Bardelys the Magnificent (1926)

(On Cable TV, November 2020) There are two movies melded into one in Bardelys the Magnificent—first, a rather amusing depiction of an incorrigible cad of a marquis with well-practised methods to seduce as many women as he can lay eyes on. It’s not a bad introduction at all, and it feels more amusing than many other silent movies. But as one of the Marquis’ romances turns serious, so does the plot—and then the film moves into its second gear as a pure swashbuckler, complete with sword-fighting and rope-swinging. There have been many other better swashbucklers in Hollywood history, but Bardelys the Magnificent does have its slight charms—I’m not claiming it as essential, though, and it’s perhaps most appropriate for those with some liking for the form and a substantial tolerance for the limitations of silent cinema.