Bardelys the Magnificent

I thought this was a great film. It's got everything. There's plenty of tongue-in-cheek humor (as with Sabbatini's MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE, one of Valentino's more underrated films) and also some terrific action sequences.

John Gilbert and Eleanor Boardman are great together. Roy D'Arcy has another memorable role as the bad guy (see THE MERRY WIDOW). Karl Dane and George K. Arthur provide comic relief (so does Gino Corrado in the opening duel sequence). Lionel Belmore and Emily Fitzroy are solid as the Lavedans. Try to find John Wayne and Lou Costello as extras.

The missing reel (?) seems to leave us without the story of Lesperon (whom Gilbert masquerades as), but the missing footage doesn't ruin the story.

As has been pointed out, the river seen among the willows is lushly romantic and beautifully done and reminds one of scenes from SUNRISE. The escape scene is terrific with great closeups of Gilbert as he swings on tapestries from the castle walls. It would be interesting to know how they shot these scenes.

There are enough comic and action scenes here to dispel the image of John Gilbert as merely some pale and insipid "great lover" of the silent screen. Gilbert was a solid actor who had appeared in around 70 films by 1926. Gilbert did everything: westerns like HELL'S HINGES with William S. Hart, sports films like THE BUSHER with Charles Ray and Colleen Moore, comic roles like the manic hayseed dancer in HEART O' THE HILLS with Mary Pickford. When he finally reached stardom in the early 1920s, Gilbert continued to explore a full range of roles. He was also a writer and director.

BARDELYS THE MAGNIFICENT ranks among Gilbert's best and most entertaining silent films.