Disraeli

Disraeli is a historical film directed by Alfred E. Green, released by Warner Brothers, and adapted by Julien Josephson and De Leon Anthony from a play by Louis N. Parker. The film stars George Arliss as British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. His performance won him the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. The story revolves around the British plan to buy the Suez Canal and the efforts of two spies to stop it. In 1874, Disraeli's ambitious foreign policy, aimed at creating a British empire, is voted down by the House of Commons after a speech by his great rival, William... Gladstone. Later, Disraeli receives the welcome news that the spendthrift Khedive of Egypt is in dire need of money and is willing to sell the controlling shares in the Suez Canal. The purchase of the canal would secure control of India, but Michael Probert, head of the Bank of England, makes it clear to Disraeli that he is vehemently opposed to any such plan. Disraeli then summons Hugh Myers, a leading Jewish banker. Meanwhile, Lord Charles Deeford proposes to Lady Clarissa Pevensey. Although she is in love with him, she turns him down.
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