''The Amateur Gentleman'' is a 1936 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Thornton Freeland Thornton Freeland (February 10, 1898 – May 22, 1987) was an American film director who directed 26 British and American films in a career that lasted from 1924 to 1949. Early success He was born in Hope, North Dakota in 1898 and originally wor ...

and starring Douglas Fairbanks Jr.,

Elissa Landi Elissa Landi (born Elisabeth Marie Christine Kühnelt; December 6, 1904 – October 21, 1948) was an Austrian-American actress born in Venice, who was popular as a performer in Hollywood films of the 1920s and 1930s. She was noted for her a ...

Gordon Harker William Gordon Harker (7 August 1885 – 2 March 1967) was an English stage and film actor. Harker was one of the sons of Sarah Elizabeth Harker, née Hall, (1856–1927), and Joseph Harker (1855–1927), a much admired set painter for the ...

and

Margaret Lockwood Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), ''Night Train to Munich' ...

, with music by

Richard Addinsell Richard Stewart Addinsell (13 January 190414 November 1977) was an English composer, best known for film music, primarily his '' Warsaw Concerto'', composed for the 1941 film '' Dangerous Moonlight'' (also known under the later title ''Suicide S ...

. It is based on the 1913 novel ''

The Amateur Gentleman ''The Amateur Gentleman'' is a novel by Jeffery Farnol, published in 1913. It was made into a silent film in 1920 and again in 1926 and a talking film in 1936 with Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. starring as the protagonist, Barnabas Barty. Plot summ ...

'' by

Jeffery Farnol Jeffery Farnol (10 February 1878 – 9 August 1952) was a British writer from 1907 until his death in 1952, known for writing more than 40 romance novels, often set in the Georgian Era or English Regency period, and swashbucklers. He, with Geor ...

. In an effort to prove his father's innocence of a charge of stealing, a young man disguises himself as a gentleman and travels to

Regency London A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

. It was made at

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

with sets designed by

Edward Carrick Edward Carrick (born Edward Anthony Craig; 3 January 1905 – 21 January 1998) was an English art designer for film, an author and illustrator. Carrick was born in London. His father was Edward Gordon Craig, the theatre practitioner and stage d ...

. The story was previously filmed in the silent era in Britain ''

'' and in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

as ''

'' 1926 with

Richard Barthelmess Richard Semler Barthelmess (May 9, 1895 – August 17, 1963) was an American film actor, principally of the Hollywood silent era. He starred opposite Lillian Gish in D. W. Griffith's '' Broken Blossoms'' (1919) and ''Way Down East'' (1920) and ...

Plot

Innkeeper and ex-boxer John Barty is bent on making his son Barnabas a gentleman, but has his doubts after he finds out that the younger Barty is appalled when a man is hanged for stealing a mere five shillings. Then some aristocrats arrive at the inn. Barnabas is entranced by the beautiful Lady Cleone Meredith. She is engaged to Louis Chichester, who does not conceal from her the fact that he is marrying her for her wealth. Also in the party is the equally poverty-stricken Pauline Darville, the woman Chichester had romanced before Cleone. As Cleone's grandfather, the Marquess of Comberhurst, prepares for bed, he gives John Barty a valuable string of pearls to put away for safekeeping. This is seen by Chichester. That night, the Marquess is robbed. Chichester accuses the innkeeper. Some of the stolen items are found in John Barty's possession, though not the pearls, and the unfortunate man is taken away, to be hanged in six weeks. Barnabas and Natty Bell, a family friend, find a partially burned note in the room of Lord Ronald, Cleone's neer-do-well brother. Barnabas decides to insinuate himself into the aristocrats' social circle to uncover the real thief. The pair travel to London. There, Barnabas (or "John Beverley", as he calls himself) gets into a fight with a carter in the street; the Prince Regent bets on him and wins. This chance meeting gains Beverley an entree into society, where he is introduced to Lady Cleone and her set. At a ball, Beverley wins 50,000 guineas from Ronald, despite Cleone's plea to stop wagering with her brother. Ronald cannot pay and has to write an IOU; when Beverley examines it, the handwriting is not the same as on the note he found. He tears up the IOU. Chichester is suspicious of the newcomer. He questions Pauline to make sure there is nothing linking them to the robbery. She recalls that she threw a stolen note into the fireplace, but does not recall if there was a lit fire. Meanwhile, Beverley reveals to the grateful Cleone that he loves her and that he used loaded dice to make her brother lose. He takes her to see his father in prison, and there tells her who he is. He helps his father escape. After Cleone breaks her engagement, Chichester and Pauline search Beverley's lodgings while he is away. They find the scrap, but then Pauline implores Chichester to go away with her and refuses to return the necklace he gave her unless he agrees. Beverley returns and finds Pauline alone. As he is questioning her, she is stabbed in the back through an open window. Chichester obtains a warrant accusing Beverley of murdering Pauline and goes to a ball where he is expected. Beverley manages to get away, driving a coach bearing Cleone and the Marquess, with Chichester in hot pursuit. Beverley returns to the Barty inn, where his father and Natty are waiting. There, the Bartys are arrested, but it is all a ruse. Chichester is tricked into identifying a handkerchief as his. It was found on Pauline's body and contains the stolen pearls. Chichester, after trying to stab Beverley, is taken away. Cleone suggests she and Beverely elope; as they are leaving, they run into her brother Ronald and Georgina Huntstanton, who have had the same idea.

