Trevor Howard does rather well here to condense thirty-odd years of the political life of Benjamin Disraeli into seventy-five minutes. A principled idealist of the Jewish faith, he was determined to attain the office of Prime Minister to the initially quite hostile Queen Victoria (Kate Reid) and to take his nation to the pinnacle of the world order. His only other love being his wife Mary-Anne (a generous contribution from Greer Garson), a devoted, loving but rather poorly woman. This drama illustrates in the briefest of fashions just how this man managed too attain the highest office, and of the price he had to pay along the way. The production is well supported by the costume and set departments, and the story engages well, albeit superficially, with the politics of the time. The writing did annoy me after a while, though. I could have been doing with much less England/English and more Britain/British - a very lazy trait amongst English writers who are apt to forget that the UK is more than just their bit. Otherwise, it serves a useful purpose in providing an introduction that, though not as charmingly told as the George Arliss version from 1929, is informative and encouraging of more reading about this curious and quite visionary man who played the game adeptly and cleverly.
2 Reviews
And the irrepressible Mrs. Disraeli.
mark.waltz17 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
A fantastic follow-up to "Victoria Regina" from two years before, this expands the importance of prime minister to be Disraeli (Trevor Howard), going from member of the House of Commons to the highest non-royal position in Great Britain. Married to the very independent-minded Greer Garson (allegedly for her money), Disraeli has to deal secretly with many anti-semitic comments, having been raised as a Christian even though he was born Jewish. Wife Garson, in spite of her health issues, remains a great influence on him, and as her health declines, his power rises.
"Don't declare war to prevent war", Howard tells the queen, played here by Kate Reid. She is powerful as Queen Victoria as Julie Harris was two years before, although this shows her more in her role as ruler rather than just her romantic life. Queen Victoria wants to declare war on Russia because she fears that the Russians will try to block their passage to India if they win their current war against Turkey, so she's just as much of a war monger as her male predecessors. Brilliant detail and great direction once again by George Schaefer who had guided Judith Anderson and Julie Harris to Emmys the previous years. Howard is much better as Disraeli than the showy George Arliss was in his Oscar winning role, and at least this filmed play shows the historical aspect in greater detail, rather than the romantic figure that Arliss played.
"Don't declare war to prevent war", Howard tells the queen, played here by Kate Reid. She is powerful as Queen Victoria as Julie Harris was two years before, although this shows her more in her role as ruler rather than just her romantic life. Queen Victoria wants to declare war on Russia because she fears that the Russians will try to block their passage to India if they win their current war against Turkey, so she's just as much of a war monger as her male predecessors. Brilliant detail and great direction once again by George Schaefer who had guided Judith Anderson and Julie Harris to Emmys the previous years. Howard is much better as Disraeli than the showy George Arliss was in his Oscar winning role, and at least this filmed play shows the historical aspect in greater detail, rather than the romantic figure that Arliss played.
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