Yes...the film is terrible. Yes...Mr. Barrymore plays himself as a buffoon. However, he doesn't leave a dry eye when he shows Kay Kiser how to do Shakespeare. "This is Hamlet's Solililoquy"..."It's been a long time..." Mr. Barrymore in his last film proves he is the greatest actor of all time. It is an amazing moment in cinematic history. How could one person posses so much talent? I highly recommend the film for any Barrymore fan. This was his last moment of greatness!
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This has to be the the most heart-wrenching version of Hamlet's soliloquy on film. Barrymore weighs every word, emotion, and metaphor. His rueful expression as he says, "Aye, there's the rub," conveys regret, a sense of his own imminent death, and, I think, a rejection of self-pity.
I can imagine a matinee showing of this movie shortly after release. The usual rustling, whispering, and giggling would drop to silence as the audience is gradually captivated by Barrymore's delivery of the soliloquy, and resume after he rubs his hand across his face and breaks the spell he created.
It's a little Shakespearean gem embedded in a moderately-amusing B-movie. It's also an illustration of the old theatrical wheeze about there being no small parts -- only small actors.dolceri ac dolcere
So very true! It is indeed the most heart-wrenching version of Hamlet's soliloquy on film. Very well put!!
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Those were real tears running down the great man's face. Such a wonderful actor and a terrible waste. Mr. Barrymore was in the clutches of that terrible addiction of alcohol. It's such a horrible sight to see...a bloated and broken man who still could bring an entire room to tears with his talent. Oh, you demon alcohol! How many more precious lives will you torture and kill?
shareIt was amazing to watch. The way he changed before our eyes....from, as you said, a bloated broken man into Hamlet was incredible. And then, with a wave across his face, the spell was broken, and he was back as the poor, drunken old man.
shareI don't have this film yet but Barrymore must have been a total wreck by late 1941. He would be dead 5 months after this film's release. It is so sad what the ravages of alcohol will do to someone who in Barrymore's state, have no control over it. Still he was a great actor from a great family.
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