Cast

* Douglas Fairbanks Jr. as John Beverley aka Barnabas Barty *

as Lady Cleone Meredith *

as Natty Bell *

Basil Sydney Basil Sydney (23 April 1894 – 10 January 1968) was an English stage and screen actor. Career Sydney made his name in 1915 in the London stage hit ''Romance'' by Edward Sheldon, with Broadway star Doris Keane, and he costarred with Keane in ...

as Louis Chichester *

Hugh Williams Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (6 March 1904 – 7 December 1969) was a British actor and dramatist of Welsh descent. Early life and career Hugh Anthony Glanmor Williams (nicknamed "Tam") was born at Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex to Hugh Dafydd Anth ...

as Lord Ronald Meredith *

Irene Browne Irene Browne (29 June 1896 – 24 July 1965) was an English stage and film actress and singer who appeared in plays and musicals including ''No, No, Nanette''. Later in her career, she became particularly associated with the works of Noël Coward ...

as Lady Huntstanton *

Athole Stewart Athole Chalmers Stewart (25 June 1879 – 18 October 1940) was a British stage and latterly film actor, often in authoritarian or aristocratic roles. On stage, he played in the original production of Noël Coward's '' Hay Fever'' at the Ambassa ...

as Marquess of Comberhurst *

Coral Browne Coral Edith Browne (23 July 1913 – 29 May 1991) was an Australian-American stage and screen actress. Her extensive theatre credits included Broadway productions of ''Macbeth'' (1956), '' The Rehearsal'' (1963) and '' The Right Honourable Gentl ...

as Pauline Darville *

as Georgina Huntstanton *

Esme Percy Saville Esmé Percy (8 August 1887 – 17 June 1957) was an English actor who specialized in the plays of G.B. Shaw and appeared in 40 films between 1930 and 1956. He was born in London and died in Brighton. Partial filmography * ''Murder ...

as John Townsend * Frank Bertram as Belcher * Gilbert Davis as Prince Regent *

Frank Pettingell Frank Edmund George Pettingell (1 January 1891 – 17 February 1966) was an English actor. Pettingell was born in Liverpool, Lancashire, and educated at Manchester University. During the First World War he served with the King's Liverpool Re ...

as John Barty *

June Duprez June Ada Rose Duprez (14 May 1918 – 30 October 1984) was an English film actress. Early life The daughter of American comedian Fred Duprez and Australian Florence Isabelle Matthews, she was born in Teddington, Middlesex, England, during ...

as Minor role

Production

It was an early role for Margaret Lockwood.

Reception

''The Amateur Gentleman'' was voted the tenth best British film of 1936.

References

External links

*
''The Amateur Gentleman''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

''The Amateur Gentleman''
at Britmovie
Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Amateur Gentleman, The (1936 film) 1936 films 1930s historical drama films British historical drama films British black-and-white films Remakes of British films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Thornton Freeland Films scored by Richard Addinsell Films based on British novels Films set in London Films set in the 1810s Sound film remakes of silent films Cultural depictions of George IV 1936 drama films Films scored by Walter Goehr Films shot at British International Pictures Studios 1930s British films