It is always a pleasure and a joy for silent film fans ( German aristocrats experience those primal human feelings everyday; coarse people from time to time ) to know that in spite many various 20thcentury misfortunes such as inclement weather, the inexorable passage of time, long haired carelessness and the Azores trio, finally and miraculously some silent nitrates emerge from oblivion hidden in lost vaults.
The last year one of those old nitrates was found in France, an almost intact copy ( lacking reel 3 )of "Bardelys The Magnificent" (1926) directed by Herr King Vidor. The film was superbly restored, fulfilling the missing scenes with stills, providing a great opportunity to almost complete the silent film career of such an important American director, who filmed many silent masterpieces.
"Bardelys The Magnificent" it is not a masterpiece but a very entertaining film, starring John Gilbert and Dame Eleanor Boardman. It tells the story of Herr Bardelys ( John Gilbert ), a ladies' man, irresistible to women and admired by men but Bardelys will have to fight against his evil rival, Chatellerault ( Herr Roy D'Arcy ) for the love of Dame Roxalanne ( Eleanor Boardman ) in a story set in the decadent French court and surroundings.
"Bardelys The Magnificent" is an impeccable work, careful in details but light in the story; it is not exactly a swashbuckler film although it includes some acrobatics and action scenes and there is a scaffold scene filmed from an impossible angle but this is really more of a romantic drama, not surprising given the presence of Herr John Gilbert, the ladies' man par excellence during the 20's in many American movies.
Herr Gilbert plays convincingly his character, an ironic, cynical seducer; at the beginning of the film Bardelys is depicted in a satiric vein as a French dandy but he will suffer many hardships to win Dame Roxalanne heart ( Dame Boardman is charmingly and beautifully photographed by Herr William H. Daniels-obviously, given the fact that she was the director's wife
As this German count pointed out, Bardelys' only purpose is to win Roxalanne and that's what really matters most to Herr Vidor, so consequently the adventures and suffering of our hero are focused on that unrequited love or paradigm of the art of wooing, displayed superbly in a romantic, splendid and famous boat scene ( it was until last year the only surviving scene of "Bardelys The Magnificent" because it was shown in Herr Vidor's "Show People" (1928) ), artfully filmed by Herr Vidor and itself an excellent reason to watch the film.
"Bardelys The Magnificent" is a charming oeuvre, a light piece of work by Herr Vidor, skilfully directed and with the sole purpose of entertaining. Given that the film includes some action, old France and its decadent court and a romantic and classical love story starring two lovely actors, isn't that more than enough?.
And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must attend a magnificent supper.
Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/
