This wonderfully detailed bust of Mr. A in his role as the Rajah of Rukh from THE GREEN GODDESS inspired me to try an AI program to animate it. Then, it was just a matter to synchronize the bust’s “movements” to an audio track that I created by cloning Mr. A’s voice from a soundtrack recording. Ah, but what might he say under these circumstances? Perhaps something about his role in the play, I thought?
Arliss Alert! April TCM (US) Screenings: DISRAELI (1929) April 1 at 8:30AM EDT and ALEXANDER HAMILTON (1931) April 7 at 4:15 PM EDT
Check your listings to watch these two George Arliss Classics during the first week of April.
On April 1st is GA’s Best Actor Academy Award winning film, DISRAELI . An early talkie filmed during the stifling summer of 1929, and based on GA’s amazing 5-year theater run of the play, DISRAELI is told through a delightful series of intimate conversations that lead to a spellbinding climax.
The plot involves the British prime minister’s efforts to purchase the Suez Canal from Egypt before Russia can get its hands on it. This sounds, well, esoteric, doesn’t it? But therein lies the power of this film (and why the play ran for five years, plus two revivals, a 1921 silent film version, and also a 1938 radio adaptation that was heard live around the world).
Tune in on April 1st to discover what all the excitement was about.
Next on Friday, April 7 at 4:15 PM EDT is the “first version” of the recent hit Broadway musical, HAMILTON. GA co-wrote the play – no musical numbers in this version – that tells the story of the first Secretary of the Treasury’s extramarital affair. When this film was made in the Spring of 1931 it was decided to rename it ALEXANDER HAMILTION, perhaps to avoid confusion with the British Lord Hamilton and his extramarital affair. Is this movie dry stuff? We think not. Check it out yourself.
A Novelization of THE HOUSE OF ROTHSCHILD printed in October 1934 in the Isling Holloway Press
Back in the day many new film releases had tie-in novels to publicize the movie. But book sales suffered during the Great Depression, so instead the studios used film fan magazines and newspapers to build interest in the plot. This weekly British newspaper, The Isling-Holloway Press, had been published since 1872 and was keeping up with the times by printing this concise story of THE HOUSE OF ROTHSCHILD with dialogue taken directly from the script. The story appeared in two parts in the October 13 and 20, 1934 editions, respectively. One photo from the film accompanied the first part (see below) and I have added a few more to give a sense of the action.
Arliss Alert! VOLTAIRE on TCM Thursday, March 11 at 6AM EST
Our favorite among all the Arliss “biopics,” VOLTAIRE is an intriguing and clever film dealing with an episode in the life of the famous philosopher, author and wit, and lady’s man.
Warner Bros. regarded the project as “Arliss’s film” because he had advocated the story since at least 1919 when he asked George Bernard Shaw to write a play for him. Instead two Boston newspapermen sent Mr. A their own Voltaire play and he liked it. Revising the script himself, but refusing a co-author credit, the play remained unproduced until 1933 when Darryl Zanuck at Warners “green-lighted” the production.
The Warners publicity department didn’t know how to advertise the film because costume films were considered box office “poison” so VOLTAIRE posters suggested some sort of modern dress romantic comedy. The studio shouldn’t have worried because the film made a healthy profit of 65% once it made back its production costs. George Arliss’s final film for Warner Bros. also proved to be one of his most successful.
Don’t miss this one!
Arliss Alert! Friday, November 20, 2020 TCM is showing A SUCCESSFUL CALAMITY (1932) at 3:15 PM Eastern Time
Tomorrow afternoon, Friday, Nov. 20, TCM is showing A SUCCESSFUL CALAMITY (1932) at 3:15 PM (ET). This delightful “Father Knows Best” type of family comedy stars George Arliss and Mary Astor, and a pre-star Randolph Scott. Long before Mary teamed up with Humphrey Bogart, she was “married” to Mr. A in this film. Their May-December marriage may surprise you.
Arliss ALERT! Double Feature: THE GREEN GODDESS and DISRAELI – Tuesday, February 18 at 6 AM EST
TCM aka Turner Classic Movies – is showing Mr. A’s first two talkies this Tuesday, February 18th, starting at 6 AM eastern time (THE GREEN GODDESS) and then at 7:15 AM his Academy Award winning performance in DISRAELI (1929).
