Beverly of Graustark

BEVERLY OF GRAUSTARK is little more than cinematic cotton candy, but what a confection it is! Marion Davies is hilarious as the American woman thrust into European intrigue when she has to impersonate her male cousin who just happens to be royalty. Her mission is complicated by her feelings for hunky bodyguard Antonio Moreno. Throw in Roy D'Arcy as a delightful mustache-twirling villain and you've got a great cast.

Sidney Franklin directs and gives the movie real energy. The settings are glamorous and the movie ends with a stunning Technicolor ball. It's the kind of escapism Hollywood once made it's stock in trade and it's one of Davies' best vehicles from her heyday.

This is Marion Davies in her silent film heyday. She plays the American cousin Beverly of Oscar the Prince of Graustark. Beverly, who has just come from finishing school, unfinished, visits her cousin in Europe. Oscar is on the way to claim his throne as king in Graustark, and he is on a deadline to arrive before a certain date or the crown is given to another. On the way, the two stop for some skiing and Oscar has a horrible accident that prevents him from immediately traveling on. This necessitates Beverly stepping in to pretend to be Oscar...with a full drag makeover that includes an extreme short haircut. As Beverly voyages on, her traveling party is attacked. She is and her party are rescued by local shepherds led by Dantan (Antonio Moreno). It is clear that someone is trying to prevent "Oscar" from claiming his crown. Not knowing who to trust, Beverly as Oscar hires Dantan to be her bodyguard and get the prince safely to Graustark...which he does and then remains until the crowning ceremony. In the process the two become closer...confusing Dantan, but thankfully the actual Prince Oscar (Creighton Hale) finally arrives...allowing Beverly to clear things up with Dantan.

"Counting your kingdoms before they are snatched."

This not the most remarkable of films. If you are a big fan of women in drag or Marion Davies, this maybe should be on your list...otherwise I am afraid it really isn't a recommendation from me, even with it's final scene being in color (a rarity for the 1920's).

Marion Davies stars as Beverly, an American student who gets talked into masquerading as her cousin Oscar after he gets injured in a skiing accident. Oscar (Creighton Hale) was just about to travel back to Graustark to claim the throne and secure the country from the evil General Marlanax (Roy D'Arcy). Of course there are complications when she falls for her bodyguard, Antonio Moreno, a goatherd who rescues the "prince" from an ambush.

Davies is a delight. The scene in which she must drain a huge tankard of beer (as a toast to the army) is hilarious. At a great ball, Davies manages to talk the scheming Carlotta (Paulette Duval) into taking off her gown, which Davies escapes with to flirt with Moreno. All is well when Oscar finally appears in Graustark.

Davies impersonated young men in many of her films (MARIANNE (both silent and talkie versions), LITTLE OLD NEW YORK, Hollywood REVUE OF 1929, and WHEN KNIGHTHOOD WAS IN FLOWER come to mind). Davies also masquerades is many other films: in QUALITY STREET as her own niece, OPERATOR 13 as a black servant, EVER SINCE EVE as a frumpy secretary, GOING Hollywood as a French maid, etc.

BEVERLY OF GRAUSTARK was a big hit at the box office and is said to be Davies' most profitable film for MGM.

Marion Davies is compelled to impersonate the Duke or Prince of Graustark to save the kingdom from evil Prince Snarkalot or something. That basic plot has probably been filmed a hundred times but no others had the gifts of Marion Davies, who once again proves she was one of the funniest actors ever filmed. Her facial expressions, her physical movements, she took second place to nobody.

Also doesn't hurt that she's gorgeous. So of course the film works in a romance angle with Antonio Moreno, who put the dash in dashing. Wow.

There are a lot of fun set pieces: Uncle Fatso taking the poisoned drink, Davies getting drunk on too many toasts, the royal ball, and most funny of all the night chamber scene. I laughed out loud.

Certainly not the first film to feature a character cross dressing for disguise, but it might perhaps be the first film to contain a two strip technicolor sequence AND a cross dressing character. I wouldn't be shocked if it wasn't though. This cross dresser has a name of course, Marion Davies who plays the title role, Beverly. The plot is quite simple, Beverly's cousin gets injured while skiing, and just so happens that he's scheduled to take the seat of a throne. After being mistaken as her cousin, Beverly goes along with it and before she knows it, threats are being made on her life by someone who also wants the seat. All around I thought it was very enjoyable and I believe the story worked like it was intended. The color sequence was unexpected and a delight to see. There is also a couple short scenes that are tinted, which always adds extra atmosphere. Why the entire movie wasn't tinted, I don't know. We even get a POV type shot of two hands holding a rifle.

This isn't the first film that Marion Davies has been mistaken for a male. If you've seen "When Knighthood was in Flower" (1922), you might remember when she dressed in a mans wardrobe. She was also mistaken for a man in "Peg O' My Heart" (1933). Not surprisingly, there is a 1914 version of "Beverly of Graustark", which I haven't seen but looks like its available on YouTube.

Recommended to silent film fans, and although there are better choices, its also a good starting point for anyone unfamiliar with silents.

This film was released on Blu-Ray/DVD by Undercrank Production.