In 1919, Barrymore portrayed a struggling lawyer in the film adaptation of the Broadway show "Here Comes the Bride", which he followed with "The Test of Honor". The latter film marked his first straight dramatic role on screen after years of performing in comedy dramas. Later that year, when Barrymore again appeared on stage with Lionel in Sem Benelli's historical drama "The Jest", audience members "agree[d] that the American stage had never witnessed finer acting", according to Peters. Alexander Woollcott, writing in "The New York Times", thought that "John and Lionel Barrymore hold spellbound each breathless audience", and he commented that Barrymore "contributes to that appeal by every step, every hand, every posture of a body grown unexpectedly eloquent in recent years". In November, Barrymore began filming "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", playing the dual leading role, and the film was released in theaters the following year. "Wid's Daily" thought that "it is the star's picture from the very outset, and it is the star that makes it", going on to say that Barrymore's portrayal was "a thing of fine shadows and violent emotions". "The Washington Post" was in agreement, and considered the performance to be "a masterpiece", and "a remarkable piece of work". The film was so successful that the US Navy used stills of Barrymore in its recruiting posters. After planning for over a year – largely in secret – Barrymore played his first Shakespeare part, the title role in "Richard III". Conscious of the criticism of his vocal range, he underwent training with Margaret Carrington, the voice and diction trainer, to ensure he sounded right for the part, and the pair worked together daily for up to six hours a day for six weeks. After the debut in March 1920, the critics were effusive in their praise. The "Washington Herald" observed that the audience were "held by the sheer power of Barrymore's performance", which was "remarkable for ... [the actor's] unexpected vocal richness", while Woollcott, in "The New York Times", thought the performance "marked a measurable advance in the gradual process of bringing [Barrymore's] technical fluency abreast with his winged imagination and his real genius for the theatre". Although a commercial and critical success, the play closed after 31 performances when Barrymore collapsed, suffering a nervous breakdown. Since appearing in "Redemption" he had worked ceaselessly, appearing on stage in the evenings, while planning or rehearsing the next production during the day, and by the time he appeared as Richard, he was spending his daytimes filming "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde".