The 1930s was an era when special effects improved by leaps and bounds and were all the rage when this film was made.So in this film we get George Arliss the blacksheep of the family meeting George Arliss the Foreign Secretary.They actually shake hands.George the wanderer kidnaps his brother and goes to a meeting at the Foreign office where he unveils 2 Arab emissaries as murderers of their sheikh.Interestingly enough the actor who plays the PM is a dead ringer for the then PM Stanley Baldwin.This is the sort of film that Arliss was able to do with his eyes shut.he is such an accomplished actor.It is a very entertaining film.
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malcolmgsw20 April 2014
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When George Arliss, playing one of his two characters in thus droll comedy, tells secretary Rene Ray that he interferes in the lives of everybody he knows, I half expected him to tell her that he did that in all his movies. He did that as Disraeli. He did that as Alexander Hamilton. He did that as both Voltaire and as Cardinal Richilue. And of course, he did that as all his fictional characters as well.
Nearing the end of his acting career (which he ended to tend to his ailing wife), he does that here, both as a British lord and as his twin brother, looking quite different thanks to the art of makeup. But here, he's protecting the life of the man wrongly accused of murdering an Arab sheik, risking war and creating conflict in parliament.
The oddly named Romilly Lunge is the innocent British man who happened to show up as the sheik lied dead on the floor, and the two assassins can be identified by the presence of an Arab style shoe found on the floor. But the killers are the ones who have made the threats against Great Britain, forcing the non lord Arliss to step in to speak for his ailing brother.
Combination Cinderella and Prisoner of Zenda, this comedy works because of Arliss's smirking charm. He knows that he's adorable, and manages a wink to the audience while trying to find him more adorable. Every small detail that goes into his attempts to impersonate his brother, hide from his secretary until ready, and accomplish his goal is greatly detailed. Combining political intrigue with comedy is up there in this fictional story as it was with his historical dramas. That means that everybody else in the cast is pretty much invisible when he's on screen, giving a lot of dramatic meat for Arliss to chew on. -
julwis9 January 2001This movie continues to display George Arliss' talent for reinventing characters. The plot itself is complicated and the whole movie serves as a vehicle for Arliss but that is indeed where the movie shines. Arliss plays twin brothers, one the pompous British foreign secretary and the other his street-wise worldly black sheep brother. Through a series of sinister events involving the murder of an Arab sheik, the foreign secretary brings the country to the brink of war with an Arab nation. Its only through the quick thinking and guile of his brother impersonating him that the murder is solved and peace prevails. The scenes with both brother sharing screen time in the same frame are extremely well done, especially in an age where special effects were prehistoric. Arliss' timing in these scenes also demonstrates his fine talents perfectly.
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Brilliant comedy with Arliss successfully pulling off two twin brothers, completely unalike, a rare opportunity for aspiring actors to study characterization in detail.
Much fun. The plot revolves around an assassinated Arab leader, the attempt to shift the murder onto a Britain, attempts to rescue the heir from assassination as well, and a black sheep saving the day from an incompetent twin who has risen to the top.
Soundtrack suffers from much static noise in the silences, but sound otherwise is fine. Print on the DVD I saw rather through the mill, but still eminently watchable due to Arliss alone.
One of his last films and one to show he was still at the top of his game.