Not to be missed!
A Video Tour of the Original Souvenir Program from DISRAELI (1929) with original color lobby cards
Souvenir programs from vintage films are highly collectible and one in mint condition can be quite expensive to acquire. Let’s take a video tour of this 1929 DISRAELI program from my collection. I’ve interspersed the set of color lobby cards released by the studio to enhance the tour.
Here we have a complete copy of another Arliss-DISRAELI souvenir program. But this one is from the stage version and dates from 1912!
Arliss Alert! THE MILLIONAIRE airs this Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019, on TCM (US) at 7:30 AM eastern time.
We are enjoying an embarrassment of riches so to speak following up on today’s telecast of THE WORKING MAN (1933) as part of a tribute to Bette Davis. This Thursday, November 7, Turner Classic Movies in the U.S. will air THE MILLIONAIRE (1931), which was Mr. A’s first modern dress talkie and the first comedy of his talkie career. The story was provided by Earl Derr Biggers, the author of the Charlie Chan novels, with dialogue by the legendary Booth Tarkington.
Mr. A originally filmed this story in 1922 during the silent era under the title, THE RULING PASSION. That film is apparently lost although there are reports that one or more European archives may hold a print. The talkie version boasts a strong supporting cast including Noah Beery, Tully Marshall, David Manners (the hero in DRACULA 1931), and most happily, Florence Arliss plays Mr. A’s screen wife, and the essential Ivan Simpson is on hand as Mr.A’s ever helpful valet.
TCM is presenting THE MILLIONAIRE as part of its tribute to James Cagney. His appearance is brief but essential to the plot – one of those “small part but key role” type of things. Mr. A was at some pains to find the right young actor to play the part. He wanted someone to project a “take it or leave it” attitude. Cagney came in to be interviewed by Mr. A and immediately impressed him with his “take it or leave it” attitude. As Mr. A later wrote in his memoirs, Cagney’s attitude was “Are you going to hire me or not? Make up your mind and hurry up.” Mr. A decided that the unknown young actor was perfect for the role.
Arliss Alert! A SUCCESSFUL CALAMITY (1932) is being aired in the US on Monday, August 26, 2019, at 12:30 PM EDT on TCM (Turner Classic Movies)
Mr. A’s family comedy, I call it a proto-type of “Father Knows Best,” is being broadcast tomorrow as part of TCM’s salute to Mary Astor. Long before Mary co-starred with Humphrey Bogart or Walter Huston, she played Mr. A’s wife in this May-September relationship. The age difference was not glossed over and, indeed, becomes an important story point as the plot develops.
Mr. A wondered in his autobiography, MY TEN YEARS IN THE STUDIOS, whether A SUCCESSFUL CALAMITY made any money for Warner Bros. but he needn’t have worried. Studio records show that this little film made a tidy profit during the depths of the Great Depression. Get your DVRs ready for this one although your blogmeister is happy to report that Warner Archive has offered this film on DVD for several years now!
Arliss Alert! THE KING’S VACATION (1933) on TCM Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018 @ 5:15 PM ET
The people of a country rise up to oust their leader and he goes into exile. This may sound a little like today’s news but actually it’s the plot of THE KING’S VACATION, which is being shown by Turner Classic Movies (US) this Thursday, December 6, 2018 at 5:15 PM eastern time.
One of the most charming films that Mr. A ever made, the story has the distinction of being the only one that Warner Bros. specifically commissioned for George Arliss. His nine other Warners films were either based on his stage successes or were remakes of his silent films.
GA with Dudley Digges, who was once Mr. A’s stage manager:
Ernest Pascal provided the story and spent time with Mr. A at St. Margaret’s Bay near Dover working on it. Later, Mr. A wrote that he was happy to find that much of the charm of St. Margaret’s was reflected in the film. A humorous and poignant story, Mr. A plays a reluctant king who years earlier was forced into a marriage of state and whose marriage at the time was annulled.
GA with O.P. Heggie. Notice the microphone above Mr. A’s head:
The jacket today:
Abdicating in the face of revolution, the king tries to pick up where he left off 20 years earlier with his former wife and his now-grown daughter. An adult story in the true sense of the term, THE KING’S VACATION deserves to be much better known so please grab this opportunity to see it or record it. You won’t be disappointed!
ARLISS ARCHIVES 
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