First, there's a gypsy girl named Belle who lives a life prancing about fields and being all cuddly with a guy named Jess (who may or may not also be a gypsy; I'm still not clear on that) until she steals the purse of the titular "gentleman" (who gets his title in quotes because he's an asshole), Sir Paul Deveraux. Sir Paul saves her from the mob of angry people who want to kill her because she stole the man's purse by claiming that she didn't steal his purse. Later that night Belle abandons Jess because it's raining and hitches a ride in Sir Paul's carriage. Belle and Paul start shacking up (at one point Belle runs back to the forest to Jess for a couple days, but she ends up going back to Paul and no mention is ever really made of that again).
Meanwhile, Paul is engaged to a chick named Vanessa and Paul's sister Sarah wants to marry a doctor named John (I think?). Paul insists that Sarah can't marry John because his stature is too lowly. Then he marries Belle. Yeah.
Sarah informs Belle that Paul is broke, most of the staff quits and Jess gets a job taking care of their horses. Then Paul and Sarah's aunt dies and leaves Sarah her entire fortune as long as she marries before she turns twenty one. Belle, the aunt's lawyer, Jess and a somewhat reluctant Paul decide to tell Sarah the will says she'll get the fortune if she marries after she turns twenty one so Paul and Belle will get the fortune (why the lawyer's so gung ho on this deception is never explained, seeing as he wouldn't actually get anything out of it).
And the rest of the plot revolves around keeping Sarah locked up so Belle and Paul can get the aunt's fortune. And it goes on and on. And on. Aaaaand on. Paul has a couple changes of heart, Belle makes out with any guy unfortunate enough to get his face near hers, Jess spends the second half of the movie being a full on villain even though I'm pretty sure he wasn't one at the start of the film (he gets a cape and hat around the time he starts working for Sir Paul; I guess you have to do a heel turn when you get a cape and hat) and Sarah hopes desperately to be saved by her fiance and his friend, the famous actress whose hair never turns gray no matter how old she gets (it's known as "The Legend").
I didn't like the movie while I was watching it but in hindsight it was kind of entertaining, in an "I have no idea what the fuck is going on" kind of way. Nobody enunciates (especially not Belle) and I'm pretty sure every character makes the choices they make depending on what would be most dramatic at any given time. Also, Patrick McGoohan looks like this:
Never before or since was he so swarthy.
End of line.
-Sally
2 comments:
Years ago I could find no copy of this movie, but then managed to locate an Austrian dubbed video. As I have no German I watched it in the manner of a silent movie. A lot of it was quite sound that way.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051692/usercomments-3
I think I might've had an easier time following this movie if I'd watched it with the sound off. :-)
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