The best John Barrymore’s drama movies
If you love cinema, you will share this ranking of the best John Barrymore’s movies, although you may have ordered them differently. In any case, we hope you love it and with a little luck discovering a movie that you still don’t know about John Barrymore.
Grand Hotel
7.3/10
Guests at a posh Berlin hotel struggle through worry, scandal, and heartache.
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
7.8/10
Erstwhile childhood friends, Judah Ben-Hur and Messala meet again as adults, this time with Roman officer Messala as conqueror and Judah as a wealthy, though conquered, Israelite. A slip of a brick during a Roman parade causes Judah to be sent off as a galley slave, his property confiscated and his mother and sister imprisoned. Years later, as a result of his determination to stay alive and his willingness to aid his Roman master, Judah returns to his homeland an exalted and wealthy Roman athlete. Unable to find his mother and sister, and believing them dead, he can think of nothing else than revenge against Messala.
Marie Antoinette
7.3/10
The young Austrian princess Marie Antoinette is arranged to marry Louis XVI, future king of France, in a politically advantageous marriage for the rival countries. The opulent Marie indulges in various whims and flirtations. When Louis XV passes and Louis XVI ascends the French throne, his queen's extravagant lifestyle earns the hatred of the French people, who despise her Austrian heritage.
The Mad Genius
6.3/10
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.
Dinner at Eight
7.5/10
An ambitious New York socialite plans an extravagant dinner party as her businessman husband, Oliver, contends with financial woes, causing a lot of tension between the couple. Meanwhile, their high-society friends and associates, including the gruff Dan Packard and his sultry spouse, Kitty, contend with their own entanglements, leading to revelations at the much-anticipated dinner.
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
6.9/10
A doctor's research into the roots of evil turns him into a hideous depraved fiend.
A Bill of Divorcement
6.5/10
Hillary Fairfield returns home after fifteen years in an asylum with his sanity restored. But he is disturbed to find that everything has changed: his daughter grown and about to marry; his wife divorced and also about to marry.
Night Flight
6.2/10
Story of South American mail pilots, and the dangers they face flying at night.
Sherlock Holmes
5.7/10
Sherlock Holmes is a master at solving the most impenetrable mysteries, but he has his work cut out for him on his latest case. Prince Alexis is accused of a theft that he insists he didn’t commit. The evidence is stacked against him, but Holmes’ trusted friend, Dr. Watson, vouches for the prince. As the famed detective investigates, he’s brought face to face with his most devious adversary yet — Professor Moriarty.
Svengali
6.8/10
A music maestro uses hypnotism on a young model he meets in Paris to make her both his muse and wife.
Romeo and Juliet
6.5/10
Young love is poisoned by a generations long feud between two noble families.
Topaze
6.7/10
An honest and naive schoolteacher gets a lesson in how the world works outside the classroom, when a rich Baron and his mistress use the teacher's name and outstanding reputation in a crooked business scheme.
Rasputin and the Empress
6.5/10
The story of corrupt, power-hungry, manipulative Grigori Rasputin's influence on members of the Russian Imperial family and others, and what resulted.
Moby Dick
5.6/10
Herman Melville's mad Capt. Ahab (John Barrymore) spends years hunting the white whale that got his leg.
Maytime
7.3/10
An opera star's manager tries to stop her romance with a penniless singer.
Spawn of the North
6.7/10
Two Alaskan salmon fisherman find their friendship at risk when one aligns with Russian fish pirates and the other aligns with local vigilantes.
Beau Brummel
6.6/10
George Bryan Brummel, a British military officer, loves Lady Margery, the betrothed of Lord Alvanley. Despite her own desperate love for Brummel, she submits to family pressure and marries Lord Alvanley. Brummel, broken-hearted, embarks upon a life of revelry.
Counsellor at Law
7.5/10
Successful attorney has his Jewish heritage and poverty-stricken background brought home to him when he learns his wife has been unfaithful.
The Great Man Votes
6.7/10
In 1923, Gregory Vance, a widower with two children, is a former scholar who has turned from book-to-bottle. He works, slightly, as a night-watchman and his children, who know him for what he is and what he isn't, are his only admirers. Then, it is discovered that he is the only registered voter in a key precinct and the politicians, from both parties, arrive in droves bearing inducements. What he does about this situation, and the relatives who want to take his children away from him make up the story.
State's Attorney
6.6/10
Corrupt alcoholic attorney Tom Cardigan is one of the best lawyers around, commanding the courtroom like a stage and often winning his cases. Mobster Valentine Powers, who employs Cardigan and put him through school, asks him to represent a woman, June Perry, accused of prostitution. Cardigan agrees. But he never expected to fall for her, which is problematic since he's angling to become governor and will need the right kind of wife.
