Prospero Unbound: John Barrymore’s Theatrical Transformations of Cinema Reality

John Barrymore might be described as the supreme embodiment of theatre on film. No matter what roles he plays, the aura of theatre inescapably and (so often) magically defines his relation to the camera, and to his fellow performers. This essay explores Barrymore's theatrical intersections with film reality—zeroing in especially on Larry Renault's lethal entrapment on the hotel room stage in Dinner at Eight.