Beau Brummel (1924)

Directed by Harry Beaumont. Starring John Barrymore, Mary Astor, Willard Louis, Alec B. Francis, Carmel Myers, Irene Rich, William J. Humphrey, George Beranger, Richard Tucker, Clarissa Selwynne.

Agreeable silent costumer offers up a fictional version of the real-life Beau Brummel, a late 18th-century Englishman of little means and no title whose lady love (Astor) is forced by her family to marry an aging lord. In response, he schemes his way into that high society world as an aristocratic dandy and arbiter of fashion by befriending the Prince of Wales (Louis), but ends up a dissolute rogue. John Barrymore capably handles his specialized romantic hero routine, possesses unmistakable chemistry with co-star Astor, and doesn’t overact his late scenes as a weathered, senile old man. Lead performance and high-quality production details prevent one’s attention from wandering too much during the story lulls. A touching reunion near the end between Brummel and his loyal manservant (Francis) goes on to take an unfortunate turn toward the sappy and the supernatural (seriously) for the finale. Some versions only run 80-90 minutes, but this evaluation pertains to the full two-and-a-quarter-hour cut.

69/100