John Barrymore was highly acclaimed for his time. With his early start, he gained experience in numerous different stage acts and screen plays, which set him up for a career of great success. One of his earliest major successes, "General Crack," won him an award for one of the "Best Performances of the Month." This would be the first of four of these awards that Barrymore would win in 1930. This talkie was one of the biggest performances for him at the time kicked off a decade that would prove to be full of more awards for Barrymore. All of these awards would prove to be building blocks in the celebrity status of Barrymore, with his celebrity and stardom growing with each one. We talked in class about the idea of celebrity and how the people made the celebrity. Barrymore continued to draw attention from audiences at a national level through his character on and off the stage and that attention gave him an international celebrity status.

Especially in a production like "General Crack" which was one of the first two talkies that Warner Bros. created, and the world was shocked when they premiered. To be the main character in one of the newest types of film by one of the biggest production companies can do wonders for your status.

Another big production that brought Barrymore even more fame was the Adolf Zukor production, "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." We talked about Zukor in class, and how he was the founding father of Paramount. A great way to grow one's stardom is to be cast in a film being produced by one of the biggest film making names in the world. This production, as evidenced by the flier to the left, was a very special show, one that would have cost more money to get into and more money to create. These were the types of shows that John Barrymore would star in. Shows that were going to be BIG, needed BIG actors and Barrymore fit the part perfectly. 

Another production that further fueled Barrymore's fame and stardom was "Counselor at Law," a production that was produced by THE Carl Laemmle himself. Laemmle is another bg time producer that Barrymore was able to work for. The Universal Pictures owner created another trampoline for Barrymore to spring off of that would land him in even more fame and popularity and continue to build his status and celebrity. This film showcased Barrymore in his usual role, a the attractive male star, the reason why women found the production so entertaining. The thing that helped to set Barrymore apart from the competition was his looks for one, but also his happy, almost too happy, some might even say "drunken" attitude, that carried the pictures he was in. Finding a talented male actor with good looks and charm was not the easiest task, making Barrymore the desire of producers nationwide. This production netted Barrymore yet another Best Performances of the Month Award, his second of 1934.