Beverly of Graustark is a 1926 film directed by Sidney Franklin.
It has a plot that might generously be described as Inspired by… The Prisoner of Zenda. Beverly (Marion Davies) is a cheerful young American woman who is also a member of the nobility of a European principality called Graustark. As the story begins, her cousin Prince Oscar, who has spent most of his life in American exile and is a childhood friend of Beverly's, gets an invitation to take the throne of Graustark. Beverly tags along.
As the royal party approaches the border of Graustark, disaster strikes: Prince Oscar is badly wounded in a skiing accident. The doctor says that Oscar must not be moved because it might kill him. However, Duke Travina, Oscar's adviser, says that if Oscar delays his return to Graustark he might never be king, with the political situation back home being very unstable and General Marlanax, the army chief, looking to seize power for himself.
The solution: Beverly must impersonate her cousin, whom no one in Graustark is very familiar with. So Beverly dresses up in Oscar's uniforms and does her best to look like a man, while at the same time falling in love with the handsome captain of her bodyguard, Dantan (Antonio Moreno).
Tropes:
- Dark Mistress: Carlotta, a dark-haired beauty who seems to be a sort of partner in crime to General Martanax. He sends her to seduce "Oscar" and says she's done it before.
- Diabolus ex Machina: Oscar getting hurt in a skiing accident at the worst possible time is why the story happens.
- Disguised in Drag: The premise of the movie, as Beverly must dress as a man in order to impersonate her cousin.
- Discreet Drink Disposal: Beverly tries this when, while drinking with her officers, she's given a huge ram's horn filled with beer and told she has to drink it. Unfortunately she is not discreet enough, pouring the beer into the boot of the officer standing next to her.
- Dramatic Irony: A lot of this when Dantan talks with Beverly, whom he thinks is King Oscar. He says that there's a true love out there for him and "I'll know her when I see her." Later, at the lavish ball, Dantan again says to Beverly "All I need is a girl to dance with."
- Eek, a Mouse!!: Beverly freaks out and screams when she sees a mouse in her room in the palace. When her bodyguards charge in, she pretends that it was a drill to keep them on their toes.
- Gone Swimming, Clothes Stolen: An unusual spin on this trope. Carlotta, who is in cahoots with Martanax, tries to pull "Oscar" aside at the dress ball so "he" can be killed. Beverly suggests they go for a swim, Carlotta accepts—and while Carlotta is changing into a bathing suit Beverly steals her dress. She does this so she can dress up as a woman and dance with handsome Dantan, but it's a bad idea, as Carlotta figures out that the supposed King Oscar is a woman in drag.
- High-Class Glass: General Martanax, the villain, wears a monocle that just makes him look more arrogant and evil.
- Instantly Proven Wrong:
- Duke Travina dismisses a note saying that assassins are laying in wait for Beverly, saying "We are ably guarded." Instantly, he passes out from the drug in his drink. (He isn't dead but he's unconscious for a good 24 hours.)
- General Martanax relates that he has set an assassination trap for Prince Oscar and says that Oscar "will never reach Graustark." This is immediately followed by Oscar's car (really carrying Beverly) pulling in.
- King Incognito: Dantan, who claimed he was a goat herder when he came to Beverly's rescue, turns out to be Prince Dantan from a neighboring kingdom.
- Literal Ass-Kicking: Prince Oscar greets Beverly in a cold, formal manner, and it seems that their childhood intimacy is gone now that Oscar is becoming king. But he's kidding, as he shows when he kicks her in the butt.
- Monochrome to Color: The big dress ball scene at the end is shown in two-strip Technicolor. This was a frequent trope in silent film days.
- Roadside Wave: Beverly narrowly escapes assassination after her treacherous bodyguards, who are working for Marlanax, betray her. After Dantan saves her and Dantan and his squad of goatherders disarm the guards and take their uniforms, the royal motorcade drives away—and the bodyguards, down to their long underwear, are splashed by mud.
- Ruritania:
- "Graustark", a vaguely Germanic kingdom.
- Dantan comes from some place called Dawsburgen.
- Shirtless Scene: Beverly is embarrassed but also obviously intrigued as Dantan the goat herder changes into the uniform of one of the turncoat bodyguards.
- Sweet Polly Oliver: As already mentioned, Beverly must dress in one of Oscar's uniforms.
- Two-Person Love Triangle: When Dantan finds a piece of the mystery lady's dress in Beverly's possession, he thinks that "Oscar" has gotten with his mystery lady. They fight a sword duel for a little bit.
- The X of Y: Beverly of Graustark
- Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe: Prince Oscar delivers an absolutely abysmal example of this, saying "'Tis fitting that thoust cometh to payeth homage to thy royal cousin" when affecting a regal manner as he greets Beverly. He's kidding, as he drops the facade of royal dignity and gives Beverly a hug afterwards.
