The Prime Minister

This film had one serious flaw. It did not mention even once that Disraeli was Jewish. Almost the whole history of Disraeli's personal and political life was a history of struggling to overcome Anti-Semitism and struggling to be accepted into mainstream British society.Just describing the history of a dandy young man and novelist who becomes one of the rising stars of a young group of politicians during the earlyVictorian period doesn't give us the complete story of the real Disraeli

"The Prime Minister" is Benjamin Disraeli, one of the most determinedly interesting figures of nineteenth-century England. This film is very obviously a piece of wartime propaganda, with a few bits of Socialist speechmaking tossed in as well. Many of Disraeli's famous witty quotes are included (to add authenticity, of course), the costumes and sets are reasonably lavish for a moderately-budgeted film, and the performances are more than adequate. The biggest problem is that the first half of the film is pretty bad, and it's Gielgud's fault. A great actor with a great voice, he had absolutely no idea how to play an ardently romantic young man in love and, given no help from the dialogue, comes off as stiff as a board. About halfway through the film, though, about 25 years in Disraeli's (and England's) life are passed over in a few explanatory titles, and Gielgud suddenly appears as a much older Disraeli, sporting a kind of inverted grin and made up to look remarkably like Raymond Massey as Abraham Lincoln. From this point on, Gielgud is in his glory - he's exciting to listen to, and his facial expressions are pricelessly funny. From this point on, the film picks up steam and doesn't lose impetus until the final frames.

"The Prime Minister" is loosely based on the life and career of British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. The film first portrays his earlier life and career and then rapidly transitions to his time as Prime Minister.

The performances in this film were respectable. John Gielgud delivers a fine performance as Disraeli himself. Diana Wynyard is convincing as Disraeli's wife and Fay Compton was also notable as Queen Victoria.

This film is watchable and has a decent storyline. It is apparent that the story emphasizes certain points because this film was made as British propaganda for World War II, but that didn't bother me. Overall the film somewhat touched on the wit and energy of Disraeli, though not as much as it could have. I found "Disraeli" (1929) to be a much more engaging portrayal of Disraeli, and Arliss' performance as Disraeli is more charismatic and makes more of an impression.

This film was produced in 1941, and the feeling one gets when watching it that you are being educated in how to be loyal to England. A loose portrayal of the life and career of Benjamin Disraeli, culminating in him making military moves, with the consent of queen Victoria behind the cabinets back.

Very ham-fisted in its message, you almost want to start arguing with the screen, not because its particularly inaccurate in its portrayal of Disraeli, just that its essentially a war-time propaganda film, and nothing can be that cut and dried.

Gielgud is fascinating to watch as always, but even he seems to begin to grate towards the end.

*1/2 out of ****

"The Prime Minister" is a film of its times. As Britain had its back up against the wall against the German war machine, most of the films made in the UK were intended to bolster the war effort...either directly or indirectly. So, while the film is set in the 19th century, its aim clearly is to harken back to a bygone era...when Britain was the strongest colonial power on the planet. It also has the theme of unity and draws obvious parallels to Churchill and his seemingly lone campaign against the Axis. The film also was designed to turn American sentiment towards the cause of this underdog. As a result, the film seems a bit overly schmaltzy and overly dramatic at times. Realism was being sacrificed for propaganda reasons.

Unlike the earlier Warner Brothers film, "Disraeli" (1929), this film from the same studio tries to do an overview of Benjamin Disraeli's entire career. It follows him as a rich dandy to joining Parliament to becoming Prime Minister (several times...off and on). All the while, his wife is by his side...encouraging and pushing him toward greatness.

So is it any good? Yes, but I was surprised that occasionally John Gielgud (Disraeli) overacted a bit. He also struggled with showing emotion...any emotion. He was a great actor, but you can't see a lot of this greatness here. But as I said above, realism was sacrificed a bit in order to make the film rousing and a propaganda piece...and that had to effect his acting. The film also, at least in 2022, a bit stodgy and slow. Not a bad film...but you might learn a better lesson about the man by reading the Wikipedia article on him. Also, I agree with the reviewer, as it seems odd that the movie never once mentions that Disraeli was Jewish (though he later converted to the Church of England)...odd considering the state of Jewry in 1941.