This film features John Barrymore as a monomaniacal angel of destruction. When he sees a young boy exhibiting great grace and dexterity, chased and beaten by a horrible father (Boris Karloff) he rescues him. As a two bit puppeteer he decides to set the boy on stage as a dancer (and it works). But Barrymore has no guile or gentleness. He doesn't believe an artist can be successful with distraction. The boy, now a man, falls for a pretty ballerina and his surrogate father destroys the relationship. But the acting is bad and the kid doesn't seem to have much dramatic talent, although the film promotes him as great. They should have cast an actual dancer. It's kind of silly at times but certainly interesting.
Review of The Mad Genius
