Beau Brummel

Beau Brummel (John Barrymore) is a dandy, a ladies' man, a social-climbing commoner admitted to English royal circles. Lady Margery Alvanley (Mary Astor) adores him, but is forced to marry a richer man. Their doomed affair -- and Brummel's fall into poverty and disgrace after a single unwise remark -- forms the dramatic heart of this opulent 1924 silent classic. Barrymore, then at the peak of his screen power, personifies dash and brio. Astor, poised to become one of film's finest actresses, is achingly lovely. But it is more than talent and beauty that sets their love scenes aflame. The stars' torrid off-screen romance imbues their on-screen relationship with authentic, timeless passion.

• drama