Svengali

A better example of over-acting you will struggle to find in this overly theatrical adaptation of George Du Maurier's 1894 novel "Trilby". Hildegard Knef is a young, impressionable, girl who falls under the spell of the almost Rasputin-esque Donald Wolfit in the title role. He hypnotises her to rid her of pesky headaches, and give her the voice of an angel - and soon she becomes an international star of the opera. Robert Newton was originally slated for the lead, but I can't imagine he could have done better than Wolfit, who has the maniacal look (eyes, especially) and pithy dialogue down to a T. The support from Terence Morgan - as her much younger beau "Billee Bagot", Paul Rogers, David Kossoff and the truly wonderful singing of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf keep this entertaining enough, but the staging and style are just to limiting to let this version of a really menacing and evocative story soar.

This 1954 British color version of SVENGALI has always gotten the short end of the stick in my opinion. A lot of that has to do with the fact that it's always compared to the legendary 1931 version with John Barrymore but it's like comparing apples and oranges. This version has gorgeous color photography, is well lit, contains atmospheric studio sets (it looks like John Huston's MOULIN ROUGE) and it puts the emphasis back on Trilby rather than Svengali. After all TRILBY is Du Maurier's original title.

Director Noel Langley, best known for his written adaptations of THE WIZARD OF OZ and Alastair Sim's A CHRISTMAS CAROL, gets a more ensemble effect from his actors which allows for more character development from the supporting players especially Billie's artist friends. Just as in the Barrymore version, a number of liberties have been taken with the original story (though different liberties) especially the ending but remember this was England in the mid 1950s so certain allowances needed to be made. Chances are that if Barrymore's version had not been a pre-Code vehicle, made before 1934 when the Production Code began to be enforced, then the results might have been the same.

Most of the criticism regarding this version has been leveled at Hildegard Neff (actually Knef) who makes no attempt to hide her German origins when Trilby is supposed to be Irish. Although it can be disconcerting at first, the further you get into the movie the more she seems like Trilby especially after she embarks on her singing career. BTW that's Elizabeth Schwarzkopf singing for Neff in the opera scenes. Donald Wolfit, no stranger to over the top performances, actually manages to somewhat underplay his role as Svengali. The role was intended for Robert Newton who would have been WAY over the top but his drinking got him dismissed and Wolfit stepped in.

Praise should be given to VCI for making this rare film available as part of their British film series. The source print is a little soft and the colors occasionally fade at the reel changes but overall it looks very good for a public domain copy. In the end it may not measure up to the John Barrymore film but it's way better than the modern update from 1983 with Peter O'Toole and Jodie Foster. Just so you can make your own comparisons, VCI has also included a decent version of the 1931 Barrymore version on this DVD

UPDATE 2024...Sadly the VCI copy is no longer around and the movie is not available for streaming so the only way to see it is to acquire a used copy...For more reviews visit The Capsule Critic.

Svengali, like the Curate's egg, yes it is an interesting rendition, an old story, pretty much still extant if all the stories out there are to be believed. Anyway, here we go, Hildegard Neff, luminous and totally perfect, the rest of the ensemble cast, pretty good, but in my humble opinion the great man, the doyen of the theatre and many.adventures on the silver screen was quite wooden one minute then possessed of the manucc overdone ham on the bone the next. I know this may be heresy to some, but his oeuvre has its brilliant highlights yes, but sometimes I feel his fellow thesis are a little over awed by his classic acting style.. Overall though spotting the other wee gems in there..Alfie Bass.. Harry Seacombe.. Jeremy Brett et al ..make this rewarding.

A bit over the top with the acting but this may have been deliberate to give it a certain theatre like feel as film acting is usually more subtle than as done on the stage, for a far away audience.

Beautifully shot in glorious saturated colour and the sets were extremely well done with seemingly no expense spared. I failed to spot some of the actors, later to be very much well known, in minor roles here.

There has been several fairly recent instances of singers, performers etc. Being controlled by very much like Svengali managers so the plot is in no way hard to believe.

A very interesting film worth watching.

This is quite an unusual film in that certain scenes don't make a lot of sense - storylines are clumsily and swiftly manifested with no real development and thus there is no real tension when there needs to be, however, it is visually interesting and at times beautifully lit and shot with great and believable sets.

I'm not sure if the script or the editing is at fault but think that it's some of both in equal measure that leaves the viewer at times thinking "Why was that just said?" or "Why did that character just behave like that?" or "How much time has passed between the last scene and this scene?" or "Ok, so this now appears to be the main thread of the story, why was it so long in being made apparent and why was it developed so clumsily" etc. These questions arising really put in my mind the appalling (but awfully good fun) script, and (lack of) continuity of Tommy Wiseau's "The Room".

Apart from it's script and editing/continuity reminding me of "The Room" and the storyline being reminiscient of "The Red Shoes" - possessive control-freak older man, seeks to control young woman performing against the will of her lover, - "Svengali" also reminds me of another unusual film set in Paris and made in the 1950s called "Man On The Eiffel Tower". This film is also visually interesting and nicely art-directed but also suffers from (at times) an unintelligable script and very poor continuity.

The intention of "Svengali" is of course good but poor execution of basic story-telling damages the impact of the film substantially - but I still quite liked it!

Look out for the very young and beautiful, (uncredited - even though he has some lines), great Jeremy Brett in his first feature.