Beloved Rogue

Entertaining, bizarre swashbuckler
With the exception of two earlier films, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1920) and The Sea Beast (1926), THE BELOVED ROGUE is more a personal statement by its star, John Barrymore, than any film he ever made. Designed as a romp through 15th century Paris (in a snowstorm, no less), ROGUE is both inventive and bizarre as Barrymore's Gothic tastes were given free rein by United Artists.
The actor specifically wanted to avoid the "Hollywood" type of situations where the hero rescues the heroine and both live happily ever after. Despite the film's inventiveness, the plot eventually works itself out along the more traditional lines that Barrymore wanted to avoid like the plague. It was said that he was unhappy with the finished product but many years after his death, when ROGUE was considered a lost film, a subsequent owner of Barrymore's house found a mint 35mm print of this film stored away in the basement. Perhaps that print is the one used for this dvd, courtesy of Mr. Barrymore himself...

Great Fun
Though swashbuckling is typically associated with the movies of the 30s and 40s, it was actually invented in the 10s and 20s and pioneered by the incomparable Douglas Fairbanks. By the time this movie was made, in 1926, swashbuckling was a giant moneymaker for the film industry. This time was the last hurrah for silent cinema, talkies would totally take over within a few years. Yet, in these last few years of the artform, some of the best examples of silent cinema were filmed.

John Barrymore plays Francois Villon, introduced as a poet, pickpocket and patriot. Though his works are widely read, writing does not pay the bills so Villon makes his living outside the law. On All Fools Day, he runs afoul of King Louis XI (Conrad Veidt) and is banished from Paris. The city is his life so to be forced to leave it is worse than death. Of course, you can't keep a hero as zany as Villon down and he ends up back in the city, falls for the pretty but bland Charlotte who is a huge fan of his...

Barrymore In His Prime.
Along with DR JEKYLL & MR HYDE, this 1926 action/adventure flick remains one of the best John Barrymore silent vehicles currently available to us. Here "The Great Profile" invades Douglas Fairbanks territory and more than holds his own. There is so much to like about this film that it's hard to know where to begin. Aside from Barrymore's charismatic performance there is the American debut of Conrad Veidt. Just observe his body posture as Louis XI and you'll see what silent screen acting is all about. Then there is the opportunity to see Mack Swain away from Chaplin and Sennett. The sets by William Cameron Menzies are staggering and the camera work by Joseph August is among the finest in silent film. It was all brought together by Alan Crosland who is best remembered for directing THE JAZZ SINGER although this picture was much more typical of his style.

The print utilized for this DVD is taken from the Killiam Collection and is the same as the one issued by Image...

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