Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Running time: 111 minutes
Beau Brummell (1954)
“‘A bit ornate. Fussy, sir,’ Captain ‘Beau’ Brummell (Stewart Granger) complains to the designer of his regiment’s uniform who just happens to be the Prince of Wales (Peter Ustinov). It’s an unlikely beginning to a great friendship, one that leads swordsman and dandy Brummell into lofty circles, royal intrigue and the arms of lovely Lady Patricia (Elizabeth Taylor). Filled with zest and style, highlighted by opulent costumes and glorious color photography, Beau Brummell is a treat for fans of historical epics. Granger (Scaramouche) is dashing, Taylor is ravishing, but Ustinov and Robert Morley almost steal the show as the future George IV of England and his mad papa, George III.” [From the Blu-ray]
Cast
Beau Brummell: Stewart Granger
Lady Patricia: Elizabeth Taylor
Prince of Wales: Peter Ustinov
King George III: Robert Morley
Lord Edwin Mercer: James Donald
Mortimer: James Hayter
Mrs. Fitzherbert: Rosemary Harris
William Pitt: Paul Rogers
Lord Byron: Noel Willman
Midger: Peter Dyneley
Sir Geoffrey Baker: Charles Carson
Doctor Warren: Ernest Clark
Mr. Fox: Peter Bull
Mr. Burke: Mark Dignam
Colonel: Desmond Roberts
Thurlow: David Horne
Sir Ralph Sidley: Ralph Truman
Mr. Tupp: Elwyn Brook-Jones
Doctor Dubois: George De Warfaz
Dr. Willis: Henry Oscar
Mayor: Harold Kasket
Crew
Director: Curtis Bernhardt
Producer: Sam Zimbalist
Screenwriter: Karl Tunberg
Based on the play by: Clyde Fitch
Cinematographer: Oswald Morris
Art Director: Alfred Junge
Photographic Effects: Tom Howard
Musical Score: Richard Addinsell
Editor: Frank Clarke
Costumes: Elizabeth Haffenden
Did You Know?
As Beau Brummell was made entirely in England (both at Boreham Wood Studios and on location, including the fifteenth century Ockwell Manor, near Windsor Castle), Elizabeth would be separated from husband Michael Wilding. To compensate, MGM gave them a six-week European sojourn before filming began.
Royal Film Performance
This lavish MGM costume drama was chosen for the Royal Film Performance of 1954 and was screened at London’s Empire Theatre in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II on November 15, 1954.
Elizabeth was not in attendance and didn’t actually see Beau Brummell until years later. “I never saw that film until after Richard and I were married. It was on television and Richard turned it on.” She added, in her self-deprecating way: “I had to change stations after about five minutes—I mean I was so embarrassing in it.”