Review of Bardelys the Magnificent (1926) by Razvan Florentin P — 25 Aug 2010

Bardelys the Magnificent is basically a Douglas Fairbanks movie, but with John Gilbert. I didn't find him quite convincing as a swashbuckler, but he does a nice job with the other parts of the script: the love scenes (they are a bit ridiculous in a classic silent movie way, but they're also sweet and sometimes genuinely erotic), the jokes (which surprisingly haven't deteriorated with age!), and the character work.

The stunts are really good, actually. All in all, it's worth seeing, especially since Gilbert is usually (understandably) overshadowed by Garbo now. It's nice to see him as the star of his movie.