Synopsis
Beverly Calhoun impersonates the Prince of Graustark to claim his birthright while he recovers from a skiing injury. In the meantime, she falls for her bodyguard Dantan.
Beverly of Graustark
1926 Directed by Sidney Franklin
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Spoken Language
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Beverly of Graustark is a cheerfully queer, silent romantic comedy, one that glides easily along on the strength of Marion Davies' magical charm and impossible charisma in the title role. Every single glimpse of her in a role like this one makes it an even bigger crime that William Randolph Hearst was unable to understand her genius, and refused to see comedy as anything but beneath her.
When we meet Beverly, she's fleeing finishing school because her cousin Oscar (Creighton Hale) has decided to accept an appointment to the disputed throne of Graustark, the family's fictional ancestral home, and it's all too exciting for her to miss. When Oscar falls off a cliff skiing, however, and risks losing the appointment…
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Can I get a hell yeah for more restored silent movies???? Can I get a double hell yeah for gender bending Marion Davies???? Can I get a triple hell yeah for the fact that this has a 2 strip Technicolor ending???
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Some Like It Tepid
As far as Marion Davies trouser roles go, I preferred "Little Old New York" (1923), although this is admittedly more brisk, and speaking of better roles, Antonio Moreno was more dashing in "The Spanish Dancer" (1923), with Davies and cousin played by Creighton Hale affecting more chemistry here than the nominal movie romance. This one is based on a book that had already been adapted to film, although I'm not sure how faithful is this iteration. The 1914 version stars Linda Arvidson, the wife of famed director D.W. Griffith. Here, we've got the mistress of media mogul William Randolph Hearst and a fine comedienne in her own right, although defining women by the men in their…
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An enchanting farce with a very charming performance from Marion Davies and a 2-strip Technicolor finale!
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Marion Davies is a complete delight. When she sticks her tongue out playfully in the final scene with Antonio Moreno she melted my heart.
...and the color in that final reel is breathtaking. -
A cute-ish flirt with Marion Davies in uniform. Not designed to be anything more than a light rom-com with little extra sprinkles added to make it look like a bigger feature than it was. But by all means, a charming affair.
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Marion Davies does not get enough credit for being a comic actor. Every comedy I’ve seen her in is fantastic. Beverly of Graustark is yet another one.
Here Davies must impersonate who male cousin who is a prince, lest he lose the throne of king to someone else. She is so much fun in drag, and the comic complications are numerous: a group of soldiers have to undress in front of her (which leads to great reactions from Davies), a male servant tries to undress her, a woman tries to hit on her.
There’s also the romantic comedy element, as she falls in love with her bodyguard. And so Davies spends another part of the film disguised as a mystery…
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The scene of Marion Davies halfway in men's clothes and halfway in women's clothes must have been an awakening for a number of people in 1926.
The vibes and bits of the movie are far, far better than the actual movie itself. That glorious silent acting where everyone is mugging for the camera.
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Is this one of the great unsung silent films? A gender-bended take on The Prisoner of Zenda with a distinctly Roaring Twenties consciousness of the sex appeal of its star in uniform (apparently her masculine haircut become a popular bob style). At this point I assume audiences EXPECTED to see Davies pretend to be a man at some point in a picture—interested in whatever was going on there.
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