This book, a collection of fifteen original essays on the film performances and stardom of John Barrymore, redresses the lack of scholarship on Barrymore by offering a range of varied perspectives on the actor’s work.

Introduction Steven Rybin and Murray Pomerance 1. The Pre-Bard Stage Career of John Barrymore, Philip Carli 2. Dangerously Modern: Shakespeare, Voice, and the ‘New Psychology’ in John Barrymore’s ‘Unstable’ Characters, Michael Hammond 3. The Curious Case of Sherlock Holmes, Colin Williamson 4. John Barrymore’s Introspective Performance in Beau Brummel, Martin Shingler 5. "Keep back your pity": The wounded Barrymore of The Sea Beast (1926) and Moby Dick (1930), Dominic Lennard 6. From Rome to Berlin: Barrymore as Romantic Lover, Douglas McFarland 7. The Power of Stillness: John Barrymore’s Performance in Svengali 1931, Diane Carson 8. Prospero Unbound: John Barrymore’s Theatrical Transformations of Cinema Reality, George Toles 9. A Star is Dead: Barrymore’s Anti-Christian Metaperformance, Kyle Stevens 10. Handling Time: The Passing of Tradition in A Bill of Divorcement, Daniel Varndell 11. John Barrymore’s Sparkling Topaze. Steven Rybin 12. "Planes, Motors, Schedules": Night Flight and the Modernity of John Barrymore, Will Scheibel 13. Barrymore and the Scene of Acting: Gesture, Speech, asnd the Repression of Cinematic Performance, Barry Langford 14. "I Never Thought I Should Sink So Low as to Become an Actor": John Barrymore in Twentieth Century, William Rothman 15. Barrymore Does Barrymore: The Performing Self Triumphant in The Great Profile, R. Barton Palmer Works Cited and Consulted Contributors Index