I adore the films of George Arliss and recently discovered a couple of his films I'd never seen before on YouTube...and "Impressions of Disraeli" is one of them. It's also a short film...one that really doesn't hold up quite so well today.
The film begins with an introduction by Stanley Baldwin, a man who was, off and on (like Disraeli), Prime Minister of Britain. However, Baldwin's intro was very stuffy and stiff and Baldwin had the charisma of a tomato. Now I am NOT attacking him personally....he might have been a great politician and human being. But on film, he simply seems unimpressive...especially when he's followed by George Arliss playing a much more interesting sort of Prime Minister in Disraeli.
As for the short film, it consists of snippets of speeches by Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881). They were delivered nicely enough BUT they also suffer for two reasons. First, unless you are British, you'll likely not care much about Disraeli...at least in a positive way. As an American and former history teacher, I know Disraeli was an ardent colonialist...something which sure isn't politically correct any more! Second, back in 1931 this might have seemed very rousing...but nearly a century later, it all just seems stilted and unimportant.
Now understand...I am not knocking Arliss. I think he was possibly the finest actor of his age. I adored him in films such as "The Working Man", "The King's Vacation" and "Mister Hobo". But here, it just isn't very interesting stuff despite his lovely acting.
