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6.7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 6.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. The Great Garrick remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have a soft spot for movies that feel like they were filmed in a single weekend on a backlot, you might enjoy The Great Garrick. It is not going to change your life, but it has this breezy, frantic energy that is hard to dislike if you are in the mood for something light.
Brian Aherne plays David Garrick, and he plays him with this specific kind of British ego that is almost impressive. He thinks he is better than the French actors he meets in Paris. Naturally, they decide to take him down a peg.
The whole movie is essentially one long prank. The French troupe transforms an inn into a living theater just to trick him. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in The Idle Rich, where everyone is talking over each other and no one is listening.
Olivia de Havilland shows up, and she is fine, but the movie really belongs to the guys in the wigs making fools of themselves. Edward Everett Horton is in here too, just being his usual nervous, fluttering self. It is like watching a cartoon version of 18th-century theater.
The movie starts to drag once the countess shows up. It stops being a fun "let's trick the arrogant guy" story and turns into a standard romance that feels glued on. You can almost see the screenwriters checking their watches.
Is it a masterpiece? No. Does it feel like a fever dream about acting? Absolutely. It’s definitely not as bleak as something like Slums of Berlin, that is for sure.
If you like movies where actors are clearly having fun wearing silly clothes and shouting lines at each other, put this on. Just don't expect it to make any sense by the time the credits roll. Honestly, half the time I wasn't even sure who was tricking who anymore. 🎭