remember this was a Pre-Code film, but also that our heroine is a model)! Barrymore followed SVENGALI with the thematically-similar THE MAD GENIUS (1931) but, unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to watch that one
helpful•202
- Bunuel1976
- Apr 2, 2005
- How long is Svengali?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 21 minutes
- Color
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content