Undercrank Productions (www.undercrankproductions.com) announced today that the Marion Davies film Beverly of Graustark (1926) will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on April 12, 2022.
Beverly of Graustark (1926) stars Marion Davies in her first out-and-out comedy, following a long string of popular dramas with comic touches that she’d been making for several years. While there are a few scenes in which Davies is draped in an exquisite gown, the bulk of the film finds her caught up in a delightful facre plot of mistaken identities and palace intrigue This is the first of her films that is in the style of her more well-known silents, The Patsy (1927) or Show People (1927).
In the gender-bender comedy Beverly of Graustark (1926), Marion Davies is an American co-ed whose cousin Oscar (Creighton Hale) is a Prince and heir to the throne of the mythical country of Graustark. In a twist of fate, she must switch places with him in order to prevent the conniving General Marlanax (Roy D’Arcy) from becoming King. Along the way, Beverly (as Oscar) meets goat-herd Dantan (Antonio Moreno), hires him as her bodyguard…and winds up falling for him. There are mistaken identities, intrigue, clothing swaps, a chase, a swordfight and more – and in the end Beverly winds up with the goat-herd, cousin Oscar becomes the new King, and there’s a big fancy ball.
“When I first viewed the film at the Library of Congress about five years ago, I was struck by how much fun it was,” says Undercrank Productions’ Ben Model, “and I couldn’t believe it hadn’t been shown or known more. This picture went to the top of my list of undiscovered silent era gems I wanted to make available for fans. Marion’s screen presence is so enjoyable and charming, and there many delicious moments in Beverly of Graustark where you can tell what she’s thinking just from watching her face.”
Beverly of Graustark was produced by William Randolph Hearst’s Cosmopolitan Productions and was released by MGM in April 1926. The original 1904 book was adapted into a modern scenario by Agnes Christine Johnson, changing the novel’s princess to a prince, and the film was brilliantly directed by Sidney Franklin.
This edition brings the film to Blu-ray and DVD for the first time, and presents the film in a new restoration by the Library of Congress, from a 4K digital scan of a 35mm nitrate print in the Marion Davies collection. The film’s original 2-color Technicolor sequence survives and is intact in this new restoration, which was presented at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival in 2019. This release also features a new theatre organ score composed and performed by Ben Model.
BEVERLY OF GRAUSTARK (1926)
Cosmopolitan Productions
Director: Sidney Franklin
Starring Marion Davies, with Antonio Moreno, Creighton Hale, Albert Gran, Roy D’Arcy
new musical score: Ben Model
Running time: 77 mins
Original Release Date: April 19, 1926
Genre: Drama/Comedy/Romance
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: April 12, 2022
DVD Suggested Retail Price: $19.95
Blu-ray Suggested Retail Price: $21.95
TOTAL RUNNING TIME – 77 min – B&W/color
stereo – NTSC – not rated – Region: 0 – 1.33:1
New musical score composed and performed by Ben Model
Produced for home video by Ben Model
Film preserved by the Library of Congress
Released by Undercrank Productions / Library of Congress
