Amateur Gentleman (1926)
(Sidney Olcott, US 1926, 75 min., 35mm)
This early Eastman Museum preservation came from an original nitrate print and hasn’t been screened at the Dryden Theatre in six decades! Silent star Richard Barthelmess takes on the title role of Barnabas Barty, low-born son of an innkeeper and boxer, who inherits a fortune and moves to London to become a gentleman. There he meets Lady Cleone Meredith (Dorothy Dunbar) and her derelict brother, Ronald (Gardner James). Barnabas falls madly in love with Lady Meredith, which infuriates Sir Mortimer Carnaby (Nigel Barrie), who had his sights set on her. Barnabas will have to deal with steeplechases, treachery, and murder to cement his standing in British society.
Live piano accompaniment by Dr. Philip C. Carli.