Saturday July 11, 12:00pm, The Castro
"I have never known a woman like you, I shall go – but I shall not forget you –"
"—and you will not forget me."
A philandering courtier wages his fortune that he can wed a nobleman's daughter within three months, or lose everything to his rival. While on this clandestine pursuit, Bardelys the Magnificent (John Gilbert) is mistaken for an enemy of King Louis XIII, resulting in his peril and his salvation.
Gilbert is hilarious as the caddish lover of other men's wives, then fiercely heroic in his quest for the lovely Roxalanne (Eleanor Boardman) who is first seen playing coyly with a kitten while rejecting Chatellerault (Roy D'Arcy), the delightfully evil and shifty-eyed villain.
A Fairbanksian swashbuckler in the truest sense, Bardelys the Magnificent profits from the accomplished direction of King Vidor, William Daniels' beautiful camera-work and superlative production values. Peppered with an exhilarating display of fencing from the USC-Uyttenhove era, Bardelys also includes a show-stopping climactic action sequence and one of the most lushly romantic (and erotic) love scenes ever filmed.
Cinema Paradiso on the Jersey Shore
An article published in the New York Times on December 30, 1926 claimed an officer of the East Orange Police department attended a screening of Bardelys the Magnificent following a complaint lodged by a local clergyman, claiming the "boat scene" was indecent. The article went on to explain that the officer disagreed, as did the ruling judge, who had also seen the film. Whether this episode was on the level or pure publicity, the scene in question when viewed today is decidedly "pre-code" and overtly erotic. It is also the most memorable scene in the film.
Hidden among weeping willows at the rivers edge, their boat slowly glides through the water. The lovers embrace in the prone position, as the long branches brush over their bodies. Bardelys smothers Roxalanne with kisses while her eyes roll back in her head.
The postman would never approve.
"I have never known a woman like you, I shall go – but I shall not forget you –"
"—and you will not forget me."
A philandering courtier wages his fortune that he can wed a nobleman's daughter within three months, or lose everything to his rival. While on this clandestine pursuit, Bardelys the Magnificent (John Gilbert) is mistaken for an enemy of King Louis XIII, resulting in his peril and his salvation.
Gilbert is hilarious as the caddish lover of other men's wives, then fiercely heroic in his quest for the lovely Roxalanne (Eleanor Boardman) who is first seen playing coyly with a kitten while rejecting Chatellerault (Roy D'Arcy), the delightfully evil and shifty-eyed villain.
A Fairbanksian swashbuckler in the truest sense, Bardelys the Magnificent profits from the accomplished direction of King Vidor, William Daniels' beautiful camera-work and superlative production values. Peppered with an exhilarating display of fencing from the USC-Uyttenhove era, Bardelys also includes a show-stopping climactic action sequence and one of the most lushly romantic (and erotic) love scenes ever filmed.
Cinema Paradiso on the Jersey Shore
An article published in the New York Times on December 30, 1926 claimed an officer of the East Orange Police department attended a screening of Bardelys the Magnificent following a complaint lodged by a local clergyman, claiming the "boat scene" was indecent. The article went on to explain that the officer disagreed, as did the ruling judge, who had also seen the film. Whether this episode was on the level or pure publicity, the scene in question when viewed today is decidedly "pre-code" and overtly erotic. It is also the most memorable scene in the film.
Hidden among weeping willows at the rivers edge, their boat slowly glides through the water. The lovers embrace in the prone position, as the long branches brush over their bodies. Bardelys smothers Roxalanne with kisses while her eyes roll back in her head.
The postman would never approve.