Beau Brummel (1924)

What makes it different from others?

It is a performances centric movie

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Director: HARRY BEAUMONT. Screenplay: Dorothy Farnum. Based the 1916 play by Clyde Fitch. Photography: David Abel. Film editor: Howard Bretherton. Art directors: Esdras Hartley, Lewis Geib. Assistant director: Frank Strayer. Art titles: V. Vance. Copyright 14 March 1924 by Warner Brothers. New York opening at the Strand: 30 March 1924. 10 reels. 9,900 feet. 128 minutes. COMMENT: This is actually Willard Louis' film. He plays the Prince of Wales with total finesse, whereas Barrymore is forced to play most of his role in whiteface, which doesn't really suit him, despite director Harry Beaumont's willingness to indulge him with countless shots of his "great profile". It's not until the end of the movie that Barrymore gets a chance to really show off his acting skills, whereas Willard Louis plays his princely caricature as if to the manner born. And it's good to see super-lovely Mary Astor who makes both a charming and believable heroine here. The movie is fortunately available on a superb 10/10 DVD from Warner Archive, as well as a totally unwatchable Televista pressing. A pity all Warner Archive offerings don't always come up to this same impeccable standard. Across to Singapore (1928), for example, would rate only 6/10 in my book due to extensive nitrate decomposition.

"Nowhere in all history can be found a more amazing character than George Bryan Brummel, the friend of Princes, the arbiter of fashion and the social ruler of England during the reign of George III. And nowhere in all fiction can be found more romance than was crowded into the life of this penniless commoner, whose natural charm and studied insolence made him the greatest dandy of all time - the immortal 'Beau' Brummel," asserts the this film's illustrative opening. And John Barrymore is well-suited for the leading role...We begin in 1795, when dapper officer Barrymore gathers with the greatest personages in England for a wedding. The bride is his beautiful young lover Mary Astor (as Margery). Unfortunately, the groom is not Barrymore. Pressured by family to dismiss her true love and submit to an arranged marriage, Ms. Astor weds foppishly fat Willard Louis because Barrymore is a poor commoner and Mr. Louis is a Prince in line to be King. For revenge, Barrymore decides to infiltrate British high society with scandal..."Beau Brummel" suffers from a threadbare plot, but boasts rich production values. Hollywood offered Barrymore greater access to life's pleasures and he returned the favor with moments of relentless overacting; considering the weaknesses in this story, it helps the film. Much admired, Barrymore won the Rudolph Valentino Medal as 1924's "Best Actor" for his "Beau Brummel" characterization. And the film went to the Top 5 in annual lists compiled by the New York Times, Film Daily, and Motion Picture Magazine.****** Beau Brummel (3/30/24) Harry Beaumont ~ John Barrymore, Mary Astor, Willard Louis, Alec B. Francis

For 1924, this is a truly exquisite looking film. You can tell that the fledgling studio, Warner, really pulled out all the stops to make this film a success--great sets, camera-work and even recruiting John Barrymore back from the stage to star in this film. However, despite all these positives, the overall effect isn't all that engaging--thanks to a very weak story that practically put me to sleep.The problem with the story is that Beau Brummel is a very, very flawed man. At first, you see him as flawed but decent. Later in the film, he just seems like a jerk--allowing his way overblown ego to ultimately destroy him. In fact, this made the second half of the film much tougher going because it was hard to care about a man who simply didn't deserve it. Plus, so much of the film consisted of rather syrupy love scenes and Barrymore's acting was really over the top. While I love many of Barrymore's films, in this one he seemed a bit "hammy"--nothing like his later film roles.Without a serious re-working of the film, this one turned out to be very pretty but ultimately as dull as the later Stewart Granger re-make. Pretty to look at but not very satisfying--it's like eating a meal entirely of unflavored rice cakes.

What can anyone say about this? Beautiful print, some fine acting by Barrymore -- wonderfully subtle for the period in the early sequences and quite appropriately over-the-top at the end. Given the uniformly over-the-top performances he was called on to make towards the end of his career, the well-preserved Barrymore silents -- this one, his fine, generous performance in THE BELOVED ROGUE, and the sheer electricity between him and Dolores Costello in WHEN A MAN LOVES show what a fine actor he is -- those turns and his wonderful comic work in MIDNIGHT.I have been less than impressed in the past by some of the scores offered by the Young Composers but, although a bit shaky in the earlier sequences, this one settled right down and was quite good.I had quite forgotten this was directed by Harry Beaumont, who became my favorite MGM B director -- even though, of course, MGM didn't make B movies.