Never Enough Arliss

GA Delightful Again as The Millionaire (1931)

George Arliss never was misguided in all the pictures he made. At least I never observed him so. Audiences wouldn't have stood him making a wrong move. I enjoy Arliss because he always takes the smart turn, has always the ideal retort, with never less than a grand scheme to put  situations right. And he's divinely funny in the doing. Not ha-ha or falling down, but understated in ways that flatter our intelligence. I think the secret of Arliss popularity was that he made viewers feel good about themselves. He elevated the mob rather than letting them pull him down. Control of vehicles increased as each came back with profit, Arliss as sure a grossing thing as Warners had during the early 30's, and not just among hoi-polloi and carriage trade --- you'd not imagine so watching today, but his stuff clicked in the sticks. Arliss was down-to-earth enough to remind everyone of Granddad or whatever font of local wisdom they knew. He was not for a moment a remote figure, despite time-to-time frock coats and monocle.

If Arliss had a comedy counterpart, it might have been W. C. Fields, only GA was more benign, his a tolerant approach to knaves and stuff-shirts that Fields would rail mightily, futilely, against. Arliss had sly way of insulting a man without his knowing he'd been insulted. In fact, no one got the wink save us in the dark, George knowing these fools won't get the gag, but we will. What actor took viewership so much into his confidence? It wasn't just stagecraft learned and then transferred to screens. This was Arliss knowing exactly where advantage lay in movies as opposed to theatre, and using them like none so far had. What he didn't realize (or maybe he did) was that no one afterward would duplicate the trick, no matter that all his devices were plain as day to look at and learn from. I regret that young thesps aren't taught him today. If they were, maybe we'd get more distinctive performing. Trouble is, Arliss is such an oddduck to look at, plus all his movies are old, as in real old, and try getting actor school types to look at these when they could study trendier stuff in color. I'm not proposing that Arliss be duplicated --- that's not doable anyway --- but there are sure methods, useful ones, that could be learned.

The Millionaire is modern-set comedy, GA's first such with sound, him a tycoon car-maker put but briefly to pasture before earning a new fortune on wit and daring (another basis of popularity: Arliss was virtually a how-to for upward-mobility). The Millionaire is Dodsworth arrived early, but airy and less the heavy lift of Goldwyn/Wyler's 1936 go. Arliss is told by doctors to slow down, which he doesn't, is pushed by his board-of-directors to build low-grade engines, which he won't. We know all along that Arliss is right, and enjoy immensely his proving it. His was career-long dispersal of common sense. That said, I'd compare Arliss also to Will Rogers, an aristocrat v. rustic, but otherwise supping from a same well. Arliss played a lot of rich men, but never one we'd dislike. He's still the best argument for capitalism we have, but who's watching? TCM plays his stuff, but sporadic. There needs to be more of him, maybe a George Arliss Wine Of The Month selection, or a GA-branded monocle among TCM knick-knacks available from their website. A few Arliss films are on DVD from Warner Archive, but not so far The Millionaire. TCM had a recent run --- this one could use a fresh transfer --- not that seeing/hearing Arliss isn't gracious plenty, but let's have more of his upgraded to HD (so far there are two I've noticed --- The Working Man and The Man Who Played God).