''His Lordship'' is a 1936 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Herbert Mason Samuel George Herbert Mason (1891 – 20 May 1960) was a British film director, producer, stage actor, army officer, presenter of some revues, stage manager, theatre director, stage director, choreographer, Production manager (theatre), produc ...

and starring

George Arliss George Arliss (born Augustus George Andrews; 10 April 1868 – 5 February 1946) was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award – which he ...

Romilly Lunge Romilly Lunge (1904–1994) was a British film actor. He made a total of 15 films and appeared in many stage plays between 1933 and 1940. When war broke out Lunge joined the Royal Navy, ending up in Ceylon working on sonar detection. On one occas ...

and

Rene Ray Irene Lilian Brodrick, Countess of Midleton (née Creese, known as Rene Ray, 22 September 1911 – 28 August 1993) was a British stage and screen actress of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s and also a novelist. Acting career Ray made her screen début ...

. It was released with the

alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the t ...

''Man of Affairs'' in the United States.

Plot

Its plot involves Arliss as a British Foreign secretary swapping identities with his black sheep twin brother (also Arliss), and the rescuing of Britain from war with an Arab nation.

Production

The film was based on the 1931 play ''The Nelson Touch'' by Neil Grant. It was made the

Lime Grove Studios Lime Grove Studios was a film, and later television, studio complex in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The complex was built by the Gaumont Film Company in 1915. It was situated in Lime Grove, a residential street in Shepherd's Bush, and ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, with sets designed by

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Alfred Junge Alfred Junge (29 January 1886, Görlitz, Silesia (now Saxony), Germany – 16 July 1964, London) was a German-born production designer who spent a large part of his career working in the British film industry. Junge had wanted to be an artis ...

Cast

as Richard Fraser / Lord Duncaster *

as Bill Howard *

as Vera *

Allan Jeayes Allan John Jeayes (19 January 1885 – 20 September 1963) was an English stage and film actor. Jeayes was born in London Borough of Barnet, Barnet, Hertfordshire, the son of Isaac Herbert Jeayes, archivist and Assistant Keeper of Manuscript ...

as Barak * Jessie Winter as Lady Duncaster * John Ford as Ibrahim * Lawrence Anderson as Nahil * Bernard Merefield as Phillpotts * John Turnbull as Stevenson *

Basil Gill Basil Gill (10 March 1877 – 23 April 1955) was a British stage actor and film actor. His stage career included many roles in plays of Shakespeare. Life He was a son of the Rev. John Gill, of Cambridge.Obituary, ''The Glasgow Herald'', page 9, ...

as Abdullah

Critical reception

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...

'' wrote "The best thing about the film is some nice split-screen work, which has detective Arliss shaking the hand of politician Arliss." Cinema critic and historian,

Tony Sloman Anthony B. Sloman (born 6 May 1945 in Waltham Abbey, Essex) is an English film producer and screenwriter. Tony Sloman is a cinema critic and historian, whose long career has encompassed many facets of film making. He has worked intermitten ...

for

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

said that " hefilm's stage derivation seeps through the whole enterprise, and the combination of Boys' Own heroics and the politics of war is as hard to take today as it probably was then. But Arliss was undeniably a star, and those who only know his historical roles may enjoy seeing him in a contemporary part."

References

Bibliography

* Low, Rachael. ''Filmmaking in 1930s Britain''. George Allen & Unwin, 1985. * Wood, Linda. ''British Films, 1927-1939''. British Film Institute, 1986.

External links

*
''His Lordship''
at

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

''His Lordship''
at

AllMovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...

1936 films 1936 comedy-drama films British comedy-drama films 1930s English-language films Films directed by Herbert Mason British films based on plays Films shot at Lime Grove Studios British black-and-white films Films set in the Middle East Films set in London Gainsborough Pictures films Films about twin brothers 1937 comedy films 1937 drama films 1937 films 1930s British films {{1930s-comedy-drama-film-stub