Trilby (1915 film)

Trilby is a 1915 American silent drama film directed by Maurice Tourneur and starring Wilton Lackaye, Clara Kimball Young, and Paul McAllister.

On the night Little Billee is to propose to Trilby, Svengali kidnaps her via hypnotism and takes her away with him to England where he uses his supernatural powers to turn her into a talented singer.

Svengali finally dies, and Trilby's voice reverts to her former gruff form, and the audience boos her off the stage (in the redone ending).

Variety said Wilton Lackey's performance as Svengali was "a distinct disappointment", opining that the actor "ludicrously underplayed" the role and was too overweight for the part, a fact made even more obvious by the producers putting him in clothes that were too small for him.

[2] Consistent with the novel, the film shows Trilby while modeling in the nude, but only from the back in two long shots shown as stills on intertitles.

Advertisement promoting the film's nudity despite it only shown using long shots on two intertitles