The Great Profile (1940)

A once great stage actor (John Barrymore), now an alcoholic womanizing ham actor, finds his career in tatters. But when a pretty young girl (Anne Baxter) brings him a play written for him, he attempts a comeback. Directed by Walter Lang (THE DESK SET). Nicknamed The Great Profile for his aristocratic side profile, John Barrymore appears to be having great fun satirizing his image or at least his perceived image. A wacky comedy that hits too close to home for Barrymore. But he's not the whole show. The film is almost stolen by Gregory Ratoff (ALL ABOUT EVE) as Barrymore's gambling Russian manager. It's all done at a frantic pace but the running time is brief so the movie doesn't exhaust you. I had a good time with it. With John Payne, Mary Beth Hughes, Lionel Atwill and Marc Lawrence.