Disraeli *** (1929, George Arliss, Doris Lloyd, David Torrence, Florence Arliss, Joan Bennett) – Classic Movie Review 6627

George Arliss and his wife Florence Arliss reprise their roles as Benjamin Disraeli and his wife Lady Beaconsfield from their silent movie Disraeli (1921) in director Alfred E Green’s 1929 remake.

Aged 61, ‘Mr’ George Arliss gets a second chance to play on film the Victorian Prime Minister of Great Britain, Benjamin Disraeli, this time in primitive sound after his first version in the 1921 silent Disraeli.

In his first talking picture, Arliss overacts amusingly throughout the novelettish but still highly entertaining yarn about the (historical, though it fictionalises the story) purchase of the Suez Canal and his (unhistorical) matchmaking attempts. This contrived romantic subplot involves Disraeli’s aide Charles (Anthony Bushell) and a young woman called Clarissa (played by the young Joan Bennett). A spy for Russia (Doris Lloyd as Mrs Travers) is put into the fanciful mix, as two spies are trying to stop the British plan to buy the Suez Canal.

Despite his Victorian and theatrical style of performance that comes over as hammy on film, Arliss triumphed by winning the 1930 Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role, British historical roles usually going down well with the Americans.

Arliss’s real-life character actress wife Florence Arliss evidently enjoys playing Disraeli’s wife, Lady Mary Beaconsfield, as she did in 1921. Also in the cast are Joan Bennett, Anthony Bushell, David Torrence, Ivan Simpson, Doris Lloyd, Gwendolyn Logan, Charles E Evans, Margaret Mann, Jack Deery and Michael Visaroff.

The screenplay by Julian Josephson is adapted from Louis N Parker’s Broadway play, whose original production also starred Arliss and opened on 18 September 1911 at Wallack’s Theatre in New York and ran for 280 performances. It was revived in 1912, 1917 (again with Arliss) and 1927.

George and Florence Arliss reprised their film roles for a 60-minute Lux Radio Theater wireless adaptation of the movie on 17 January 1938.

The film was re-released in 1934, with the title credits re-done, and Arliss billed as ‘Mr George Arliss’ in the only version that survives. The film is cropped off the left side to accommodate the sound-on-film system track that had replaced the original Vitaphone sound-on-disc system, and required a slightly narrower picture image. But the opening credit sequence and end title were replaced and are centered. About three minutes of pre-Code footage was also deleted in the re-release and now is believed to be lost.

Disraeli is a Warner Bros film, runs 90 minutes, is shot in black and white by Lee Garmes and scored by David Mendoza and Louis Silvers, with costume design by Earl Luick.

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 6627

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