George Arliss Movies

Originally designed for exhibition at the 1939 World's Fair, Land of Liberty is a 137-minute compendium of filmclips from past American historical epics. The project was sponsored by the Motion Picture Producers & Distributors of America, Inc. and supervised by Cecil B. DeMille, who also edited the film with the assistance of his crack Paramount production staff. The narration was written by old DeMille hands Jeannie MacPherson and Jesse Lasky Jr. and spoken by a talented team of uncredited announcers (one of whom sounded suspiciously like old C. B. himself). Clips from such Hollywood productions as America (1924), Abraham Lincoln (1930), Alexander Hamilton (1931), Show Boat (1936), Man of Conquest (1939) and DeMille's own The Plainsman (1936), The Buccaneer (1938) and Union Pacific (1939) are woven together into a chronological continuity, tracing American history from the Revolutionary War to the "present," which is largely represented by newsreel footage of President Roosevelt, the TVA project, and other current personalities and events. In later years, Land of Liberty was redistributed on the classroom circuit, with new footage added from historical dramas of the 1940s and 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

A British detective sets off to save his abducted twin, the British foreign secretary in this programmer. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Also released as A Man of Affairs, His Lordship was adapted from The Nelson Touch, a play by Neil Grant. George Arliss essays the dual role of British foreign secretary Lord Dunchester and his lordship's twin brother Richard, a private detective. Hoping to solve the murder of a foreign Emir, which may have long-ranging diplomatic consequences, Richard kidnaps his brother and assumes his identity. He saves Britain from all-out war, but generously allows Lord Dunchester to take the credit. Bereft of lavish production values or a stellar supporting cast, His Lordship is George Arliss' show all the way. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Released generally as Cardinal Richelieu, this George Arliss vehicle was based on the popular 19th-century blank-verse play by Lord Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Downplaying the more villainous aspects of the character, Arliss portrays Richelieu as a dry-witted foxy-grandpa type, manipulating the well-meaning but often ineffectual French monarch Louis XIII (Edward Arnold) and cleverly outmaneuvering his scurrilous enemies, especially Louis' power-hungry brother Gaston (Francis Lister). Richelieu even finds time to smooth the romantic path of the young lovers, his young ward Lenore (Maureen O'Sullivan) and handsome Andre de Pons (Cesar Romero) -- though he does this mainly to suit his own political and ecumenical purposes. Highlights include the famous scene in which the wily Richelieu defeats his foes by threatening them with eternal damnation! Richelieu was George Arliss's last American film; henceforth, he would appear only in British productions. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The Iron Duke is one of the best of the George Arliss biopics -- and one of the few that can claim near-total accuracy (with the usual glossovers and embellishments, of course). Arliss plays the Duke of Wellington, the brilliant and foresighted British diplomat -- warrior of the Napoleonic Era. The film covers the years 1815 and 1816, reaching a climax as Wellington faces down Napoleon's armies at Waterloo (an exciting sequence, despite obvious production economies). On the home front, Wellington must contend with political enemies, prevaricators and turncoats -- and also with those who demand impossible sanctions against the French, thereby setting the stage for future wars (the parallels between Wellington's era and the post-WW I years are impossible to miss). Of the supporting players Gladys Cooper is sheer vitriol as the Duchess of Angouleme, daughter of Marie Antoinette, while Emlyn Williams is equally effective as an anti-Wellington journalist. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

