BEAU BRUMMEL
starring John Barrymore and Mary Astor
MOTION PICTURE CLASSIC
May, 1924
When the year has run its course -- with its output of pictures, we predict that "Beau Brummel" (Warner Brothers) will be cataloged among the chosen few, excellent enough to receive the high mark of merit. It serves as a personal triumph for John Barrymore -- for in the role of the dandy, he is an ideal choice -- and he paints the character in a colorful, faithful, and absorbing manner. We, who remember him undergoing a metamorphosis in "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," discover here that he has moments when a transition of character is equally as great.
The story takes the famous fop from the days of his youthful escapades when he won the friendship of the Prince of Wales up to his death in a French hospital. And Barrymore's study is one of the finest achievements in pantomime.
There is effective drama in nearly every scene -- and the pathos mounts when this dramatic narrative depicts the dandy's life from youthful splendor to raving madness and death in a prison almshouse.
The play originally served as an expression for Richard Mansfield. As a picture, it keeps intact all of its appealing elements. It is richly mounted -- the details being correct. And it exudes a fine, old atmosphere. In passing, we will record the picturesque study of Wales by Willard Louis. Mary Astor is the heroine and quite different in appeal from the Mary Astor we have heretofore known, but no less beautiful and appealing. But it is Barrymore who makes it memorable.
BEAU BRUMMEL
starring John Barrymore and Mary Astor
PHOTOPLAY
May, 1924
An absorbingly interesting picture, from the famous play by Clyde Fitch in which Richard Mansfield made such as success. The title role is in the hands of John Barrymore and permits him to give one of the finest performances of his screen career. Brummel, disappointed in love, determines to advance himself by sheer insolence, and does so until he loses the friendship of his patron, the Prince of Wales. He is exiled from England and dies in a French hospital. Mr. Barrymore's performance is masterful always. His expressions, his mannerisms, depict all shades from impertinence to the most studied insolence. The direction is excellent, and some of he photography is wonderful. Second only to the star are the performances given by Willard Louis as the Prince of Wales and Mary Astor as Lady Margery.
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