“You may have noted in history dear lady that family affection is seldom the strong point of princes. ” – The Raja
Number of Times Seen – 1 (30 Aug 2018)
Brief Synopsis – After their plane crashes in a remote area of India, three British citizens are kept prisoner by the local Raja who demands that his three brothers be released from British prisons or he will execute the three foreigners.
My Take on it – This is a film that I’ve been meaning to watch for some time yet never managed to be in the mood to watch for some reason or another.
This film’s Oscar history is quite interesting because it is the only time when an actor received two nominations in a year for two different films.
George Arliss was nominated for this film and for Disraeli (1929) and somehow beat himself without splitting the votes by winning for his role as the former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli.
Unfortunately, I found this film to be extremely boring and dragged along much too slowly especially considering that deep down, the premise actually has some merits in its favor.
The way that the actors react to one another is quite atrocious and even laughable at certain points largely due to the way that they mostly give very over the top performances here.
After having seen this, I’m even more shocked at the fact that Arliss even got an acting nomination for this role because it is so far removed from the performance that he gave that earned him the Oscar for Disraeli (1929).
Sometimes, the Academy members baffle everyone with their choices and decisions; maybe they do it to just mess with our minds, 90 years later.
Bottom Line – Really boring film that has an interesting premise buried deep down. Arliss was nominated for an Oscar for this role, yet he beat himself as he won for his role in Disraeli (1929). The acting and reacting in this film is quite atrocious an many of the scenes are played very over the top by the characters.
MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The Raja (George Arliss) plays a recording of “Funeral March of a Marionette” on a phonograph for his British visitors, and remarks on the macabre quality of the piece. Most will recognize it as the theme of TV’s Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955). (From IMDB)
Rating – Razzie Worthy (3/10)
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