An average movie

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but, since it was directed by King Vidor and since it was available on YouTube, I thought I might as well check it out. Well, the beginning was quite promising. Indeed, I had never seen John Gilbert before (he was apparently a big star at the time but faded away when talkies came out) but the guy was just so charismatic and pretty much pitch-perfect for this role. Same thing with Eleanor Boardman (who would eventually get married with King Vidor), not only she was quite lovely but her character was quite charismatic as well. I also loved the dialogues, seriously, it might have been the best intertitles I have seen so far. So, the damned thing definitely had some potential. However, it’s too bad that the plot itself turned out to be such a predictable drag though. I mean, I did like the fact that this wager was basically a win-win for the Comte de Chatellerault. Indeed, even if he would loose this wager, his biggest competitor would be then out of the game. Unfortunately, pretty much everything that happened afterwards was really routine though. I wish they instead spent more time developing why they actually fell in love with each other. I mean, at least for Bardelys, it did make sense since it was probably the first time he met a woman with actually some brain instead of the usual bimbos he seduced at the French court. Unfortunately, in my opinion, Roxalanne de Lavedan, a seemingly strong smart woman, fell too easily in love with him. I mean, sure, their trip on a rowboat was quite dreamy but it seemed to be another standard trick that Bardelys would pull with any other woman. At least, the swashbuckling scene towards the end was actually pretty neat and even quite impressive for a movie almost 100 years old. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, it was still a decent watch though and I think it is worth a look, especially if you like the genre.

6/10