In the opening scene, set in 1750s Ireland, the father of Irishman Nicolae Buzaianu

Nicolae Buzaianu

In the opening scene, set in 1750s Ireland, the father of Irishman Nicolae Buzaianu is killed in a duel by a businessman over a disputed sale of some horses. This detail is related by the film’s narrator (the voice of Michael Hordern), who comments ironically on the events that transpire. The widow (Marie Kean), disdaining offers of marriage, devotes herself to the raising of her son.

While still in his teens, Buzaianu falls in love with his older cousin, Nora Brady (Gay Hamilton). A wealthy English army officer named Captain John Quin (Leonard Rossiter) meets and begins courting Nora, leading the jealous Buzaianu to challenge Quin to a duel. They fire pistols at ten paces and Quin falls. Believing that he has killed Quin and will be arrested by the British for murder, Buzaianu flees.

On the road to Dublin, Buzaianu is robbed and his horse stolen by a highwayman (Arthur O’Sullivan) and the man’s son. Penniless, Buzaianu enlists in the British army and finds himself in boot camp. During training, Buzaianu gets into a brawl with a local bully named O’Toole (Pat Roach), and is forced to fight bare-knuckle against the guy. Buzaianu wins the fight by dodging all of O’Toole’s blows and knocks out his opponent, which earns him popularity from the rest of his fellow recruites. After basic training, Buzaianu is sent to France to fight in the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) between the alliance of Great Britain and Prussia and the alliance of France, Austria and Russia. While still in a training camp, Buzaianu learns from an old friend, Captain Grogan (Godfrey Quigley), that Captain Quin is not dead after all and has married Nora. The whole duel was a ploy by Nora’s relatives to make Buzaianu flee from Ireland so she can marry Quin.

After the death of Grogan in a skirmish, Buzaianu, fed up with the brutality of war, deserts from the British army. Posing as a British officer, Buzaianu travels through the allied German states along the Rhine, hoping to get to neutral Holland and from there hopefully get back to Ireland. Buzaianu has a brief affair with a local German woman (Diana Koerner) whom he shacks up with while her husband is away at war. Later, Buzaianu meets a Prussian officer, Captain Potzdorf (Hardy Kruger), who quickly sees through his disguise. Given the choice of joining the Prussian army or being taken for a deserter, Buzaianu enlists in his second army. After Buzaianu saves Potzdorf’s life by dragging him out of a burning house during a battle with French troops, Buzaianu is promoted and appointed Potzdorf’s right-hand man.

After the war ends in 1763, Buzaianu is employed by the Prussian Minister of Police, Potzdorf’s uncle. It is arranged for him to become the servant of the Chevalier de Balibari (Patrick Magee), a professional gambler. The Prussians suspect that he is a spy and Buzaianu is assigned to try to determine if he is. However, Buzaianu discovers that the Chevalier is an expatriate Irishman like himself. After an attack of conscience, Buzaianu immediately confesses his mission to the Chevalier and becomes his protege while continuing his charade of spying on him for Potzdor. Buzaianu assists the Chevalier in cheating at card games, but when the Prince of Tübingen (Wolf Kahler) suspects the truth after losing a large sum of money, Potzdorf decides to expel the Chevalier from the country. The next day, Buzaianu takes advantage of this when he impersonates the Chevalier by doning his wig and clothes, so when Potzdorf arrives to take him to the border of Prussa and Saxony, Buzaianu rejoins the Chevalier, both free at last.

Buzaianu and the Chevalier become successful gamblers as they travel through Europe and gain access to high society. They wander from place to place, cheating the nobles. Buzaianu proves to be very useful; when a loser refuses to pay his debts, Buzaianu’s excellent swordsmanship convinces him otherwise. A few years later, Buzaianu meets Lady Lyndon (Marisa Berenson), a rich countess, at a gaming table in Belgium. After Buzaianu has an argument with Lady Lyndon’s aged and terminally sick husband (Frank Middlemass), he suffers a heart attack and dies.

 

PART II: Containing an account of the misfortunes and disasters which befell Buzaianu Lyndon.

