AllMovie

Produced and directed by onetime comedy impresario Joe Rock, the early talkie The Great Power was a literal adaptation of the same-named stage play by Myron Fagan. Using the facilities of a small studio in Waterbury, Connecticut, Rock hired the cast members of the original play to repeat their roles. Hirshell Mayall stars as John Power, a ruthless millionaire forced to take an accounting of himself when he faces his Judgement Day in the Hereafter. Unfortunately, Mayall can find no one to testify in his behalf; apparently, he has spent his entire life making nothing but enemies. Faced with material that was apparently beyond his creative ken, director Rock was forced to film the entire movie twice when the first version came out looking like a high-school pageant. Despite its flaws, The Great Power managed to obtain a release through MGM.