On 26 Apr 1922, FD announced that Douglas Fairbanks had purchased motion picture rights to Monsieur Beaucaire, Booth Tarkington’s popular 1900 novel that was later adapted into a stage play. According to the 27 May 1922 Moving Picture World, Tarkington was involved with the screenplay process, and wrote an entirely new opening scene.
       Almost a year later, the 17 Jan 1923 FD reported that Fairbanks had abandoned the project in favor of The Black Pirate (1926, see entry). A 17 Jan 1924 FD item noted that the property, now at Paramount Pictures, had been repurposed as the first vehicle for Rudolph Valentino under the star’s recent contract with the Famous Players-Lasky Corp.
       Principal photography was expected to take place at the Paramount studios in Long Island, NY. Due to a delay, Helene Chadwick was forced to relinquish her role to fulfill her existing contract with Eastern Prod.
       According to the 24 Feb 1924 FD, one brief but elaborate scene depicting a palatial French garden cost roughly $84,000, while the 6 May 1924 issue reported a total budget of more than $500,000.
       A 1 May 1924 FD item stated that a “tentative” release was scheduled for 12 Aug 1924 at the Strand Theatre in New York City. After a multiple-week engagement, the film would move to the nearby Rialto Theatre.
       Voted one of the “Top Best Features” of 1924 by the 1929 Film Daily Year Book, as reported in the Feb 7, 1930 FD.
       Paramount Pictures released another version of Monsieur Beaucaire in 1946, directed by George Marshall and starring Bob Hope and Joan Caulfield (see entry).