Beau Brummel (1924)

George Bryan Brummel, a British military officer, loves Lady Margery, the betrothed of Lord Alvanley. Despite her own desperate love for Brummel, she submits to family pressure and marries ... See full summary »

Director:

Harry Beaumont

Writers:

Clyde Fitch (play), Dorothy Farnum

Stars:

John Barrymore, Mary Astor, Willard Louis

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Barrymore	...	George Bryon 'Beau' Brummel
Mary Astor	...	Lady Margery Alvanley
Willard Louis	...	Prince of Wales
Carmel Myers	...	Lady Hester Stanhope
Irene Rich	...	Frederica Charlotte - Duchess of York
Alec B. Francis	...	Mortimer
William Humphrey	...	Lord Alvanley
Richard Tucker	...	Lord Stanhope
George Beranger	...	Lord Byron
Clarissa Selwynne	...	Mrs. Wertham
John J. Richardson	...	Poodles Byng
Claire de Lorez	...	Lady Manly
Michael Dark	...	Lord Manly
Templar Saxe	...	Desmond Wertham
James A. Marcus	...	Snodgrass - the Innkeeper

Storyline

George Bryan Brummel, a British military officer, loves Lady Margery, the betrothed of Lord Alvanley. Despite her own desperate love for Brummel, she submits to family pressure and marries Lord Alvanley. Brummel, broken-hearted, embarks upon a life of revelry. He befriends the Prince of Wales and leaves the army, becoming subsequently the best-known rake and decider of fashion in Europe. As his affairs flourish, so does his disdain for his benefactor, the Prince. Eventually Brummel falls into disfavor, and it is only Lady Margery who has any chance of helping him.

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Plot Keywords:

prince of wales | dandy | england | 1800s | remake | 

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Taglines:

By Arrangement With Mrs. Richard Mansfield (original one-sheet poster)

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

30 March 1924 (USA)

Also Known As:

Beau Brummel - Glück und Ende des englischen Casanova

Box Office

Gross USA:

$290,705, 31 December 1924

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min (Ontario) 135 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

At the Yuletide party at York House, two African children appear in a story otherwise told with an all-white cast. The boys are slaves. Slavery was not abolished in the UK until 1833. Although abducted from their African parents, these boys are seen dressed in Indian-style tunics and turbans, as Brits of the day casually mixed up their colonial possessions for fantasy effect. Fancifully-attired slave boys were popular with the wealthy of Britain, who used them as functional decorations.

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Quotes

Frederica Charlotte - Duchess of York: Mr. Brummel, you are wasting yourself. You have the qualities of a great leader, yet you choose to play the part of court jester.
Gordon Bryon 'Beau' Brummel: I am a nobody without rank or fortune. I attract attention by insolence and hold it by scandal.

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Alternate Versions

The Turner Classic Movies version features a new score recorded in stereophonic sound.

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Connections

Featured in Historia del cine: Epoca muda (1983)

User Reviews

The Great Barrymore

Beau Brummel (1924)

*** (out of 4)

Warner wanted to make a name for themselves so they went all out with this lavish production that features a terrific performance from John Barrymore. He plays the title character, a poor man who has the woman (Mary Astor) he loves taken away from him because of his low standing in society. Heart-broken, Beau sets out to use his charm and wit to get back at the society who ruined his life. Have you ever watched a big-budget movie and wonder where all the money went to as it's obviously not showing on screen? Well, that's certainly not the case here as one can't help but be impressed with the magnitude of this film. The sets, costumes and production values are all extremely high and this helps keep the film moving even when the story isn't doing much. I think the biggest flaw with the movie is its 128-minute running time, which leads to some dead space here and there. The story itself isn't all that ground-breaking even for this era so I'm guessing the main reason for the longer running time was just to give the film a more "epic" feel. With that said, this is still a very impressive movie. As I said earlier, the massive sets are extremely impressive and one can't help but get caught up in their sheer beauty. The images of the costumes alone makes one really focus in. Just take a look at a sequence towards the end when a large number of soldiers are marching. One does wonder what all these extras in these lavish costumes cost the studio. Those familiar with Astor are probably more aware of her sound films so seeing her here, at 18-years-old, was a pretty big eye-opener just because I wasn't use to see her look so young. She is pretty good in the role and handles working next to Barrymore and never gets tramped by him. Willard Louis is extremely good as the Prince of Wales who is the one Beau really goes after in the film. Carmel Myers, Richard Tucker and William Humphrey turn in fine work as well. Alec B. Francis plays the long-time servant and is wonderful. As for Barrymore, he's pure magic here. A lot of people are going to call the performance hammy or stage-bound, which might be fair but from all the movies I've seen of his this one here gave the closest feel of what it might have been like watching him on the stage. He really nails every inch of this character whether it's the poor boy at the start, the rich jerk or the eventual fallen and broken man. Barrymore is clearly having a great time playing all of these different styles and he's especially effective in the final scenes, which I won't spoil. The scene can be called melodrama but it's melodrama at its highest peak thanks to Barrymore. He alone makes this film worth checking out.