A long-unavailable movie starring a popular actress of the silent era is next up the Town Hall Theatre’s summer-long salute to female stars of the silent screen.
“Beverly of Graustark” (1926), a romantic comedy starring Marion Davies, will be screened with live music on Sunday, Aug. 14, at 2 p.m. at the Town Hall Theatre, 40 Main St., Wilton. Admission is free, but a donation of $10 per person is suggested to help defray expenses.
In “Beverly of Graustark,” Davies stars in a gender-bending dual role as American gal Beverly Calhoun who masquerades as her cousin Oscar, who happens to be the Prince of Graustark, a small European monarchy. The film was based on a popular book series by George Barr McCutcheon set in a small fictional Eastern European country called Graustark. The novels revolved around court intrigues, dramatic deaths, wrongful imprisonments and forbidden romance.
This was the second time that Davies portrayed the opposite gender, having done it in “Little Old New York” (1923). This was Davies’ first teaming with Antonio Moreno, who played the royal bodyguard. Davies’ severe haircut, dubbed the “Beverly Bob,” caused a fashion craze.
For many decades, “Beverly of Graustark” was unavailable for public viewing. However, in 2019, the Library of Congress restored the movie, scanning an original-release 35mm nitrate print in the Marion Davies Collection that included the two-color Technicolor sequence in the second half of the film’s last reel. The restoration was screened in October 2019 at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival in Italy. In April 2022, Undercrank Productions released the restoration on Blu-ray and DVD, which will be used for the Town Hall screening.
The screening of “Beverly of Graustark” is the latest in a Town Hall Theatre summer series featuring female stars of the silent screen, all with live music by accompanist Jeff Rapsis. On Sunday, Aug. 28, at 2 p.m., there will be a double feature with Gloria Swanson and Mae Marsh. Swanson stars in “Fine Manners” (1926), a comedy about a chorus girl trying to keep up with her high society beau. In “Daddies” (1924), Mae Marsh plays an unlikely orphan adopted by the head of the local Bachelor’s Club.
For information, visit wiltontownhalltheatre.com or call 603- 654-3456. For more about the music, visit jeffrapsis.com.