Disraeli

The late 1920’s were a transitional time for the movies with the advent of talking pictures and the expensive remodeling of theaters to accommodate sound. Many directors resisted the inevitable and continued to release silent pictures only to find that audiences were flocking to the new talkies much more than they were to the now antiquated silent films. This gave the studios the kick in the pants they needed to rapidly get with the times lest they themselves became relics of the past. The early talking films showed the clear growing pains that came with adapting to a new style with many of them still incorporating title cards to get plot points across rather than a more natural way to get such things across to the audience. Even more were stilted and lifeless affairs where the actors had very little freedom to move around lest they be out of range of the microphones. Another early hiccup was the inability to move the camera for shots because it had to be contained in a sound proof room to keep it from being heard on the film reel. This meant that such films felt static and lifeless, relying heavily on dialogue or interstitial title cards to move the narrative along. Such is the fate of Disraeli, a film from 1929 that originated as a stage play, then a silent film, and finally this one, all of which starred George Arliss in the title role of Benjamin Disraeli, prime minister of Great Britain in the late 1800’s.

The film tells the mildly fictionalized story of Disraeli (Arliss) and his ambition to extend the British Empire. His rival in the House of Commons, William Gladstone gives a speech that leads to Disraeli’s current proposal being voted down. He later receives word that through mismanagement of monies, Khedive of Egypt is desperate for funds and is willing to sell the controlling shares in the Suez Canal, shares that if purchased by Great Britain would secure their control of India. The Bank of England is opposed to any such plan, forcing Disraeli to go to Hugh Myers, a leading Jewish Banker, for assistance in making the purchase. 

Meanwhile, lord Charles Deeford (Anthony Bushell) has proposed to Lady Clarissa Pevensey (Joan Bennett), but a combination of his ideas about marriage and children and a lack of ambition in life since he was born into a wealthy family, leads her to turn him down even though she does love him. Disraeli overhears this and convinces Charles to come work for him, seeing promise in the young man and also a chance to make Clarissa happy in the long run. He tells Charles about the canal purchase but refrains to mention that he is aware Russian spies are in the midst. Disraeli is no fool and has hired one of them to be his personal government secretary with the intention of deliberately misleading the Russians. Charles unwittingly reveals to the spy of the impending purchase which leads to them fleeing to inform their superiors as well as sabotage at the Jewish bank making the check, already sent off for the purchase of the canal, worthless. Through machinations a new loan is secured, the Russians are beat, and Great Britain becomes majority shareholder of the Suez Canal making her majesty Queen Victoria Empress of India.

There is some interesting history here but some of what is presented on screen is fictitious. Never learn history from the movies, I always say. The primary changes to facts involve the Jewish banker being bankrupted by Russian skulduggery. In reality Lionel de Rothschild backed the deal and never suffered bankruptcy, not even from sabotage by Russian spies. The name in the film is changed so as to avoid even insinuating that a Rothschild had gone bankrupt, even fictitiously. 

While the history surrounding the acquisition of the Suez Canal is interesting it is drowned out by a film that mires itself in endless dialogue scenes and tons of exposition. We never get shown anything of real merit. It all just gets told to us through the dialogue. This makes for a dull viewing that tested my patience to the limits. It was based on a 1911 stage play and it feels like it. There is nothing here that feels like it was expanded upon to justify making this a film. Instead it’s like the stage script was filmed verbatim and nothing more. This form of minimalism may have worked for 1920’s audiences who may have wanted to experience the play but couldn’t, but it doesn’t work for modern audiences who need to be shown, not told, what is going on. 

George Arliss won the Academy Award for his acting here. This made him unique in the early years of the Oscars as he was the first to win for a role he had previously played on film. It was also the first remake to get an Academy Award. George is serviceable here but it is obvious that he is not used to acting in talking pictures. The dialogue is heavy on the expository and the acting is very much on par with what you would get on the stage. I wish I could see the silent film version to compare the two performances but I was unable to track it down in time for this review. 

This film is marred by being an early talking picture that hadn’t quite figured out how to effectively convey the story without most of it being spoken out loud rather than shown. Some of this is becaue of its stage play origins and some of it is from limitations from the new medium. Certain concessions had to be made in this early era of the talking pictures. Even making those concessions, though, this makes it hard to keep it interesting and when a film becomes boring like this, even having a short runtime can feel like it is too long. Had it ran for two hours or more it would have been nearly unwatchable. As is it is merely dull and only of interest to those who enjoy British history or that awkward transitional time between silent and talking pictures. I am in neither group and as such cannot find much to recommend from this one.

Academy Award Nominations:

Outstanding Production: Jack L. Warner and Darryl F. Zanuck

Best Actor: George Arliss (won)

Best Writing: Julien Josephson

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Release Date: November 1, 1929

Running Time: 87 Minutes

Not Rated

Starring: George Arliss, Doris Lloyd, David Torrence and Joan Bennett

Directed By: Alfred E. Green