by Hal Erickson
synopsis
The play The Bells (based on the French Le Juif Polonais) was brought to the screen in 1926. Lionel Barrymore plays a merchant who murders a Jewish entrepreneur and appropriates the dead man's fortune. Though no evidence exists to convict him, Barrymore cannot escape his own conscience due to the intervention of a mentalist. Whenever he hears the pealing of church bells, Barrymore is haunted by images of his crime and his victim. Of interest is the appearance of Boris Karloff, in Caligariesque makeup as the mesmerist.
characteristics
- Haunted By The Past
- Nail-biters
- Vision [mystical]
- Murder
- Merchant
- Jewish
