Bardelys the Magnificent (1926)

Rafael Sabatini's story of the swashbuckling era and of Bardeleys, the handsome courtier who could win any woman he set his mind to...and was not above boasting about it to all who would listen.

Director:

King Vidor

Writers:

Rafael Sabatini (novel), Dorothy Farnum (adaptation)

Stars:

John Gilbert, Eleanor Boardman, Roy D'Arcy

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Gilbert	...	Bardelys
Eleanor Boardman	...	Roxalanne de Lavedan
Roy D'Arcy	...	Chatellerault
Lionel Belmore	...	Vicomte de Lavedan
Emily Fitzroy	...	Vicomtesse de Lavedan
George K. Arthur	...	St. Eustache
Arthur Lubin	...	King Louis XIII
Theodore von Eltz	...	Lesperon
Karl Dane	...	Rodenard
Edward Connelly	...	Cardinal Richelieu
Fred Malatesta	...	Castelrous
John T. Murray	...	Lafosse
Joe Smith Marba	...	Innkeeper (as Joseph Marba)
Daniel G. Tomlinson	...	Sergeant of Dragoons
Emile Chautard	...	Anatol

Storyline

Rafael Sabatini's story of the swashbuckling era and of Bardeleys, the handsome courtier who could win any woman he set his mind to...and was not above boasting about it to all who would listen.

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Plot Keywords:

fencing | partially lost film | climbing through a window | 17th century | king | 

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Taglines:

I could win every woman in France he cried...and he did! (original poster)

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

30 September 1926 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bardelys el magnífico

Filming Locations:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios - 10202 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne, the reason this film was (almost) lost was that Rafael Sabatini, the author of the book, didn't sell the movie rights to MGM outright. Instead, he leased them for 10 years, and in 1936 MGM chose not to renew the lease because it decided that a silent film with a now-dead star no longer had commercial value. So, according to the terms of Sabatini's contract, MGM destroyed the negative and all known prints.

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Connections

Featured in Show People (1928)

User Reviews

Silent Swashbuckler.

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.