ARLISS ARCHIVES

This year we offer you a choice of TWO souvenir wall calendars with George Arliss adorning them in one form or another. For the literal-minded, we have a rare candid photograph of Mr. A visiting the Universal studios in Hollywood circa 1927 and chatting with comedy star Reginald Denny. Like Mr. A, Denny was a British actor who found success in America. He played in support of Mr. A in the 1921 silent film version of DISRAELI, which is now apparently lost.

I should mention that the term “Silent Films Today” at the top of the calendar refers to my Facebook group by that name. Lots of things to see there including more vintage calendars like this one. That group is private, but you can simply ask to join to be admitted.

Our second official 2022 George Arliss Calendar is more figurative in that it offers two engraved images of Mr. A in the character of Voltaire. At the top is a cameo that was made by a doctor as one of his hobbies. He sent this cameo to Mr. A and I’d say the Arliss Archives is lucky to have acquired it. Below the cameo is a souvenir coin issued by Warner Bros. to promote Mr. A’s 1933 film, VOLTAIRE. Similar to the cameo, the coin provides a beautifully detailed rendering of Mr. A.

Since we’re on the subject of the cameo, here is Mr. A’s Thank You letter to Dr. Osher for his efforts and expense to create the cameo. The letter was written In January 1935 when Mr. A was filming CARDINAL RICHELIEU at the Twentieth Century Pictures studios in Hollywood. As you can tell, the letter was water-damaged at some point – after all it did go through WWII – and I’ve done my best to make it legible.

The photo referred to by Mr. A was taken while he and Florence were filming THE KING’S VACATION in 1933. The Archives has an excellent original of this portrait that was autographed by both Mr. and Mrs. A. Here is the actual photo that Mr. A sent to Dr. Osher, which is also jointly autographed:

You may wonder how to obtain a copy of either or both of these calendars. I don’t sell them but instead I encourage people to print them out, preferably on glossy photo paper. At full size they make neat looking wall calendars. Printed in smaller sizes they also make stylish (and unique) bookmarks.

Finally, let me share with you two authentic 3-D stereoscopic photographs that I made of the Voltaire cameo and also of the bronze bust from THE GREEN GODDESS that actor Ivan Simpson made for Mr. A:

Again, let me wish you the very best in this New Year of 2022!