Bardelys the Magnificent

John Gilbert and Elenor Boardman make a beautiful pair, and their scene at the lake, boating under willow trees, is romantic and rather steamy for 1926. That scene alone makes the film worth watching, and it's fun to see the dashing Gilbert later make a great escape, scramble up a castle, and engage in sword fights that may remind you of Errol Flynn a decade later. Gilbert seems underrated today given how popular he was in the 1920's, and his personal story - clashing with studio head Louis B. Mayer over his high salary ($250,000 for each of six films), his near marriage to Greta Garbo in what would have been a double ceremony with Boardman and director King Vidor, etc - is fascinating. While the film has its moments, it also trundles along at a slow pace, and the plot is rather mundane, so keep your expectations grounded.

John Gilbert is in his dashing prime as the great lover in Bardelys the Magnificent. Adept at both swordsmanship and seduction Gilbert intersects the careers of Fairbanks and Flynn with a dash and panache equal to them in their heyday.

In the court of Louis Xlll no one is more gossiped about than the charismatic Bardelys, an insatiable rake who literally has women lining up on his doorstep to be seduced. The fun loving Bardelys delights in deluding the ladies with the same pick-up lines sending each away with the feeling they are that special one. Bardelys enviable talents however draws the enmity of Chatterault (Roy D'Arcy) a recently spurned suitor of the the lovely Roxanne (Eleanor Boardman). In a devious attempt to even things up with both he challenges Bardelys to seduce her sight unseen. What Bardelys expects to be another day at the office, however, turns into passionate love and Chatterault vows revenge on both.

Gilbert is perfect fit as Bardelys. With dark piercing eyes he conveys both a hard to resist charm and noble resolve. In addition to his expressive features Gilbert displays a wily limberness in some action scenes where he does some challenging stunt work. As the venal Chatterault Roy D'Arcy aquiline features bespeaks iniquity. Eleanor Boardman's sedate beauty and restraint as Roxanne brings counterpoint to Gilbert's rakish Bardelys and it's all good chemistry.

Director King Vidor who made a star out of Gilbert in The Big Parade the previous year injects Bardelys with his signature crane and exposition shots to bring grandeur to the court as well as depict the hedonistic existence of the let them eat cake crowd. Dividing the film with ample amounts of action, romance and humor Vidor keeps Bardelys moving and magnificent most of the way.

Well first of all, M. BEAUCAIRE is Booth Tarkington and not Sabatini but it's still a pleasure to see this as an early entry in the MGM Sabatini cycle, along with a couple of Scaramouches, especially when it had been lost for so long. The copy seems incomplete outside the missing reel. Where is Edward Connelly's Cardinal Richelieu? The subject is not a good match with the talents of King Vidor. La BOHEME is a much better film and it appears perverse to have him do it, when Victor Seastrom, one of the originators and masters of the costume movie was on the MGM pay roll.

Vidor gives it good try and seems to have a nice rapport with the leads. Gilbert was at his peak and radiates star power here and Eleanor Boardman is a nice departure from heroines in ringlets. Their relationship makes the piece agreeable and the action climax, while it is sub Fairbanks, is ingeniously staged, making great use of the lances and having some striking downward shots.

This is an agreeable missing piece in the film history jig saw.

Bardelys the Magnificent (1926)

*** (out of 4)

Adapted from a Rafael Sabatini novel, this lavish MGM production features John Gilbert as Bardelys, a wife stealing rebel who defies the wishes of the King and just does things his own way. He eventually meets and begins to fall in love with the beautiful Roxalanne de Lavedan (Eleanor Boardman) but the evil Chatellerault (Roy D'Arcy) has his own plans for the lady. This swashbuckling saga was lost for many decades until a print turned up in 2006 and in pretty good shape. There's a small section that is still missing but the restorers just used some scenes from a trailer and a photo recreation to help fill these segments in. This is certainly well worthy of being discovered because this is a rare case where a lost movie turns up to be a major find and a good movie at that. The flick is what I'd call a spoof because I think both Vidor and Gilbert are having fun and making fun of folks like Fairbanks and all their swashbuckling action pictures. Just take a look at a hilarious scene early on where Gilbert is kissing a man's wife when the husband comes in the room screaming at him. Gilbert, calmly, tells him that it's rude to be speaking so loudly and then goes back to kissing his wife. The love story between Gilbert and Boardman is actually pretty good and believable as is the hatred between he and D'Arcy. The ending goes out with a major bang that I won't ruin but some of the stunts here are extremely impressive and especially one where Gilbert must walk up the side of a castle. Gilbert, as expected, is perfect for the role here as I've never seen him so dashing or charming. I'm not sure what type of make up was used by he seems to have a glow around him as he dashing from one scene to the next. Both Boardman and D'Arcy are good as well even though they can never match Gilbert. Vidor does a fine job at keeping the film moving as the pacing is very good as are the action scenes.

Bardelys The Magnificent which put John Gilbert in strong competition with Douglas Fairbanks for screen's best silent swashbuckler is based on a novel by Rafael Sabatini who gave us much good material for those action adventure swashbucklers on the silent screen and in sound. We're far more familiar with work like Captain Blood, The Sea Hawk, and The Black Swan. Sad Bardelys The Magnificent never got a sound remake, the role would have fit either Tyrone Power or Errol Flynn perfectly. Especially Flynn because the story has elements of Don Juan which Flynn so successfully brought to the screen.

As the Don Juan of France, Gilbert as Bardelys is tricked into a wager with his court rival Roy D'Arcy that he can't get the hand of a young woman widely known for her virtue in those bawdy times of the court of Louis XIII. Later on through a combination of circumstances Gilbert arrives at Eleanor Boardman's estate incognito in the guise of a rebel to Louis XIII. He woos and wins her and as is usual in these romance stories actually falls for her. But you can already see he's got some real problems to win her.

John Gilbert was as dashing as any of the other noted swashbucklers of the screen. When dialog was given him when talkies started it was in these kind of roles that his voice did not record well and his career took a tumble. But seeing this you have no doubt of why he was considered a great screen lover. Eleanor Boardman is as virtuous as Mary Pickford or Lillian Gish ever were in their films and she wound up marrying the director of Bardelys The Magnificent, King Vidor.

For completists the restoration of Bardelys The Magnificent is of great interest to fans of John Wayne. The Duke no doubt under his real name of Marion Michael Morrison was an extra in this film. But with all the men wearing beards and mustaches as befit the period, I doubt you could spot him in crowd scenes. And Lou Costello probably under his birth name of Louis Cristillo is also an extra.

For Costello this would prove ironical because the actor playing Louis XIII is Arthur Lubin who later became a director of some note and he directed several early Abbott&Costello features, most notably their breakthrough film, Buck Privates.

The action highlight of the screen is John Gilbert's escape from the gallows which rivals anything that Douglas Fairbanks did in his film. There is some really clever use of a pike to aid Gilbert in his escape and I wonder if Gilbert did any of that work himself. No doubt MGM frowned on injuring his rather expensive body with these deeds.

Of course the real beneficiary of this restoration is John Gilbert and the legacy of work did for the big screen. Bardelys The Magnificent is an expertly staged well done piece of cinema.