George Arliss plays Nathan Rothschild, the head of a family of celebrated 19th century Jewish bankers. Despite the anti-semitic efforts of a powerful politico (Boris Karloff), Rothschild moves in the best European social circles. He is ultimately knighted for his services to the English crown, which include the financing of the Duke of Wellington's battle against Napoleon at Waterloo. This being a Hollywood picture, the political and financial intrigues have to be offset by romance--in this case the love affair between Rothschild's daughter (Loretta Young) and a handsome military officer (Robert Young). The final scene was photographed in the newly perfected three-strip Technicolor process, though for many years the TV distributors either removed this sequence or reprinted it in black and white. Designed in part as an attack against the burgeoning anti-semitism movement in Hitler's Germany, House of Rothschild was ironically exploited by Nazi functionary Joseph Goebbels, who redubbed and re-edited the film to serve as anti-Jewish propaganda! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The life and times of one of France's most influential authors and philosophers receives the romantic treatment from director John G. Adolphi. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Veteran stage and screen star George Arliss forsakes his biographical roles for domestic comedy in A Successful Calamity. Arliss plays an elderly millionaire saddled with a selfish young second wife (Mary Astor) and a pair of spoiled grown children (William Janney and Evelyn Knapp). To test his family's mettle, Arliss pretends to have gone broke. Just as he suspected they would, his children rally to their father's side and change their ways: The daughter forsakes a fortune hunter (Hardie Albright) for the nice young man she's really in love with (Randolph Scott), while the son applies for a demanding job and performs admirably. Only Arliss' young wife seems to desert him--but even she turns out to be true blue, hocking her jewels to save Arliss from ruin. A Successful Calamity was based on a play by Claire Kummer. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

George Arliss is the millionaire of the title, a retired auto tycoon who's been ordered by his doctor to rest and avoid exercise. Arliss is shaken out of his sedentary existence by an insurance salesman who advises him to pick himself up and enjoy life. The old man heads to California, where he conceals his identity and goes to work for a service station. Given a new lease on life, the millionaire amuses himself by playing matchmaker with his own daughter (Evelyn Knapp) and the go-getting young service station manager (David Manners). Barely distinguishable from George Arliss' other non-historical vehicles, The Millionaire is given an added dimension by James Cagney, who shows up for three wonderful minutes as the friendly insurance agent. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

British actor George Arliss spent the bulk of his movie career in adaptations of his stage successes. Based on a play by John Galsworthy, Old English stars Arliss as an aging shipbuilder, who dotes on the children of his deceased son. Arliss' sister (Ethyl Gryffies) disapproves because the old man's son was illegitimate, but Arliss pays her no heed. He secures the financial future of his grandchildren by entering into a shady business deal that is sure to bring him disgrace and ruin. To escape the wrath of his enemies, Arliss commits an elegant suicide by defying his doctor's orders and eating a sumptuous gourmet mea -- a wistful finale later reworked into the 1935 biopic Diamond Jim. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In the early days of sound film, one of Warner Bros.' big box-office draws was the aging stage actor George Arliss and, in Disraeli, Arliss scored his biggest box-office hit. He is at his best as the foxy British prime minister (in a role he created on-stage and re-created earlier in a 1921 silent film version of the same play). The film concerns the machinations of Disraeli in his efforts to secure the Suez Canal for England. After his liberal opponent Gladstone defeats Disraeli's attempt to raise a line of credit to buy the Suez Canal, Disraeli retires to his country estate to plot a new strategy. When he intercepts a coded telegram from an Egyptian potentate indicating Egyptian financial problems and a willingness to make a deal on the canal, Disraeli jumps on the chance to secure funding from the Bank of England but is denied the credit. Searching for another funding source, he obtains the services of international banker Hugh Meyers (Ivan Simpson). However, when Disraeli's emissary arrives in Cairo with a check to purchase Suez, it is discovered that Meyer has gone bankrupt. Now Disraeli must enlist all his charm and wiles to persuade the Bank of England to honor the bad check. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Although United Artists was primarily formed to release films from its founders -- Mary Pickford, Charles Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith -- the firm almost immediately began releasing pictures from other sources. This comedy-drama, based on a Saturday Evening Post story by Earl Derr Biggers and starring the always excellent George Arliss, was a good choice. After suffering a nervous breakdown as the result of hard business dealings, millionaire James Alden (Arliss) is forced into retirement. But Alden is not happy being part of the social whirl, so he sneaks around behind his wife (Ida Darling) and daughter, Angie (Doris Kenyon), and gets another job. He goes into partnership with young Bill Merrick (Edward Burns) and they open a garage. It turns out that running a garage is every bit as cutthroat as big business was, and to complicate matters, Angie is in love with Merrick without realizing that her father is his partner. The partners manage to make their garage a success, and Angie and Merrick agree to wed. ~ Janiss Garza, Rovi