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Svengali

 Svengali
type
TVTItem
 Svengali
label
Svengali
 Svengali
page
Svengali
 Svengali
comment
Svengali is a 1931 film directed by Archie Mayo.It is the most famous of several adaptations of the novel Trilby. Svengali (John Barrymore) is a music teacher and vocal coach in turn-of-the-20th-century Paris—but his real profession is hypnotism and mind control. He has a student and lover, Madame Honori, who is wholly untalented as a singer but who does have a rich husband. When Madame Honori comes by Svengali's apartment and reveals that she has left her husband, and has come to him without a financial settlement, Svengali cruelly rejects her. She flees from his gaze and soon commits suicide.Enter Trilby O'Farrell (Marian Marsh), a stunningly beautiful young art model. Trilby falls in love with Billiee, Svengali's neighbor, and they talk of getting married. But Svengali hypnotizes Trilby under the pretense of curing her headache, and soon she is under his control...
 Svengali
fetched
2024-05-08T14:47:13Z
 Svengali
parsed
2024-05-08T14:47:13Z
 Svengali
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Svengali / int_1bf3f4af
type
The Svengali
 Svengali / int_1bf3f4af
comment
The Svengali: Surprised? The source novel was the Trope Namer. Svengali takes complete control of Trilby, using his hypnotic powers to make her both his lover and a great singer.
 Svengali / int_1bf3f4af
featureApplicability
1.0
 Svengali / int_1bf3f4af
featureConfidence
1.0
 Svengali
hasFeature
Svengali / int_1bf3f4af
 Svengali / int_25f0ed12
type
Hollywood Tone-Deaf
 Svengali / int_25f0ed12
comment
Hollywood Tone-Deaf: The absurd off-key bleating of Madame Honori, when she sings for Svengali in the first scene.
 Svengali / int_25f0ed12
featureApplicability
1.0
 Svengali / int_25f0ed12
featureConfidence
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 Svengali
hasFeature
Svengali / int_25f0ed12
 Svengali / int_2be15316
type
Ambiguously Jewish
 Svengali / int_2be15316
comment
Ambiguously Jewish: In the novel Trilby Svengali is a crude anti-Semitic stereotype. This film does not directly invoke anti-Semitic tropes as, unlike the book, Svengali's religion is never mentioned. However, the character still looks like an anti-Semitic stereotype of an Eastern European Jew, dressed in a vaguely Hasidic manner with a long forked beard and a long hooked nose.
 Svengali / int_2be15316
featureApplicability
1.0
 Svengali / int_2be15316
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 Svengali
hasFeature
Svengali / int_2be15316
 Svengali / int_2bfb1856
type
Beard of Evil
 Svengali / int_2bfb1856
comment
Beard of Evil: Svengali has a long forked beard, marking him out as a bad guy.
 Svengali / int_2bfb1856
featureApplicability
1.0
 Svengali / int_2bfb1856
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 Svengali
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Svengali / int_2bfb1856
 Svengali / int_4143f84f
type
Leg Focus
 Svengali / int_4143f84f
comment
Leg Focus: The camera lingers on Trilby's leg as she poses nude for a room full of artists.
 Svengali / int_4143f84f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Svengali / int_4143f84f
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 Svengali
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Svengali / int_4143f84f
 Svengali / int_454e6cf5
type
Hypnotic Eyes
 Svengali / int_454e6cf5
comment
Hypnotic Eyes: Svengali's eyes go completely white when he uses his hypnotic powers. John Barrymore wore lenses that covered his eyeballs completely.
 Svengali / int_454e6cf5
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1.0
 Svengali / int_454e6cf5
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 Svengali
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Svengali / int_454e6cf5
 Svengali / int_516f986d
type
Loving a Shadow
 Svengali / int_516f986d
comment
Loving a Shadow: Svengali can hypnotize Trilby into "love" but becomes frustrated when she does not love him for real.
 Svengali / int_516f986d
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1.0
 Svengali / int_516f986d
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 Svengali
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Svengali / int_516f986d
 Svengali / int_586db75d
type
My Girl Is Not a Slut
 Svengali / int_586db75d
comment
My Girl Is Not a Slut: Billee the idiot throws a hissy fit when he walks into a studio and sees Trilby posing naked for a room full of art students. This gives Svengali an opportunity when a hysterical, crying Trilby comes to him.
