''Beverly of Graustark'' is a 1926 American silent

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typica ...

film directed by Sidney Franklin and starring

Marion Davies Marion Davies (born Marion Cecilia Douras; January 3, 1897 – September 22, 1961) was an American actress, producer, screenwriter, and philanthropist. Educated in a religious convent, Davies fled the school to pursue a career as a chorus girl ...

Antonio Moreno Antonio Garrido Monteagudo (September 26, 1887 – February 15, 1967), better known as Antonio Moreno or Tony Moreno, was a Spanish-born American actor and film director of the silent film era and through the 1950s. Early life and silent fil ...

, and

Creighton Hale Creighton Hale (born Patrick Fitzgerald; May 24, 1882 – August 9, 1965) was an Irish-American theatre, film, and television actor whose career extended more than a half-century, from the early 1900s to the end of the 1950s. Career Born in Cou ...

. The film's screenplay was written by

Agnes Christine Johnston Agnes Christine Johnston was an American screenwriter who wrote for more than 80 films between 1915 and 1948. Biography Early life Johnston was born in Swissvale, Pennsylvania, to John Johnston and Isabel McElhany. She attended the Horace Ma ...

based on the novel by

George Barr McCutcheon George Barr McCutcheon (July 26, 1866 – October 23, 1928) was an American popular novelist and playwright. His best known works include a series of novels set in Graustark, a fictional East European country, and the novel ''Brewster's Millio ...

, and set in the fictional land of

Graustark Graustark is a fictional country in Eastern Europe used as a setting for several novels by George Barr McCutcheon. Graustark's neighbors, which also figure in the stories, are Axphain to the north and Dawsbergen to the south. Description Gr ...

. The film features a final sequence in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

. It was the first film by Sidney Franklin for

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

. The story was filmed before in 1914 by the Biograph Company. Copies of the film are held at Turner Broadcasting and the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. Click on the Library of Congress external link below to watch the 1914 version of the film.

Premise

Beverly Calhoun (Davies) impersonates the Prince of Graustark to claim his birthright while he recovers from a skiing injury. In the meantime, she falls for her bodyguard Dantan (Moreno).

Cast

as Beverly Calhoun *

as Dantan *

as Prince Oscar *

Roy D'Arcy Roy D'Arcy (born Roy Francis Giusti; February 10, 1894 – November 15, 1969) was an American film actor of the silent film and early sound period of the 1930s noted for his portrayal of flamboyant villains. He appeared in 50 different films ...

as General Marlanax *

Albert Gran Albert Gran (August 4, 1862 – December 16, 1932) was a Norwegian-born American stage and film actor. He is most associated with his appearance in drama and light comedy films. Biography Albert Gran was born in Bergen, Norway. He was the s ...

as Duke Travina *

Paulette Duval Paulette Duval (1889 – 1951) was a French dancer and actress of the silent film era and early sound motion pictures. She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1889 and raised in France. She was considered one of the most beautiful women ...

as Carlotta * Max Barwyn as Saranoff *

Charles Clary Charles Clary (March 24, 1873 – March 24, 1931) was an American actor of the silent film era. Clary appeared in more than 200 films between 1910 and 1930. He was born in Charleston, Illinois and died on his 58th birthday in Los Angeles, Ca ...

as Mr. Calhoun

Production

In her 22nd film,

starred in yet another

dual role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

as the American Beverly Calhoun who masquerades as her cousin Oscar, who happens to be the Prince of Graustark, a small European monarchy. This was the second time that Davies masqueraded as a male (see '' Little Old New York''), and critics and audiences applauded the effort. The film is often cited as Davies' most profitable film because of low production costs and big box office. The only problem in filming was Davies' 10-day bout with the flu. This was her first teaming with

, who played the royal bodyguard. The film boasted a 2-strip Technicolor finale (which survives). Davies' severe haircut, dubbed the "Beverly Bob," caused a fashion craze. Lorusso, Edward (2017) ''The Silent Films of Marion Davies'', CreateSpace, pp. 119-120.

Restoration

The Library of Congress restored the 1926 film in 2019, scanning an original-release 35mm nitrate print in the Marion Davies Collection that included the 2-color Technicolor sequence in the 2nd half of the film's last reel. This 4K restoration was screened in October 2019 at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival. Undercrank Productions released the restoration on Blu-ray and DVD in April 2022, featuring a new musical score by

Ben Model Ben Model (born 1962) is an American musician, historian, publisher, and presenter of silent films. An accompanist, he composes and performs organ or piano music for silent films. He accompanies films live and records scores for home video release ...

References

External links