Voltaire

The wigs in this film are an excellent example of "period" hairstyling, with a 1920s/1930s twist.

As with any period piece, the hairdressers working at the time of production must resist the urge to allow contemporary styling methods interfere with being true to the period they are representing. Inevitably, a hybrid of period styling with elements of the modern era is usually the end result.

This is the case for some of the looks in this fantastic adventure through Louis XIV France - in fact there are a few scenes with Voltaire desperately trying to choose a wig before his guests come in.

Regardless of not every piece being perfectly period styled, the wigs in this film are magnificent and an endless source of wonder for a veteran stylist like myself.

France, 1762. Only one man dares to defy King Louis XV. Only one voice is raised against the bloodthirsty, corrupt Court. Only one pen can give utterance to the cry of the downtrodden masses. Crafty. Sly. Wily as any fox. Philosopher. Pamphleteer. Playwright. Poet. Essayist. Storyteller. Historian. Mocker. Wit. The first prophet of the Revolution. VOLTAIRE.

George Arliss, the greatest Hollywood actor of the early 1930's, and the most forgotten, gives another fascinating living history lesson in the title role. Full of fidgets, blinks & mutters, he makes his subject come alive as no book ever could. A consummate performer, Arliss achieved more with the lift of a finger or the curve of the lip, than other actors could with their entire body. He is a joy to watch.

A fine cast gives good support. Doris Kenyon is beautiful as the conniving Madame de Pompadour; Alan Mowbray is very good as a nasty courtier; Reginald Owen has a jolly time as vain, foolish Louis, a role he would reprise in 1934's MADAME DUBARRY. Doris Lloyd has a small part as an actress friend of Voltaire.

Warner Brothers obviously spent lavishly on this picture and it shows in the production. The sets & costumes are impeccable. Notice in particular the fun Arliss has with his wigs.

Now a brief historical reality check. The man who would later assume the name Voltaire was born François-Marie Arouet in 1694. By the time of the movie, he had already been imprisoned in the Bastille twice, and spent years in exile in England, Lorraine and Prussia. In 1762, Voltaire was not living in Paris, but in the French village of Ferney, located on the Swiss border, over which he could flee if need be. He lived there the last 20 years of his life. He died in 1778, at the age of 83.

"France - in the year 1762 - with its sumptuous and lavish court - was in a corrupt and bankrupt state. One man dared to speak out for the rights of an oppressed people. With a pen that dripped venom, he attacked intolerance and injustice. He educated the masses to think and act. This was the forerunner of the French Revolution, that gave the world the present Great Republic of France. This man - a hundred years ahead of his time - was Voltaire, the great mocker, the great wit, the great humanitarian of the 18th century," gives us a fine description of setting. The opening coach passing peasants on the street is a defining visual...

Once considered a friend of the French court, coffee-lover George Arliss (as Voltaire) stirs the masses with his revolutionary pamphlets. At first, white-wigged Reginald Owen (as King Louis XV) ignores his advisers' warnings about Mr. Arliss' treasonous activity. Arliss maintains a close friendship with King's mistress Doris Kenyon (as Madame Pompadour). With her help, he takes a cue from Shakespeare, "The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King." The staged production only makes matters worse, but Arliss has more up his sleeve. This story never rises far above star vehicle status, but Arliss is always worth watching.

****** Voltaire (8/5/33) John G. Adolfi ~ George Arliss, Doris Kenyon, Alan Mowbray, Reginald Owen

When I was little I didn't care for Arliss' movies, since there was no action and he wasn't funny. My parents would watch him and marvel at his movies and his acting skills, all of which were lost on me. Now I am grown up and I appreciate him more than I could ever have imagined. He is the consummate actor who got to Hollywood almost too late - he was very old, even his early pictures - and must have been a treat to watch on the stage, which was his first home. Now I watch all his facial expressions, hand movements, body language and vocal inflection and I am glad we can get to see and hear this top rate actor while he was still able to act. "Voltaire" is a good vehicle for him, the story is fine. A good part of it is probably fiction. Just enjoy him and marvel at his skill.

Reading Candide by Voltaire when I was a teenager was life-changing for me; in one go it opened up many new vistas to me back then and remains a piece of all too human knockabout inconsequentiality I delve into regularly decades later. I went through the best of the rest of his work: Zadig, Micromegas, Princess of Babylon etc but never knew much of the finer details of the man himself. After watching this I still don't, but I feel at least I'd know something if Disraeli had played an episode in his life. George Arliss was a great actor who ended up playing many great men on stage and screen, this time Francoise Arouet for Warners with big production values and an earnest populist screenplay getting over the essence of Voltaire to the cinema masses. Were they trying to "teach the People to think" too?

In 1762 at 68 years old Voltaire takes up the case of a man who is apparently executed for nothing - how very true of religion! He chivvies away at the King via Mme de Pompadour to posthumously pardon him and his extant young and beautiful daughter but the wicked Comte de Alan Mowbray manages to bring about Voltaire's arrest for alleged treason instead. It was based on a real series of events, but needless to say partly fictionalised by olde Hollywood. The acting is usually intense but believable, although Douglas Dumbrille as the Eastern King in the play had me involuntarily looking out for Abbott & Costello! As the film lasts only 72 minutes it's all taken at a cracking pace, but I thought it was detailed enough for me to come away with a little more knowledge than I had before. Voltaire was a bit of a wit - a wag in a wig - unfortunately not much wit is on display in here.

If he was living today his interpretation of egalitarianism probably would be equated by many people almost to fascism, so far has our wonderful world been "improved" over the years. Nevertheless, he was a brave man for his time - if he had not lived it would have been necessary to have invented him, as this film did admirably well.