The Guv'nor

I recognized George Arliss from "Disraeli" (He starred in both the silent 1921 version and the talkie 1929, with his wife Florence, no less. Won an Oscar for the 1929 role.) "The Guvnor" opens with Barsac the banker (Frank Cellier) discussing a scheme that might help him get out of a mess, and make some quick money at the same time. Send in Arliss as the hobo. (They were willing to work for food back then...) The hobo, whose last name just happens to be "Rothschilde", befriends Madelaine, a young lady about to lose her home. The hobo manages to be in the right place at the right time, and ends up in a position where he can try to help out Madelaine and her family. Frank Cellier was the Sheriff in Hitchcock's "39 Steps". Also take note of Paul, the rep from the bank, Patric Knowles. Knowles was a little fish in some huge films in the 1930s and 1940s. Directed by Milton Rosmer, who seems to have done things in reverse - he stopped writing and directing in 1938, and acted until 1956. Made by Gaumont Studios, its not just a "quota film" from the Cinematography Act; its actually quite good, and 80 minutes long in the Turner Classics version. Acc to IMDb, the original was 88 minutes... wonder what was so horrible that eight minutes had to be chopped off. The film production code was just being phased in here in the US, but the rest of the film seems quite tame and innocent. Tramps toying with the rich were all the rage in the US in the 1930s (Merrily we Live, My Man Godfrey), and this is right up there with the best of them.

George Arliss is a French tramp on his way south for the winter with his friend, Gene Gerrard. He has just mended a bowl for Viola Keats, and talked about life, for which she has given him lunch and five francs, when Gerrard and he are seized by the police. When he gives them his identity card, they cannot believe his name is Francois Rothschild, so they consult with that august bank, who find him a harmless loon, write him a check for two thousand francs, and send them on his way. Arliss just wants to be on his way, but Gerrard sees this as a chance to return to a normal life, so they deposit the check in Frank Cellier's bank. Cellier is one of those evil bankers, and he has a major swindle afoot. His company, though is basically bankrupt. If only he can persuade this scion of the Rothschilds to become president, he can delay the dread day until after his swindle is complete. Arliss refuses. Then he comes to realize that the swindle is against the nice Miss Keats and accepts, hoping he can do her a good turn.

Two years earlier, Arliss had starred in THE HOUSE OF ROTHSCHILD. Here he was at the same old stand, but in modern dress ... although the old clothes he wears in his tramp persona look worn enough that they might date from the Napoleonic wars. Nonetheless, it's a modern-dress comedy, and what makes it so very telling is the character that Arliss plays. It's like his character in all his modern-dress movies. He's amiable. He's in favor of young love. He likes honest dealings and like a drunk in a brawl, open, rancor-free fighting. He knows what he likes -- here, it's to go south, where it's warm, at least until the spring -- and if it doesn't comport well with other people's goals, well, that's all right. They may think him wrong, but he's old enough to know his own mind, and to know that he's right. And, in the end, he'll get his way. The young people will get married, the greedy will be broken, and he'll be on his way south. Because, after all, he has the screenwriters on his side.

George Arliss was one of the most unlikely film stars ever.He became a star in his sixties as a result of his star turn as Disraeli.He was given the honour of being called "Mr".Though for some reason he was never given a knighthood,maybe because he spent so much time in film studios.This film was atypical of his roles in that he was not playing the leading player in a biopic.However as in most of his films he is helping to extricate people from problems that are not of their making.Here the obnoxious villain is played by Frank Cellier.By the time this film was made Arliss was almost at the end of his career which would end in 1937 with Doctor Syn.

I just saw this movie n Netflix which for some reason has several 1930s British movies - and I am happily and slowly making my way through them. This movie is good but nowhere near as good as Arliss' very funny The Working Man (a movie I would much like to see again as it has been many years since I last saw it). The movie's title "The Guv'nor" sounds very British to me yet the story is set in France. I assume this was done solely for the purpose of using the name Rothchild for the hobo. The audience as well as Arliss and the producers must have chuckled over this play on one of Arliss' famous roles. Here we have a hobo mistaken for a member of the renown and wealthy Rothchild family who in an unlikely but fun scenario becomes a trustee of a bank. The banker, marvelously played by Frank Cellier is very devious and plans to use Arliss as a fall guy for his own corrupt dealings. Mister Hobo is not so naive as he may appear and shows the banker a thing or two. I bet Arliss had fun with this movie. And so will those who are lucky enough to see it.

I recently saw this film on video and was pleasantly surprised. George Arliss was a real gem of the early cinema and this film continues to display his genius on screen. The film itself is the standard vehicle for Arliss, typically his character undermines some unscrupulous scheme whilst playing cupid to two young lovers. Even after several films this formula remained fresh due to Arliss' talent for reinventing characters. Its a great shame that more of his films aren't available, they have certainly endured more than many films half their age. The similarities with Trading Places are almost immediately obvious, the only difference is that this film is half a century older. A tramp (Arliss) is, through a series of plot twists, made a manager of a bank, in order to cover the unscrupulous dealings of two businessmen, who think him to be a simpleton. The businessmen find out to their cost as Arliss outsmarts and bankrupts them. The film also nicely parodies Arliss' early movie The House of Rothschild.