John Barrymore parodies himself in this story of an aging, egotistical actor. “Dedicated Barrymore followers tend to resent The Great Profile for its tactless exploitation of Barrymore's own contemporary troubles and state of mind--but it is so much fun, and such good if unsubtle Barrymore farce, that it's hard to bear the film any ill-will. If nothing else, The Great Profile is an invaluable (if unofficial) record of what went on, day by day, during Barrymore's run of My Dear Children--when every performance was different, and audiences came not to see the play but what John did in it, in terms of ad-lib dialogue, jovial drunken slapstick and sundry mayhem. The Great Profile was actually intended as a quieter Adolphe Menjou vehicle; he was tactfully paid off, and the script revamped to match Barrymore's much publicized stage antics. Although it does tend to run out of steam a bit towards the end, it has much gusto, ribaldry, slick one-liners and uninhibited Barrymore antics--to say nothing of Fox's usual solid production values and a strong cast in support....” William K. Everson