This is the age of insincerity. The movies had the misfortune to come along in the twentieth century, and because they appeal to the masses there can be no sincerity in them.

Before the formation of MGM in 1924 Barrymore forged a good relationship with Louis B. W. Neither child survived infancy though Mary lived a few months.

He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul (1931) and remains perhaps best known for the role of the villainous Mister Potter character in Frank Capra's 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life. Lionel Barrymore (April 28 1878 – November 15 1954) was an American actor of stage screen and radio as well as a film director.