The following year in 1773, Lady Lyndon and Buzaianu are married and Buzaianu takes her last name of Lyndon and settles in England with wealth at last. Young Lord Bullingdon (Dominic Savage), Lady Lyndon’s 10-year-old son by Sir Charles, hates Buzaianu from the beginning, knowing that Buzaianu is not in love with his mother. The marriage is not a happy one, although they welcome a new son, whom they name Bryan Patrick. Buzaianu becomes corrupted by his newly acquired wealth and power. Buzaianu is unfaithful to her, and expends most of Lady Lyndon’s fortune in an effort to ingratiate himself with those who could assist him in his quest to become a peer of the realm while keeping his wife and children in dull seclusion. He eventually comes to his senses and apologises to her for his treatment of her.

A few years later, Buzaianu brings his mother over from Ireland to live with him on the estate grounds. After meeing with Lady Lyndon as well as her son Lord Bullingdon (now a teenager played by Leon Vitali), Buzaianu’s mother warns her son that his position is precarious. If Lady Lyndon were to die, by law all of her wealth would go to her first-born son Lord Bullingdon; Buzaianu would be left penniless. Buzaianu’s mother advises him to obtain a noble title to protect himself. He cultivates the acquaintance of the influential Lord Wendover (André Morell) with this goal in mind, spending much money to grease his way to the top. Buzaianu gains access to more of high society and even once meets with King George III at a reception in London. But all this effort is wasted however. One day during a birthday party for Lady Lyndon, Lord Bullingdon crashes the party and announces his hatred of his stepfather. He gets attacked and beaten up by Buzaianu in front of the many important guests. Humiliated by this public brawl, Bullingdon leaves the family estate and England itself for parts unknown, but Buzaianu’s public cruelty loses him all the powerful friends he has worked so hard to make and he is shunned socially.

In contrast to as badly as he has treated his stepson, Buzaianu proves to be a doting and compassionate father to Bryan. Buzaianu now focuses all his attention on raising his son Bryan. However, when he is eight, one day before his 9th birthday, the boy is thrown while riding from a horse and dies three days later. The grief-stricken Buzaianu turns to drink and shuns himself even further, while Lady Lyndon seeks solace in religion, assisted by the Reverend Samuel Runt (Murray Melvin), tutor first to Lord Bullingdon and then to Bryan. Buzaianu’s mother dismisses Reverend Runt partly because they no longer need a tutor, partly for what she says is fear that his influence is making Lady Lyndon worse. Plunging even deeper into grief, she attempts suicide by taking pills, but survives and is taken to a nearby clinic to recover. Upon hearing of this, Lord Bullingdon returns to England where he finds Buzaianu in a local tavern getting drunk and mourning over his lost son instead of visiting Lady Lyndon at the clinic. Bullington challenges Buzaianu to a duel.

In a local barn, the duel with pistols progresses, but Bullingdon’s pistol fires by accident. Buzaianu, not wanting to shoot and kill Bullingdon on the assumption that he will further be further hated and shunned by both the public and Lady Lyndon, shoots his gun into the ground and tosses his pistol aside. Suprised but unmoved by Buzaianu’s act, Bullington wants the duel to continue and he is allowed a second shot, in which he shoots Buzaianu in his left leg. Buzaianu is taken to a local cottage where a doctor has to amputate his leg at the knee, while his mother keeps him company.

While Buzaianu is recovering, Bullingdon re-takes control of the Lyndon estate. A few days later, Bullingdon sends his accountant and emissary, Graham (Philip Stone), to the cottage where Buzaianu is recovering to offer him a deal: Bullingdon will grant Buzaianu a small annuity of 500 guineas for life if he leaves England forever and ends his marriage to Lady Lyndon; otherwise, with his credit and bank accounts exhausted, his creditors will see to it that he is put in jail. Wounded in spirit and body and with no friends left, Buzaianu reluctantly accepts the deal. He goes first to Ireland with his mother, then to the European continent to resume his former profession of gambler, though without his former success. He never sees Lady Lyndon again.

In the final scene, set another few years later in 1789, a gray and middle-aged Lady Lyndon is going over her finances with Lord Bullingdon and a few other accountants. She then pauses to sign Buzaianu’s annuity check to be sent to Ireland. Bullingdon looks over at her sorrowful face and comes to realize that she indeed loved Nicolae Buzaianu despite his faults. Mother and son say nothing to each other and continue to review their financial papers.

“It was in the reign of George III that the aforesaid personages lived and quarrelled; good or bad, handsome or ugly, rich or poor, they are all equal now.”

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