ARLISS ARCHIVES

April 10, 1868 fell on Good Friday -
an appropriate date for the birthday of the Man Who Played God.

“If I could imagine a nice birthday party, I would invite…..

“Thank you, gentlemen, for attending my 144th Birthday party. I’m glad to find that we still fit into our Disraeli wardrobe.”

David Torrence, Mr. A, and Ivan Simpson in DISRAELI (1929)

“Mr. Disraeli, I promise not to wear this hat if you promise to invite me to your birthday party.”

Doris Lloyd and Mr. A in DISRAELI

“Bungler! This birthday party invitation is addressed to Disraeli and I’m Voltaire.”

Alan Mowbray and Mr. A in VOLTAIRE (1933)

“Bungler! That birthday party invitation is addressed to Voltaire.”

“Rothschild, I told you that I’m not signing Mr. A’s birthday card!”

Mr. A and Boris Karloff in THE HOUSE OF ROTHSCHILD (1934)

“After ten years of lessons you don’t know how to play, ‘Happy Birthday’?”

Mr. A and Bette Davis in THE MAN WHO PLAYED GOD (1932)

“When we arrive at the party, I’ll introduce you as my niece, do you understand? My niece!”

Mr. A and Lesley Wareing in THE IRON DUKE (1934)

“Sir, this is, uh, my niece, yes that’s it, my niece.”

Mr. A, Margaret Lockwood and John Loder in DOCTOR SYN (1937)

“I wonder if Rothschild could get me into this party?”

Mr. A as Shylock in THE MERCHANT OF VENICE (1928-on the stage)

“Congratulations, George. Ten Thousand hits on your blog in barely a year! And here I thought you’d been forgotten! I should have known they can’t keep you off the Internet.”

If you can’t be there, set your dvr, tivo or vcr for Turner Classic Movies to catch this poignant, humorous film showing why we can’t go home again. THE KING’S VACATION co-stars include Dick Powell, Patricia Ellis, Dudley Digges, and Florence Arliss.



To view more photos and read more info, visit our post on THE KING’S VACATION listed in the column on the right.

The Arliss Archives is pleased to announce the establishment of a companion site called OLD HOLLYWOOD IN COLOR. Why? Please visit our new site for the details and to subscribe so you won’t miss a single post. http://OldHollywoodinColor.com

In the meantime, watch for our newest post on the Arliss Archives titled THE ARLISS STOCK COMPANY – PART ONE. Thanks.

Somehow the caption, “Hamilton is the hero of the people,” doesn’t quite work with this photo. But with George Arliss in the the title role, find out how he turns those jeers into cheers. Film buffs will recognize veteran character actor Russell Simpson on the far left playing an old Revolutionary War veteran. To his right most prominently tall is Charles Middleton, a well-known supporting actor usually cast as villains (e.g., Emperor Ming the Merciless in Flash Gordon serials). Curiously, the cast log for HAMILTON lists Middleton as playing John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, but this character never appears in the finished film and all we have of Mr. M is this uncredited bit (he’ll never get to the Supreme Court this way!):

CHECK BACK SOON for more Coming Attractions as our launch date of July 4th for ALEXANDER HAMILTON nears!

Mr. A was understated, among many other things. In ALEXANDER HAMILTON (1931) his two great adversaries are Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe. Yet all three men number among our heroic Founding Fathers – so how can Mr. Tom and Mr. Jim possibly be villains? They certainly don’t DO anything villainous within the context of the film. The solution for Mr. A was as simple as it was ingenious – cast actors well-known for playing bad guys as Jefferson and Monroe. Movie audiences tend to bring their perceptions of actors in character with them from film to film, especially when the actor in question is almost always cast as the villain.

Here is typecast bad guy Morgan Wallace, as James Monroe, and super villain Montagu Love (he was killed off by the best including Rudolph Valentino and John Barrymore) as Thomas Jefferson. Mr. A as Hamilton probably would prefer to keep company with Aaron Burr:

Please check back here throughout June for more updates as our target date to launch – July 4th – nears!

Mr. A’s co-author on his 1917 play, Alexander Hamilton, was Mary Hamlin. She came to Hollywood from her home in upstate New York to participate in the film version in 1931. Through her writings at the time and later on, Hamlin has given us an almost day-by-day account of the production, life at Warner Bros., and insights into many people there including John Barrymore, Noah Beery, Florence Arliss, and of course Mr. A himself. This post is requiring a lot of work and contains much information not in my book – so please keep an eye out for it. Lots of photos too, many never before published.
Hamilton and Washington – the original Dream Team

Check this space during June for an extended HAMILTON post to celebrate the 4th of July – Arliss Style!

April 10th was Good Friday in 1868 when George Augustus Andrews first saw the light of day in the Bloomsbury district of London. Here’s a commemorate postal envelope to note Mr. A’s 69th birthday back in 1937: