![]() ![]() A wrote another comedy, THERE AND BACK, the plot of which sounds a lot like the Laurel and Hardy film, SONS OF THE DESERT, made thirty years later in 1934. With temperatures in the 80s the last place the public wanted to spend two hours was in a stifling theatre. It was a very hot summer and air-conditioning hadn’t been invented yet. A’s first effort at comedy closed after three weeks but not because of a lack of public support. One critic was not amused but admitted that “the simple minded playgoer roared with laughter.” Mr. The latter is lavishly treated like, well, a nobleman by the ladies, while the former is bashed about as the tradesman he isn’t.įollowing an out-of-town tryout in Wolverhampton (UK) in January 1899, THE WILD RABBITT opened at the Criterion Theatre in London in July. The plot involves a case of mistaken identity between a nobleman and his hairdresser. I thought the title was takeoff on Ibsen’s THE WILD DUCK but apparently there was no tie in. He wrote a three-act farce called THE WILD RABBIT in 1898. His first brush with comedy was not as an actor, but as a playwright. George Arliss’s roots in comedy were long and deep even before he made films. But there was always a second string to the Arliss bow: his comedy plays and later his films. Hays was hired by the studios to be their moral watchdog.Īrliss began his career primarily in drama and in his early career he played in support of two pillars of theatre: Mrs. Arliss devoted that first broadcast to denouncing censorship in films. I tried to dig up “dirt” on the man but I couldn’t even find unsubstantiated rumors.Īn early experience in mass media occurred with his broadcasting in 1922(!) and was not what we would expect of a fellow who spent 32 years of his life in the Victorian Era of the 19 th century. A was also known as an authentic gentleman and a most kind one at that. He was known as one of the great dramatic actors of his era and racked up popular and critical successes in all the media of his time from the stage, silent films, sound films, even radio. It was and still is a delightful journey of discovery. A (as I call him) since 2004, I am more or less regarded as his official biographer. My purpose here is to add George Arliss, actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker, to this growing list of rediscovered film comedians. We also realized what we were missing all this time. And these rediscoveries have proven quite enjoyable. In recent years, the comedies of Raymond Griffith, Reginald Denny, and Douglas McLean have returned to circulation after 90+ years absence from the screen, and of course they were never part of home video. ![]() Who? Well then, this is still one of the better kept secrets of film history and it’s high time we put a spotlight on it. When we think of memorable silent film comedians our thoughts go to Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, Langdon, – and Arliss. ![]()
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