BEAU
BRUMMELL (1954)
Starring
Stewart Granger, Peter Ustinov, Elizabeth Taylor, James Donald,
Rosemary Harris, James Hayter, Paul Rogers. Directed by Curtis
Bernhardt. (113 min)
ON
BLU-RAY FROM
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.
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