Movies at Mechanics' Presents Beverly of Gaustark (1926)

Marion Davies is at her comedic best in Beverly of Graustark, as she plays an American student impersonating her male cousin to save the family kingdom. Based on the George McCutcheon “Graustark” series, Beverly of Graustark has recently undergone a masterful restoration by the Library of Congress, supported by Ben Model’s Undercrank Productions. For the first time in many decades, we are now able to enjoy this film as it was meant to be seen.

Marion Davies spent her early career in costume dramas, at the behest of her boss at Cosmopolitan Productions (and real-life romantic partner) William Randolph Hearst. But by 1926, she was making her own name as a comedienne, taking charge of her own roles. Hearst was hesitant about Davies in comedy, but he slowly warmed to the idea, due in part to Beverly of Graustark. The film blurs the line between comedy and costume drama–Davies dresses in the full regalia of the fictional Graustark, and antiques (many from Hearst’s own collection) abound on the set. But Davies makes the film a comedy. She tumbles, twists her face, and exhibits exceptional comedic timing. Davies’s strong performance in Beverly of Graustark helped convince Hearst that she was a comedic smash hit, and by 1928, Davies consistently ranked among the greatest comedians of the 1920s.

This may come as a surprise to filmgoers who know Davies from her alleged portrayal in Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane. The character of Susan Alexander, a drunken, talentless hack who has an affair with Charles Foster Kane, has unjustly marred Davies’s reputation for generations. In Beverly of Graustark we see a charming, vivacious actress with talent that leaps off the screen. In later years, Welles expressed remorse for what Citizen Kane had done to Marion Davies. He also described her relationship with Hearst: “She was the precious treasure of his heart for more than 30 years, until his last breath of life. Theirs is truly a love story. Love is not the subject of Citizen Kane."

November is silent film month at Movies at Mechanics’, and Beverly of Graustark is a testament to the brilliant artistry of the era. Released shortly before The Jazz Singer brought talking to the movies, join us to see a moment in time when costumes and faces dominated the screen, and to witness the glorious comedic gifts of Marion Davies.

Be sure to stay in your seats afterward to hear more about the life and career of Marion Davies, and to discuss Lara Gabrielle’s acclaimed biography "Captain of Her Soul: The Life of Marion Davies."

Host or Publisher Mechanics' Institute