Scaramouche (1923)

Directed by Rex Ingram. Starring Ramon Novarro, Lewis Stone, Alice Terry, Lloyd Ingraham, Julia Swayne Gordon, William Humphrey, Edith Allen, George Siegmann, Otto Matieson.

Plot-heavy swashbuckler is elaborate but bovine, buoyed by a heroic portrayal from Ramon Novarro that doesn’t fall back on the actor’s slick “Latin Lover” charm (he seems at a glance to be miscast as a French romantic-turned-revolutionary, but grows into the part). Perhaps Rafael Sabatini’s source novel was too complicated to be cleanly told with image and emotion surpassing tricky dialogue and an abundance of moving parts as the narrative lumbers on. As a result, individual scenes sometimes approach the realm of magnificence, but the sum of the parts is checkered and pulls the most arresting story elements like taffy to wrap around the political machinations and central revenge-plan, which is practically written off as a distraction in the final half-hour. Strong production values and sophisticated photography ease the burden, at least. The story was retold on the big screen in 1952 (with sound and color), which bears far less resemblance to the source material, but is a cleaner, more consistent piece of dashing entertainment.

61/100