 Svengali / int_586db75d
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 Svengali / int_586db75d
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 Svengali
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Svengali / int_586db75d
 Svengali / int_5fcb9ad1
type
Time Skip
 Svengali / int_5fcb9ad1
comment
Time Skip: Five years between the first part of the story, with Svengali getting his hooks into Trilby, and the second part when she has, under his control, become a singing star.
 Svengali / int_5fcb9ad1
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 Svengali / int_5fcb9ad1
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 Svengali
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Svengali / int_5fcb9ad1
 Svengali / int_67f34057
type
The Pig-Pen
 Svengali / int_67f34057
comment
The Pigpen: The opening scenes make clear that Svengali hasn't bathed in—a very long time. His artist neighbors wind up dunking him in a bathtub, which is how he meets Trilby, when she comes by looking for work as a model.
 Svengali / int_67f34057
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1.0
 Svengali / int_67f34057
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 Svengali
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Svengali / int_67f34057
 Svengali / int_6d332aea
type
Driven to Suicide
 Svengali / int_6d332aea
comment
Driven to Suicide: Madame Honori drowns herself in the river when Svengali rejects her. It's implied that he hypnotically compelled her to do it.
 Svengali / int_6d332aea
featureApplicability
1.0
 Svengali / int_6d332aea
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 Svengali
hasFeature
Svengali / int_6d332aea
 Svengali / int_73418f96
type
Psychic-Assisted Suicide
 Svengali / int_73418f96
comment
Psychic-Assisted Suicide: It is implied that Svengali used his hypnosis powers to make Madame Honori kill herself, because she had become inconvenient. It's not for certain because the film does not show his eyes—the Hypnotic Eyes effect is saved for later, when he hypnotizes Trilby—but Madame Honori flees Svengali's apartment in terror, screaming "DON'T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT!". Soon after, she kills herself.
 Svengali / int_73418f96
featureApplicability
1.0
 Svengali / int_73418f96
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 Svengali
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Svengali / int_73418f96
 Svengali / int_7c897aaa
type
Psychic Link
 Svengali / int_7c897aaa
comment
Psychic Link: Svengali establishes one with Trilby after he hypnotizes her. He is able to look out the window and, with the power of his mind, compel her to leave her room across town and come to him. The link is strong enough that in the end, when Svengali has a heart attack and dies during Trilby's performance, she dies too.
 Svengali / int_7c897aaa
featureApplicability
1.0
 Svengali / int_7c897aaa
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 Svengali
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Svengali / int_7c897aaa
 Svengali / int_823c6e3e
type
Large Ham
 Svengali / int_823c6e3e
comment
Large Ham: John Barrymore is pretty hammy in this film, with a lot of bug-eyed stares and overly dramatic deliveries.
 Svengali / int_823c6e3e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Svengali / int_823c6e3e
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 Svengali
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Svengali / int_823c6e3e
 Svengali / int_898ff050
type
Villain Protagonist
 Svengali / int_898ff050
comment
Villain Protagonist: Svengali, the evil hypnotist who makes Trilby his thrall.
 Svengali / int_898ff050
featureApplicability
1.0
 Svengali / int_898ff050
featureConfidence
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 Svengali
hasFeature
Svengali / int_898ff050
 Svengali / int_b5c562be
type
Face Framed in Shadow
 Svengali / int_b5c562be
comment
Face Framed in Shadow: Svengali's face is hidden in shadow as he gazes hungrily at Trilby from across the room. Soon, he hypnotizes her for the first time.
 Svengali / int_b5c562be
featureApplicability
1.0
 Svengali / int_b5c562be
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 Svengali
hasFeature
Svengali / int_b5c562be
 Svengali / int_c4286511
type
For Doom the Bell Tolls
 Svengali / int_c4286511
comment
For Doom the Bell Tolls: A tolling bell makes the mood even more ominous as Svengali uses his psychic powers to call Trilby to him.
 Svengali / int_c4286511
featureApplicability
1.0
 Svengali / int_c4286511
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 Svengali
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Svengali / int_c4286511
 Svengali / int_name
type
ItemName
 Svengali / int_name
comment
 Svengali / int_name
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 Svengali / int_name
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Svengali

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 Svengali
hasFeature
The Svengali / int_1cd9159d