BEAU BRUMMELL and the Royal Bromance

BEAU BRUMMELL (1954)

Starring Stewart Granger, Peter Ustinov, Elizabeth Taylor, James Donald, Rosemary Harris, James Hayter, Paul Rogers. Directed by Curtis Bernhardt. (113 min)

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WARNER ARCHIVE COLLECTION

Review by Mr. Paws😸

George “Beau” Brummell (Stewart Granger) seems to know what’s best for everybody...except himself, of course. Witty, charming, arrogant and outspoken, he’s influential on British high society despite having no wealth of his own. In fact, he’s heavily in-debt, exacerbated by extravagant living.

Brummell’s brashness initially gets him in hot water with the Prince of

Wales (Peter Ustinov), a vain, vindictive man who makes Beau resign his military commission. However, their cantankerous relationship becomes one of respect and trust as Brummell encourages the prince to assert himself and supplant his crazy father, George (Robert Morley), as Britain’s next king.

"The scallops are f**king awesome."

For a movie with no real action, nothing terribly monumental at stake and a romantic subplot that essentially goes nowhere, Beau Brummell may be dramatically slight, but is consistently enjoyable. When centered around the bromance between Beau and the prince, the story is engaging and sometimes highly amusing, aided immeasurably by Granger – exuding cool confidence despite his recklessness – and Ustinov as a kinder, gentler version of his Nero character in Quo Vadis.

Less vital is Elizabeth Taylor as Lady Patricia. She’s radiant, as usual, but mostly exists to create sexual tension during Beau’s down-time and ultimately isn’t essential to the story. Other than that, Beau Brummell is handsomely-produced, well-acted and briskly-paced. The film has fallen into relative obscurity over the years, but it’s a solid historical drama worth rediscovery.

EXTRA KIBBLES

TRAILER – Kind-of amusing, since it touts Beau Brummell as one of the most important films of all time.

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS.