John Barrymore Quotes Hamlet in Svengali

Svengali. Dir. Archie Mayo. Perf. John Barrymore, Marian Marsh, and Donald Crisp. 1931. DVD. Alpha Video, 2022.

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I put the John Barrymore film Svengali on a wish list—and then promptly loss track of what made me want it. It was doubtless a passing reference in some Shakespeare criticism or other I was reading.

Whatever the impetus for wanting to see the film, I received it this Christmas, and I eagerly watched it to see if I could divine the Shakespeare connection.

The plot of the film is fairly interesting. Svengali is a music teacher who falls in love with Trilby O'Farrell, a woman who is already in love with another man—an artist who is part of Svengali's Bohemian circle. He hypnotizes the woman, which has the dual effect of making her forget the man she loves (but not the love she has for the man) and enables her to achieve greatness in her singing.

The cinematography of the film is exquisite. I still don't quite understand how they were able to achieve these effects in 1931. And the scene design reminds me of the terrifically out-of-kilter houses in The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari.

But what, you ask, about the Shakespeare? It all boils down to Hamlet's line to Horatio after he first sees and talks to the ghost: "There are more things in heaven and earth . . . / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy" (I.v.166–67).

The clip below provides that quote (uttered near the beginning of the film and repeated near its end), but it also gives a sense of the astonishing camera work. You'll see Svengali casting his mind over the streets of the city to draw the hypnotized object of his obsession to him. Then it cuts toward the end of the film—after Svengali has first made a name for himself and Trilby and then lost nearly all of it by fearfully fleeing Trilby's true love:

I always wish for more Shakespeare, but this film gives enough interest as a film to (almost) make up for only having one quote from one play (repeated once).

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Links: The Film at IMDB.

Click below to purchase the film from amazon.com
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Book Note: Flibbertigibbety Words

Guthrie, Donna. Flibbertigibbety Words: Young Shakespeare Chases Inspiration. Illus. Åsa Gilland. Page Street Kids, 2020.

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A little while ago, in writing about a Shakespeare-related page in a book about dictionaries (for which, q.v.), I mentioned a children's book that was entirely about Shakespeare's words—not realizing that I hadn't written about it.

But here's my chance!

Flibbertigibbety Words tells the story of young William Shakespeare running around the environs of Stratford-upon-Avon, trying to capture the marvelous words and phrases that he'll need for the rest of his career.

It's not a bad way to expose readers—young or older—to some famous Shakespearean quotations.  Here, for example, is the opening spread:

A little later, we get some key tombstones and descriptions of nature:

It's all pretty interesting—and very well-illustrated. Unfortunately, the allusion on the back cover does the rest of the book a disservice:

Still, don't let that be too off-putting. The book is usually much more accurate with its quotatations—and it's a wonderful way to gain some familiarity with Shakespeare's language before diving in to The Complete Works.

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The "10 Classics in 10 Minutes" One-Minute Version of Romeo and Juliet

Becker, Jim, Andy Meyer, and John "Mighty Mouth" Moschitta. Romeo and Juliet. From 10 Classics in 10 Minutes. CD. Barnes and Noble Books, 2004.

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Romeo Turns Bandit [Roméo se fait Bandit]. Dir. Romeo Bosetti. Perf. Max Linder. 1909. Othello.  DVD. Keno Video, 2002.  

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If you're of a certain age, you likely remember John "Mighty Mouth" Moschitta. He rode to fame as The World's Fastest-Talking Man with a famous commercial for Federal Express (as, in 1981, it was known).

He's perhaps less well-known for doing an album called 10 Classics in 10 Minutes. But that's what we're here to talk about today.

I've taken the audio from the Romeo and Juliet portion of the album, sprinkled a little salt and pepper over it, added the video from the 1909 silent film Romeo Turns Bandit, and turned on the burner.

Here, then, is John Moschitta's one-minute (minus the introduction) version of Romeo and Juliet:

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Click below to purchase the CD from amazon.com
(and to support Bardfilm as you do so).