The Belle of Broadway

1926

Drama / Romance

3
IMDb Rating 6.6/10 10 151 151

silent film stage actress rejuvenation imposture

Plot summary

Madame Adele, once a great star of the Paris theatre, has fallen upon hard times. But she allows a young American performer, Marie Duval, to perform as the Madame Adele of old, and both become the darlings of Paris, one again and the other newly-crowned.

Director

Harry O. Hoyt Photo
Harry O. Hoyt

Top cast

Armand Kaliz Photo
Armand Kaliz as Count Raoul de Parma
Max Barwyn Photo
Max Barwyn as M. Laroux
Wilfrid North Photo
Wilfrid North as Major Anstruthers
Edward Warren Photo
Edward Warren as An Old Beau
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
557.59 MB
1000*720
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 0 min
Seeds ...
1.01 GB
1488*1072
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 0 min
Seeds 5

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by mmipyle 8 / 10

Absolute nonsense!! And I loved every single second of it!! Beautifully preserved film, too...

I watched "The Belle of Broadway" (1926) with Betty Compson, Herbert Rawlinson, Edith Yorke, Armand Kaliz, Tom Ricketts, and others. Well, talk about stretching credulity to the breaking point - and utterly enjoying it! This is it! First of all, let me congratulate the release of this particular print. It's not only pristine, but it will fool some who may think this is a modern film simply being shot as a silent. It's so clean as to be the single finest example of a restored film I've ever seen. If it's not restored, then the print from which it was taken is as if it were new! This one begins in Paris in 1896. Madame Adele, long the Belle of Broadway, is now the star of Paris, and is doing her most famous play, "Madame Du Barry". It's a smash hit. But - there's the Count Raoul de Palma in the audience. He throws her a bouquet of flowers - with a bracelet in it - a very expensive bracelet... Instead of making it all the way to Madame on stage at the end of the show, the flowers are interrupted in the orchestra pit by her jealous husband who reaches and catches them. (He sits in the orchestra pit every night, it would seem, simply to halt such proceedings...) The husband suspects something. He goes to her room when he gets home and takes their son. Fast forward thirty years. Son shows up in Paris. It's raining. Friend from NY (in military uniform) comes over and sits down at a bistro table outside with son. All of a sudden a girl nearly stumbles in the rain and gets her shoe caught in the mud. Son and girl meet. He walks her home. She won't give her name. He tells her his, though. She explains to Madame Adele, now long past her prime and too old to get any parts on stage, but living in the same place as the girl, she met a man who brought her home. Of course, Madame Adele hasn't seen her son since he was taken...Now comes the stretch...Madame Adele brings out her old costume from "Du Barry". Of course it fits the girl like a glove. Indeed, the girl (Betty Compson) looks EXACTLY like Madame Adele did all those years ago!! Long story short: Betty Compson revives the play "Du Barry" and is a success - but, wait: there's lots more... Compson is claiming she's Adele with lots and lots of plastic surgery!! NOW, the movie begins...WOW! It's a fun romp. Absolute nonsense, and I couldn't stop watching. Great fun, with fine actors and actresses showing us why they were stars. They still are! By the way, I'll always laugh whenever I see Tom Ricketts. He plays Compson's manager in this one. But he played the old, old, old butler in "After the Thin Man", and he was hilarious. Here he's half-way serious, and he seems like a different person. Fine old character actor.This was released a couple of weeks ago, and it's available through Amazon. If you want to see the silent age come alive again, here you go!
Reviewed by boblipton 6 / 10

It's Amazing How Betty Compson Looks Like Betty Compson

Once upon a time, Betty Compson was the toast of the theater, her Dubarry filling the theater and attracting all the rakes. Her husband takes their son and flees. Decades have passed since then, and the booking agents are no longer interested in who she has become in the meantime, Edith Yorke.When her son, Herbert Rawlinson comes to Paris, he knows nothing of his mother. However, he is much taken with the beautiful young Betty Compson, who lives in the same cheap theatrical boarding house as Miss Yorke. When Betty tries on the dress for the role of Dubarry, it fits her perfectly -- surprise! -- and she is indistinguishable from Miss Compson. So they hatch a plan: they will present Miss Compson as the same woman, only having undergone massive plastic surgery. The producers are fooled, the public is fooled, and the stage door Johnnies, now old and wearing immense mustaches, pay court to her.In other words, it's the usual nonsensical plot and how do the youngsters get together, when people think Rawlison is dating his own mother. Well, Harry O. Hoyt directs ably, Miss Compson is beautiful, the guys playing old duffers, and Armand Kaliz, as the rake who wanted Miss Compson in their youth wants her again, for that necessary conflict. For a one-hour second feature, it moves at a good clip, and there is a lovely shot early on, when Rawlinson and Miss Compson meet in a misty, rainy Paris.
Reviewed by AlsExGal 7 / 10

The lad and the cad

This is something you rarely get to see - a silent film in terrific shape by perpetual poverty row Columbia. Betty Compson plays Adele, a great star of the Paris theatre whose specialty is playing Madame du Barry. Men flock to her performance every night, not just because of her acting, but because they adore her, always sending her presents. Her husband gets jealous, takes their son Paul, and runs away with him, and she never hears from them again or knows where they went.The decades pass, and a sixty year old Adele (Edith Yorke) is tramping through the theatrical booking offices trying to get a job, but no go. The manager of one of the houses says that if she looked like she did when she was younger he would make her famous again as Du Barry. Back at the theatrical boarding house where she lives, Adele befriends a young woman (Compson in a dual role as Marie). Marie has youth and talent but no reputation. Adele has talent and reputation but no youth. Maybe they can help each other out? So Marie agrees to claim she is the rejuvenated (through plastic surgery) Adele, and instantly becomes a star, not only to help herself but to get money for the now penniless Adele to live on.The men who flocked to Adele before have not lost their ardor, in spite of their now old geezer status. But the years have been kind to Adele's most aggressive suitor, Count Raoul de Parma. And he is suspicious of this new improved Adele.Further complications? Adele's actual son has returned to Paris and finds Marie/Adele charming. Remember her son has no idea of who his mother is and she has no idea of who he is. Odd that Adele and one of her old friends go to great lengths to teach Marie Adele's acting style, but don't bother to tell her the details of Adele's past so she will be ready for questions from the people who knew her back in the day. Oedipal complications ensue.This film had a very good score added to it, and I don't know if the tinting was original or not, but it added a very nice touch to the viewing experience. Every frame in the Sony restoration is clear, but a frame will skip here and there. I'd recommend this one, since, although Betty Compson was the hardest working film actress in the transitional year of 1929, there aren't many of her silent films that survive.By the way this film has nothing to do with Broadway. The entire story plays out in Paris and it is absolutely charming.If you wonder why anybody would believe that a sixty year old woman could basically be made young again, the idea of rejuvenation was quite the rage during the 1920s, including the discredited "goat gland" treatments that allegedly could restore youthful energy. But it's mainly just a plot device to send the viewer into a world of whimsy.
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