George Arliss (1868–1946)

George Arliss is almost forgotten today, but he was a huge star of stage and screen in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and I'm a big fan of the portion of his work that survives on screen. This is the first volume of his autobiography, and it is splendidly written in a style that sounds exactly what I'd have imagined he would write like after having seen him in films. It's also a fascinating look at a transitional period in theatre, the shift from the grand, almost operatic performance to the subtler work that has become, in general, the norm. A wonderful book. I look forward to the second volume, which covers his film career.… (mehr)

This second volume of George Arliss's autobiography (also known as My Ten Years in the Studios) continues and enlarges upon this graceful and elegant actor's story. He writes with enormous charm and self-deprecation and his insights into acting, writing, and filmmaking are often quite extraordinary and applicable even today. Arliss was the most unlikely of movie stars, a relatively frail, unattractive old man for most of his years of film stardom, yet he was an important figure then and an unjustly neglected one now. His first book, Up the Years from Bloomsbury, and this one combine to make rich reading--almost as rich as the films he made.… (mehr)