Svengali (1954 film)
Svengali is a 1954 British drama film directed by Noel Langley and starring Hildegard Knef, Donald Wolfit and Terence Morgan. A svengali hypnotises an artist's model into becoming a great opera singer, but she struggles to escape from his powers. It was based on the 1894 novel "Trilby" by George du Maurier. Donald Wolfit was a last-minute replacement for actor Robert Newton, who left three weeks into filming and can still be seen in some long shots. Amongst the end credits is the acknowledgement: "The producer expresses his grateful appreciation for the magnificent singing voice  of Madame Elizabeth Schwarzkopf." Critical reception. Under the heading, "Sixth Filming of Novel Fails to Hypnotize", "The New York Times" critic described the film as "a stylized curio that seems out of place in the atomic age...as old-fashioned as side whiskers and bustles". "DVD Talk", comparing it to the 1931 John Barrymore version posited that "the 1954 British film fleshes out the characters of Trilby and Billy considerably and adds a lot of color and subtlety, but the results suggest that a more flamboyant approach might have worked better than the lush but tame version that resulted. The  Eastmancolor production aims for an evocative atmosphere akin to John Huston's gorgeous Moulin Rouge (1952), photographed in Technicolor by Oswald Morris. "Svengali" was made on a fraction of that film's budget, though does look handsome for what it is."