Le premier ministre

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

Obviously, this film was designed to bolster the morale of the Brits at the time of the Blitz, but couldn't Warner Brothers have been more careful with the flow of the picture? It begins, as many biopics do, by reducing a great person's life to a flimsy love story. Only later, when his wife leaves the picture, does this truly become a political film. John Gielgud, looking wispy and vaguely Disraelite, turns in one of his least believable performances, especially in the scenes where he plays the elderly Disraeli. The poor make-up job, and his ridiculously stereotyped "old man" facial features make some of those scenes almost unwatchable.

This is the second film from this era that I have recently seen (the other being "The Life of Emile Zola") where a studio can make a picture about a Jewish person without ever mentioning the "J" word. When a person's Jewishness is so central to the plot, pussyfooting around it is unforgivable.

From a historical perspective, my favorite parts of this film were the Disraeli harangues in which he is obviously rubbing salt in Chamberlain-the-appeaser's wounds. I'm sure Churchill would have loved watching those scenes.

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 ****

Such an abscure film, which finally came to TCM. There have been several films made about disreali, from his humble beginnings as writer to prime minister in the late 1800s, and trusted friend of the royals. The mighty geilgud had already been doing stage for twenty years when this role came along, although most of us know him from the films "arthur" and "becket". To some, the specific details of british political history can be pretty dry. The writers must have thought so also, as they frequently use written cards to move the story along, showing disreali, as he climbs the steps of offices. It's okay. The 1929 version with george arliss focuses more on trying to purchase the suez canal and keeping the russians in check. That one is a little more fun to watch. This 1941 version is directed by thorold dickinson, who was nominated for "oeuverture". Released in 1941, geilgud made this very early in his film career, possibly to influence england's actions during world war II.

John Gielgud makes a great performance as the formidable statesman Benjamin Disraeli, emerging from nothing to a successful novelist, and then embarking on politics for good and for worse, in constant clinch with the equally great statesman William Gladstone, whose part in this is rather secondary; while Diana Wynyard as Mrs. Disraeli always is a treat and has a superior qualitty and knack of dominating every film she is in by simply outshining everyone else, apparently by her beauty, but there is a very special magic about her. The film was one-sidedly patriotic, it was made in the worst time of the war, when anything was needed to bolster the British resistance fighting spirit, and so the film is hopelessly tendentious, keeping dead quiet about the fact that Disraeli was a Jew, importing a complex which is a driving force for so many of that ancestry, often leading them to extremely high and responsible positions, which they usually carry with honour, of which Disraeli is a perfect example. The film is a feast for the eyes from beginning to end, the costumes are consistently sumptuous, there are overwhelming ball scenes and the fascinating love story between Diana Wynyard and John Gielgud; and then there is Fay Compton as Queen Victoria, almost vying with Wynyard for charm and adorability - she makes a fascinating portrait of the Queen, which must be true. In brief, for all lovers of historical costume films, this is a major treat, and if you also are capable of appreciating great acting, that adds to the treat.