‘Beverly Of Graustark’ Blu-Ray Review – A Fun Silent-Era Turn From Marion Davies

In the gender-bender comedy Beverly of Graustark (1926), Marion Davies is an American co-ed whose cousin Oscar (Creighton Hale) is a Prince and heir to the throne of the mythical country of Graustark. In a twist of fate, she must switch places with him in order to prevent the conniving General Marlanax (Roy D’Arcy) from becoming King. Along the way, Beverly (as Oscar) meets goat-herd Dantan (Antonio Moreno), hires him as her bodyguard…and winds up falling for him. There are mistaken identities, intrigue, clothing swaps, a chase, a swordfight and more – and in the end Beverly winds up with the goat-herd, cousin Oscar becomes the new King, and there’s a big fancy ball.

For thoughts on Beverly of Graustark, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/NtnntbeGwqs?si=AxUla4gLxGg0UbSq&t=1767]

Video Quality

Beverly of Graustark makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Undercrank Productions with a really nice restoration effort even if there are still some major signs of damage. The film is presented courtesy of a new 4K digital scan of a 35mm Nitrate Print in the Marion Davies Collection at the Library of Congress. The original 2-color Technicolor sequence survives and is intact with this restoration. There are no signs of compression artifacts or any digital anomalies of the sort. When you take into consideration the age of this material, this is a fetching viewing experience that holds up as well as can be expected.

There are stretches where the source shows its limitations, but Undercrank Productions has presented this one as well as one would hope. The contrast is capably defined with flicker kept to a minimum and substantial damage avoided outside of some fleeting moments. The film retains its natural grain well with intermittent fluctuations in quality. There is some welcome detail present with nice textures on the uniforms and within the production design thanks to the enhanced resolution. Black levels could be more robust, but they avoid black crush and compression artifacts. Undercrank Productions continues to rescue these silent gems for the masses.  

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray presents the film with a Dolby Digital 2.0 lossy audio track that complements the film well. As with many titles from the label, the film is graced with an original score composed by Ben Model which accompanies the material famously. The music is the sole element to contend with in this track, and it comes through with unwavering fidelity and no signs of damage or age-related downturns. Silent film fans should enjoy the sound quality of the track. A lossless audio track would have been preferred, but there is no reason to complain about the quality of this one.  

Special Features

There are no special features provided on this disc. 

Final Thoughts

Beverly of Graustark is one of the more enjoyable Marion Davies efforts we have seen thus far, in large part because the actress was allowed to do something a bit more fun and full of life. Her dramatic work is strong, but she shows a penchant for comedy which should not be ignored. Undercrank Productions has released a Blu-Ray with a good A/V presentation but no supplemental features this time around. If you are a fan of the lead actress, this is a safe purchase. Recommended 

Beverly of Graustark is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Undercrank Productions has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.