This 1915 Maurice Tourneur film is a version of the famous duMaurier novel. It was later done in a more famous 1931 film named Svengali with John Barrymore. The later film obviously changed the title due to the huge presence of its' star.
This film seems to be one of the earlier surviving films of Tourneur. He was an excellent director from the few films of his that I've seen. His compositions are nice and the acting is surprisingly relatively realistic for such an early film. In the end, though, it just doesn't have much momentum. The actor who plays Svengali looks a bit brutish in appearance for a musical talent such as his character. The film moves along, and may have been exciting in its' day, but not so now. Still, it is worth the time due to the rarity and the chance to see an early Tourneur film as many are considered lost.
This film seems to be one of the earlier surviving films of Tourneur. He was an excellent director from the few films of his that I've seen. His compositions are nice and the acting is surprisingly relatively realistic for such an early film. In the end, though, it just doesn't have much momentum. The actor who plays Svengali looks a bit brutish in appearance for a musical talent such as his character. The film moves along, and may have been exciting in its' day, but not so now. Still, it is worth the time due to the rarity and the chance to see an early Tourneur film as many are considered lost.