John Barrymore

Born: 1882-02-15

John Sidney Blyth Barrymore (February 15, 1882 – May 29, 1942) was an acclaimed American actor. He first gained fame as a handsome stage actor in light comedy, then high drama and culminating in groundbreaking portrayals in Shakespearean plays Hamlet and Richard III. His success continued with motion pictures in various genres in both the silent and sound eras. Barrymore's personal life has been the subject of much writing before and since his passing in 1942. Today John Barrymore is mostly known for his roles in movies like Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1920), Grand Hotel (1932), Dinner at Eight (1933), Twentieth Century (1934), and Don Juan (1926), the first ever movie to use a Vitaphone soundtrack. A member of a multi-generation theatrical dynasty, he was the brother of Lionel Barrymore and Ethel Barrymore, and was the paternal grandfather of Drew Barrymore.


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Grand Hotel

as Baron Felix von Gaigern
Released: 1932-05-25

Guests at a posh Berlin hotel struggle through worry, scandal, and heartache.

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Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

as Chariot Race Spectator (uncredited)
Released: 1925-12-25

Erstwhile childhood friends, Judah Ben-Hur and Messala meet again as adults, this time with...

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Twentieth Century

as Oscar Jaffe
Released: 1934-05-11

A temperamental Broadway producer trains an untutored actress, but when she becomes a star, she...

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Dinner at Eight

as Larry Renault
Released: 1933-12-22

An ambitious New York socialite plans an extravagant dinner party as her businessman husband,...

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The Invisible Woman

as Professor Gibbs
Released: 1940-12-28

Kitty Carroll, an attractive store model, volunteers to become a test subject for a machine that...

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Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

as Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Edward Hyde
Released: 1920-03-18

A doctor's research into the roots of evil turns him into a hideous depraved fiend.

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Marie Antoinette

as King Louis XV
Released: 1938-08-26

The young Austrian princess Marie Antoinette is arranged to marry Louis XVI, future king of...

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Romeo and Juliet

as Mercutio
Released: 1936-09-03

Young love is poisoned by a generations long feud between two noble families.

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Midnight

as Georges Flammarion
Released: 1939-03-24

An unemployed showgirl poses as Hungarian royalty to infiltrate Parisian society.

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Don Juan

as Don Jose de Marana / Don Juan de Marana
Released: 1926-08-06

If there was one thing that Don Juan de Marana learned from his father Don Jose, it was that...

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Bulldog Drummond's Revenge

as Col. J.A. Nielson
Released: 1937-12-16

Captain Drummond is travelling to Switzerland to marry his girlfriend. However, when a cargo...

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Counsellor at Law

as George Simon
Released: 1933-12-25

A successful lawyer struggles to deal with his wife's unfaithfulness and his own hidden past.

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Bulldog Drummond Comes Back

as Colonel Neilson
Released: 1937-09-24

Drummond's girlfriend is kidnapped by his enemies and he along with his friend Nielsen, an...

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That's Entertainment, Part II

as (archive footage)
Released: 1976-05-16

Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time...

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The Horror Show

as (archive footage)
Released: 1979-02-06

A history of horror movies.

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Rasputin and the Empress

as Prince Paul Chegodieff
Released: 1932-12-23

The story of corrupt, power-hungry, manipulative Grigori Rasputin's influence on members of the...

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A Bill of Divorcement

as Hilary Fairfield
Released: 1932-09-28

A World War I veteran returns home after fifteen years in an asylum and finds that everything...

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The Great Man Votes

as Vance
Released: 1939-01-13

In 1923, Gregory Vance, a widower with two children, is a former scholar who has turned from...

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Movie Maniacs

as Photograph of John Barrymore (uncredited)
Released: 1936-02-20

The boys are stowaways on a train box-car filled with furniture bound for Hollywood where they...

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Complicated Women

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 2003-05-06

Looks at the stereotype-breaking films of the period from 1929, when movies entered the sound...

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Bulldog Drummond's Peril

as Colonel Neilson
Released: 1938-03-18

Drummond's wedding with Phyllis is interrupted when the inspector guarding their gifts is...

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Show of Shows

as Richard III in 'Henry VI Part III' (uncredited)
Released: 1929-11-21

Now hear this. The studio that gave the cinema its voice offered 1929 audiences a chance to see...

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Night Flight

as Riviere
Released: 1933-10-06

Story of South American mail pilots, and the dangers they face flying at night.

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Arsène Lupin

as Duke of Charmerace
Released: 1932-02-26

A charming and very daring thief known as Arsene Lupin is terrorizing the wealthy of Paris, he...

