The Mad Genius

1931 "Cruel passions! Mad longings! A monster playing with the souls of his fellow beings!"
6.3| 1h21m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 07 November 1931 Released
Producted By: Warner Bros. Pictures
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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A crippled puppeteer rescues an abused young boy and turns the boy into a great ballet dancer. Complications ensue when, as a young man, the dancer falls in love with a young woman the puppeteer is also in love with.

Genre

Drama, Horror, Romance

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Director

Michael Curtiz

Production Companies

Warner Bros. Pictures

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The Mad Genius Audience Reviews

Lancoor A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action
Forumrxes Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.
FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.
BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Michael_Elliott The Mad Genius (1931) *** (out of 4) Vladimar Ivan Tsarakov (John Barrymore) dreamed of becoming a world famous dancer but a club foot prevented that from happening. One day he notices a young boy being abused so he takes the kid as his own with the plan of turning him into a great star. As an adult, Fedor (Donald Cook) begins to rise to stardom as Vladimar's obsession grows stronger and more deranged.Obviously this here was meant as a version of SVENGALI, which was released earlier in the same year as this picture. In all honesty, I've always thought that film was somewhat overrated but it was saved thanks to the great performance by Barrymore. It took me a long time to track down a copy of THE MAD GENIUS and I must admit that I felt the same about this film as I did about SVENGALI.THE MAD GENIUS isn't a bad movie but at the same time, outside of the performances, there's really nothing overly special about the film and I might even argue that it's pretty darn boring at times. I really didn't think the usually great Michael Curtiz brought any style or substance to the material. I was a little surprised that the screenplay spends so much time with characters just sitting around talking. A lot of the more horror-like elements are drained of any sort of suspense or drama.As I said, the reason the film remains watchable is due to the performances with Barrymore once again leading the way. I really thought he was great here in a rather restraint role. I mean, we're used to the theatrical Barrymore really going wild but that wasn't the case here. He was brilliant at using his eyes to tell and show us what madness was beneath this character. I also thought Marian Marsh was good in her role of the love interest and Cook is also good, if a bit bland, in his role. Charles Butterworth nearly steals the picture with his comic timing in the role as Karimsky.As I said, there are quite a few flaws to be found in THE MAD GENIUS but the cast and performances are just so good that you can't help but stay with the picture.
MartinHafer John Barrymore had some wonderful performances over his film career. But, he also had some really terrible performances as well--ones which were far from subtle and terribly overacted. One of these embarrassingly bad performances was his famous "Svengali" and another was the follow-up film, "The Mad Genius". In fact, both performances seem just about identical--with Barrymore playing essentially the same sort of guy--a creepy manipulator who is troll- like and with a thick, thick accent. The plot of "Svengali" involves a creepy guy using his hypnotic-like powers to bend a woman to his will and make her a star. Here, it's a guy instead...but otherwise it's the same 'ol same 'ol.The bottom line is the film lacks subtlety and originality. While it might have played well back in the day, today it just seems very dated and dumb. Barrymore was capable of so much better than this and the film is extremely difficult to finish.
dbborroughs John Barrymmore plays a puppeteer who takes in a small boy who grows to be a great dancer. Things get dicey when the boy's eye strays from dancing toward one girl in particular.Intrguing pre-code film that, at times, has Barrymore giving a great performance. Watch his early scenes and you'll see just how good he was. During bits later in the film he seems to be phoning it in but he's still a joy to behold. The movie itself is a potboiler in the Svengali mode, but it's entertaining. I love the ballet sets which are decidedly of the time the film was made.Worth a peak.
MARIO GAUCI Warner Brothers were clearly eager to give the 1931 public what it wanted and also consolidate the success of SVENGALI made earlier that year by instantly reuniting the leads from that film – John Barrymore and Marian Marsh – in a quickly rehashed potboiler on similar lines. Barrymore is an embittered puppeteer whose lameness had dashed his dreams of a dancing career but, as fate would have it, is provided with the opportunity of living that glory vicariously through the agile street urchin he saves one day from the clutches of his cruel father (a small role for a pre-fame Boris Karloff). Growing up to be a peerless dancer (played by an uncharismatic Donald Cook) through the ruthless patronage of his foster father, he is ready to give it all up for the love of an innocent girl in the show (Marsh) but, needless to say, Barrymore will not let anything stand in the way of art and his ambitious plans for the prized pupil. Amusing sidekick Charles Butterworth helplessly looks on as Barrymore sadistically convinces dope-addicted choreographer (Luis Alberni) to fire Marsh but Cook overhears their heinous scheme and this causes a rift between impresario and protégé. Years pass but more scheming on Barrymore's part enables the estrangement of the lovers and the rekindling of the working relationship between father and son. Once again, however, fate intervenes with Barrymore eventually getting his just desserts at the hands of the distraught Alberni – on stage during the performance of what was to be Cook's crowning achievement! Admittedly, the plot is much inferior to that of SVENGALI but an unhinged Barrymore is always worth watching, Marsh is typically lovely while Michael Curtiz's expressionistic direction (his first of three notable forays in the genre) and Anton Grot's stylish sets lend the production a touch of class that keeps one watching if not exactly enthralled.