When a Man Loves is a 1927 American silent historical drama film directed by Alan Crosland and produced and distributed by Warner Bros.. The picture stars John Barrymore and Dolores Costello in the oft filmed story of Abbe Prevost's Manon Lescaut.The film was the third feature from Warners to have a pre-recorded Vitaphone soundtrack. Many of the same people who worked on the previous year's Don Juan worked on this picture (i.e.