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True Confession

as Charles Jasper
Released: 1937-12-24

A writer takes a job as a secretary because her scrupulous husband isn't bringing in the dough...

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The Great Profile

as Evans Garrick
Released: 1940-08-30

An alcoholic film star attempts a comeback. Director Walter Lang's 1940 comedy stars John...

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Svengali

as Svengali
Released: 1931-05-20

A music maestro uses hypnotism on a young model he meets in Paris to make her both his muse and...

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Hollywood: The Selznick Years

as 'Bill of Divorcement' (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: 1961-12-31

Henry Fonda hosts this retrospective on the career and films of iconic filmmaker David O....

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Screen Snapshots (Series 22, No. 10)

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1942-01-01

The edition of Screen Snapshots celebrates 25 years of production. It looks at the content of...

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Beau Brummel

as Gordon Bryon 'Beau' Brummel
Released: 1924-03-30

George Bryan Brummel, a British military officer, loves Lady Margery, the betrothed of Lord...

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State's Attorney

as Tom Cardigan
Released: 1932-05-20

Corrupt alcoholic attorney Tom Cardigan is one of the best lawyers around, commanding the...

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Hollywood: The Dream Factory

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1972-01-10

A documentary about the glorious history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and its decline leading...

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Okay for Sound

as Don Juan (archive footage)
Released: 1946-09-07

This short was released in connection with the 20th anniversary of Warner Brothers' first...

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Sherlock Holmes

as Sherlock Holmes
Released: 1922-03-07

Sherlock Holmes is a master at solving the most impenetrable mysteries, but he has his work cut...

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Topaze

as Auguste A. Topaze
Released: 1933-02-24

An honest and naive schoolteacher gets a lesson in how the world works outside the classroom,...

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Going Hollywood: The '30s

as (archive footage)
Released: 1984-01-01

Robert Preston hosts this documentary that shows what people of the 1930s were watching as they...

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The Mad Genius

as Vladimar Ivan Tsarakov
Released: 1931-09-30

A crippled puppeteer rescues an abused young boy and turns the boy into a great ballet dancer....

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The Beloved Rogue

as François Villon
Released: 1927-03-12

François Villon, in his lifetime the most renowned poet in France, is also a prankster, an...

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Reunion in Vienna

as Archduke Rudolf von Hapsburg
Released: 1933-06-16

An exiled archduke (John Barrymore) tries to renew romance with a former lover (Diana Wynyard)...

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Playmates

as John Barrymore
Released: 1941-12-26

Lulu Monahan, the press agent for John Barrymore, is attempting to get a sponsor for a radio...

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The Voice That Thrilled the World

as Self (segments 'Don Juan' & 'Richard III') (archive footage)
Released: 1943-10-16

This short traces the history of sound in the movies, beginning with French scientist Leon...

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Night Club Scandal

as Dr. Ernest Tindal
Released: 1937-11-11

When Dr. Ernest Tindal's wife is murdered, evidence mounts to convict her lover, Frank Marian....

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Spawn of the North

as Windy Turlon
Released: 1938-08-26

Two Alaskan salmon fisherman find their friendship at risk when one aligns with Russian fish...

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Hold That Co-ed

as Gabby Harrigan
Released: 1938-09-16

An egotistical politician believes he can win votes by turning a small college's hapless...

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Hollywood Goes to Town

as Self
Released: 1938-07-07

This short shows how Hollywood gets ready for the world premiere of an "important" movie. The...

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Tempest

as Sergeant Ivan Markov
Released: 1928-05-27

In the final days of Czarist Russia, a peasant is raised from the ranks to Lieutenant. The other...

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Moby Dick

as Ahab
Released: 1930-09-20

Herman Melville's mad Capt. Ahab (John Barrymore) spends years hunting the white whale that got...

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Maytime

as Nicolai Nazaroff
Released: 1937-03-26

An aging opera singer looks back on her long life, including her relationships with her vocal...

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The Golden Twenties

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1950-04-08

Feature-length compilation of 1920s newsreel footage, with commentary about news, sports,...

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Land of Liberty

as (archive footage)
Released: 1939-06-15

This film tells the history of the United States from pre-Revolution through 1939.

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Romance in the Dark

as Zoltan Jason
Released: 1938-03-24

A baritone aids a young servant in making her dream of singing professionally come true.

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The Circus: Premiere

as Self
Released: 1928-01-13

Footage from the premiere of Charlie Chaplin's 1928 film 'The Circus'.

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Long Lost Father

as Carl Bellairs
Released: 1934-01-19

A long-absent father is reunited with his daughter, who still holds a grudge that he had...

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When a Man Loves

as Chevalier Fabien des Grieux
Released: 1927-08-21

A nobleman studying for the priesthood abandons his vocation in 18th Century France when he...

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The Horror of It All

as Svengali (archive footage)
Released: 1983-02-23

A collection of film clips from horror movies and interviews with the actors and directors who...

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Eternal Love

as Marcus Paltran
Released: 1929-05-11

In the Swiss Alps of the early 19th century, a couple forced into loveless marriages struggle to...

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On the Quiet

as Robert Ridgeway
Released: 1918-09-01

Young couple gets married in secret because her family objects to the match. To escape the...

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The Lost Bridegroom

as Bertie Joyce
Released: 1916-03-20

Suffering from aphasia after being conked on the head, a man is coerced into robbing his...

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It's Showtime

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1976-03-31

A collection of film clips profiling animal actors.

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The Dictator

as Brooke Travers
Released: 1915-06-21

On the lam from the New York Police because of a false murder charge, playboy Brooke Travers...

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The Test of Honor

as Martin Wingrave
Released: 1919-04-16

After serving a term in prison for a crime he did not commit, a man exacts revenge upon the two...

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Vagabonding On The Pacific

as Himself
Released: 1926-01-01

Home movie travelogue of John Barrymore and Walter Mayo aboard the schooner 'The Mariner'...

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Yesterday and Today

as (archive footage)
Released: 1953-12-02

A compilation of early-day silent films that serves as a glimpse back to the formative days of...

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The Incorrigible Dukane

as James Dukane
Released: 1915-09-02

A rich contractor sends his son to supervise the building of a new dam. His clothes are stolen...

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Are You a Mason?

as Frank Perry
Released: 1915-03-15

Frank Perry's wife Helen is away visiting her mother, and he uses this "free time" for a night...

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World Premiere

as Duncan DeGrasse
Released: 1941-08-21

A movie-making publicity man screwball comedy about a movie producer who wants to create...

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National Red Cross Pageant

as The Tyrant - Russian episode
Released: 1917-12-01

The National Red Cross Pageant (1917) was an American war pageant that was performed in order to...

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The Legend of Rudolph Valentino

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1961-05-24

A documentary of Hollywood's first great Latin Lover, the contradictions in his personal life,...

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General Crack

as Duke of Kurland / Prince Christian
Released: 1929-12-16

The film takes place in the 18th century Austria and revolves around Prince Christian, commonly...

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Life in Hollywood No. 4

as uncredited
Released: 1927-08-25

Part of a 7-part series exploring all aspects of Hollywood.

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An American Citizen

as Berresford Cruger
Released: 1914-01-10

A young American broker at large in London.

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The Man from Mexico

as Fitzhugh
Released: 1914-11-02

A young man gets arrested after a drunken night. Sentenced to 30 days in jail, he tells his wife...

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Raffles, the Amateur Cracksman

as A.J. Raffles
Released: 1917-12-14

A.J. Raffles, an educated and handsome cricket champ with entry to the best social circles...

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The Lotus Eater

as Jacques Leroi
Released: 1921-11-27

Naive Jacques Lenoi marries money-hungry Madge Vance. When Madge realizes he isn't as moneyed as...

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The Man from Blankley's

as Lord Strathpeffer
Released: 1930-03-28

When a nobleman loses his way in the fog and enters a house where there's a party going on, he's...

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The Red Widow

as Cicero Hannibal Butts
Released: 1916-05-04

An American corset manufacturer by the name of Cicero Hannibal Butts travels to Russia, where he...

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Here Comes the Bride

as Frederick Tile
Released: 1919-01-19

A young man with little means wants to marry a rich girl, and thinks up a scheme to get rich.

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The Sea Beast

as Captain Ahab Ceeley
Released: 1926-01-15

Based on Herman Melville's novel "Moby Dick."

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Nearly a King

as Jack Merriwell, Prince of Bulwana
Released: 1916-01-20

A crown prince doesn't want to marry a foreign princess, so he asks an actor to take his place.

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Screen Snapshots (Series 25, No. 1): 25th Anniversary

as Self (archive footage)
Released: 1945-09-06

A look back at 25 years of Columbia's series of newsreels chronicling the film industry and the...

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Hamlet, Act I: Scenes IV and V

as Hamlet
Released: 1933-04-04

A 1933 screen test for a proposed, but never filmed, movie version of "Hamlet" in Technicolor,...

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