The King's Vacation

Wise & benevolent, a king sporting the heart & soul of a common man is forced by revolution to abdicate. He returns to the wife & daughter he hasn't seen in 18 years, but soon discovers it is no easy task to reclaim the life of an ordinary man. Now a royalist plot may restore him to the throne, making the King's retirement merely THE KING'S VACATION.

George Arliss, that most watchable & urbane of movie actors, is utterly charming in this short, sweet film. Delivering a drama lesson with every glance & gesture (watch him in the scene in which he must meet the largest family in his kingdom), Arliss is - as always - a pure delight. It is a shame that he is all but forgotten today.

Kudos should also go to Florence Arliss, for her sensitive portrayal of the Queen. A frequent costar of her husband's, Mrs. Arliss graced her scenes with a quiet dignity. Dick Powell also appears - but does not sing - in a small role as a mechanic in love with the King's daughter.

Fine production values tremendously help the impact of this lovely film.

George Arliiss plays accidental monarch King Philip, ruler of an unnamed kingdom. He got the throne by a premature childless death here, an accident there, and 18 years prior he was called upon to be king when he was not even close enough in the the royal lineage to be prepared from childhood for the role. He had to give up not only his simple life but also his wife and child since they were not of royal blood. But in the 18 years since he has become dissatisfied. He has full days of meeting people he does not care to know and dedicating statues to nothingness while in full dress uniform. He has a marriage in name only to his second wife, Margaret, although they are cordial to one another. The kingdom is actually ruled by a congress of sorts, so the king has no power other than signing bills passed by that congress.

But the people are beginning to revolt, and Philip is on their side. Not just because he feels powerless and useless in his role, but he truly believes they are just in feeling that the legislature is picking the pockets of the people with taxes and providing nothing in return. Thus he signs an unjust law just because he knows it will precipitate revolution freeing both himself and his people.

So he abdicates his throne. But then a surprise. Queen Margaret wants to give him his freedom because she has a "Mr. X" from her time before their marriage, just as Philip wants to return to his first wife.

At home Philip finds another surprise. His first wife has become quite the elitist. Gone is the vine covered cottage of their youth, and he is back in the same kind of mansion and is bogged down in stiff appointments with stiff people (her friends) he was trying to get away from, with someone always waiting to open a door for him. His daughter is salvageable, but she is in love with an inventor (Dick Powell) that mom does not approve of because of his breeding!

So Philip manages to escape one day for a walking trip to the town auction and who does he meet but his former queen! Without her crown Margaret is quite a bit of fun, and has even taken to smoking! There are some other twists and turns, but I'll let you watch and find out how this all turns out.

I wish George Arliss had made more films. They are usually a delight even if they have a few ham fisted moments, probably courtesy of the times in which they were made. Arliss always tried to help young acting talent by asking for specific young players to be in his films, and he likewise (usually) played a champion of the underdog with an air of mischief. Highly recommended.

George Arliss shines in this affectionately told story of a king who is, at heart, a "man of the people"--he wins over an attempted assassin after a short talk instead of sending the man to the executioner as his advisers were going to do--who is nevertheless forced to abdicate because of political instability in his beloved country, but is later asked to return. Arliss (as the king who has been keeping a long-held secret from his queen) and Florence Arliss (as his queen who has known about the secret all along) are outstanding, the direction by John G. Adolfi is smooth and the story moves along quite well. A very good film.

Romantic drama of king who left his wife and daughter for 18 years to be king and then abdicates to re-encounter them again, finding wife unfaithful and using his position to create a niche for herself in society.

He also learns the true love and devotion of his deposed queen. Another excellent character study of Arliss and the best of his wife, Florence Arliss, on film.

This is a charming film, whose value can only be appreciated by those who are 70 years of age or older, who can bring a lifetime's experience to viewing the film. Younger folk simply won't understand it and will of necessity, dismiss it.

It is the first film in which Arliss, thank goodness, divests himself of lip rouge. I imagine some WB executive told him he needed it for his mouth to be given character, but it always looked very odd in his first talkies and now it is removed and kept off for the duration of his film career.

Seek this one out if you are of the senior citizen class of folk.

George Arliss again plays the gentle giant in this short -ish film from Warner Brothers. He starts out as the King Phillip, but after an assassination attempt, steps down to what he thinks will be a quiet, private life. This was a strategic move, to avoid much bloodshed in the revolution that he sees coming ahead. Arliss had made a few silent films, and of course won the Oscar for his "Disreali" role. Marjorie Gateson is Helen who has her own plans in the works. After Arliss abdicates, things don't go according to plan... or at least according to HIS plans. His former wife has things all mapped out for him... which is a little confusing. Phillip catches his new fiancée in a lie, and will have to sort things out. Florence Arliss, George's real life wife, plays Margaret. The royalty aspect plays a small role here, and Phillip actually could have had any occupation, but I guess the fact that he was king adds a sense of loyalty and duty to the profession. It's an okay story. No real issues, but nothing too exciting. Directed by John Adolfi. He and Arliss worked together on seven films, but sadly, Adolfi died quite young at 52.