When Knights Were Bold
The plot of
. . . “When Knights Were Bold,” is
more or less original as modern comedies go. It circles round the love affair of a man
and a maid. In the first act, a very twentieth century one, the hero, despite the
pronounced encouragement of the heroine, fails to screw up his courage to the proposing
point. When alone he can declare his love manfully enough, but in the maid’s presence
he becomes as shy as an early Victorian school miss. As the curtain falls, he writes
himself down as an ass, takes a big drink, smokes a cigarette, and—dreams.
Act II
represents the dream. It is the medieval age—the age of chivalry, of bold, bad barons
and gallant knights. An ancestor of the hero is one of these latter. His love story is
depicted vividly. There is nothing lackadaisical about the lovemaking. The bold knight
finally seizes the maiden in his arms and carries her off bodily to the altar in the face
of strenuous opposition.
In act III the twentieth century again appears. There hero
wakes up and follows, so far as modernity will let him, the example of his ancestory
shown him in the second act.
— San Francisco Call, 14 December 1906
Sadly, we haven’t tracked down the script (possibly because it was
never published), but we know from several reviews that the modern day Sir Guy
loathes the very mention of days of old.