7 Films on Screen
Between them, the members of the Drew and Barrymore family have appeared in more than six hundred films since 1911. The most famous members of the family are the siblings Lionel, Ethel, and John Barrymore, born in the late nineteenth century, with Hollywood careers that lasted into the 1950s. However, their maternal uncle, Sidney Drew, was the first on the big screen, writing, directing, and starring in short films during the 1910s, often with his wife, Lucille McVey. This is where the latest member of the family, Drew Barrymore, gets her name. While it would be impossible to screen all of the Barrymore and Drew films (indeed, many of the silent films no longer exist), we present for you a sampler of some of the best films featuring Sidney Drew and Lionel, Ethel, John, and Drew Barrymore.
July 26: Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Drew Shorts Program
August 2: The White Raven (George D. Baker, 1917)
August 16: Rasputin and the Empress (Richard Boleslawski, 1932)
August 23: Grand Hotel (Edmund Goulding, 1932)
August 30: Twentieth Century (Howard Hawks, 1934)
August 31: Christopher Bean (Sam Wood, 1933)
September 3: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)
Events in this Series
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
Barrymore Family Album This 40th anniversary screening of Steven Spielberg’s most successful film is enhanced by the expertise of Lester Friedman, author of Citizen Spielberg, and Charity Lofthouse, professor of music at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. After the screening, the two will talk about the iconic film and its equally iconic John Williams score.
Christopher Bean
Barrymore Family Album Unavailable on home video and streaming, this early 1930s comedy is rarely seen due to legal complications. After learning that several paintings by deceased artist Christopher Bean, whose life few people know anything about, may be located at the home of Dr. Milton Haggett (Lionel Barrymore), New York art critic Maxwell Davenport (H. B. Warner) and other rival art dealers set off for Haggett’s Massachusetts home.
Twentieth Century
Barrymore Family Album Broadway impresario Oscar Jeffe (John Barrymore) takes an unknown lingerie model named Mildred Plotka (Carole Lombard) and makes her the star of his latest play, despite the grave misgivings of everyone else, including his two assistants Oliver Webb (Walter Connolly) and Owen O’Malley (Roscoe Karns).
Grand Hotel
Barrymore Family Album MGM publicity boasted “more stars than there are in the heavens,” and with Grand Hotel they proved it. At a time when it was customary to have only one or two big stars in a film, producer Irving Thalberg took a chance and cast five early 1930s megastars into a single production.
Member Movie Night | Rasputin and the Empress
Barrymore Family Album | Member Movie Night The only film featuring all three acting Barrymore siblings, Rasputin and the Empress takes place in the Russian Empire during the last years of the reign of Czar Nicholas II and the Czarina Alexandra. Reform-minded Prince Paul (John Barrymore) has long been concerned about the plight of the common people and knows a revolution is brewing.