A Successful Calamity

Adapted from the stage and expanded beyond a simple set, "A Successful Calamity" is an enjoyable cinematic parable that illustrates---through a simple deception---that money, though it is not the root of all evil, is not the measure of true success.

George Arliss plays financier Henry Wilton who, like Odysseus, returns from his journeys to find his home in shambles---not literally, but figuratively. He devises a risky scheme to help him determine how desperate thing are.

This is a light-hearted film due to its clever script and the masterful performance of Arliss, around whom everything revolves. With nuance of voice and manner, he elevates the comedy and injects tenderness into every scene. It's a heartwarming tale that must have carried added significance during the Great Depression.

Sadly, while George Arliss was known by his colleagues as a great stage actor, the number of films he appeared in were relatively few despite his talents. In each of them I have seen, he gave a seemingly effortless and graceful performance that made me love his characters--in other words, he gave them great life and charm. Here, Arliss plays a major industrialist who spent a year abroad following WWI working for the American government. However, when he returns, he finds that his wife and grown kids are too busy to truly welcome him home and he longs for a happy family life. Then, rather by accident, he comes upon the idea of convincing the family that despite his millions, he is in fact broke. Here is where the film really comes to life. How each of these people as well as Arliss' butler react to the calamity is quite amazing--especially since the script is so magnificently written, it kept me guessing to the very end. It's not often that a film does this, as most films are rather derivative.

In addition to Arliss, Mary Astor, Grant Mitchell and the rest of the family, towards the end is a brief appearance of a very young Randolph Scott--and boy does he look young.

Lovely acting, great script writing and direction make this a wonderful comedy treat that deserves to be remembered. Watch the film then tell your friends--this one is a keeper!

When a rich financier fears that his wife & children take him for granted, he arranges A SUCCESSFUL CALAMITY to make them believe he's lost all his money.

George Arliss, the 1930's preeminent character actor, is perfectly cast in this bit of dramatic fluff. With the lift of a sardonic eyebrow, or the twitch of an elegant finger, he is able to convey volumes of personality & emotion. Listen to how he pronounces the single word `poor' - turning it into two syllables layered with nuance - to get an idea of the quality of stagecraft at work here. It is to Hollywood's discredit that Arliss' contributions to American cinema have been in eclipse for decades.

The rest of the cast- Mary Astor as Arliss' society wife; William Janney & Evalyn Knapp as his preoccupied children; Hardie Albright as a social twit; Grant Mitchell as Arliss' faithful butler; Hale Hamilton as his business manager; Helena Phillips as a frantic cook; and Randolph Scott as a polo captain - do very well with their roles. But it is George Arliss that captures and holds the attention of the grateful viewer.

A nice comedic performance from Arliss as a business man, whose family has no time for him. He feigns bankruptcy to get them to stay home with him, and is surprised at how they all rally to him. The ruse brings him unexpected financial benefits as well. Warm-hearted film though playing on only one note story-wise.

Mary Astor is fine in an early sound role and the supporting cast does well all around. It's a delight watching Arliss' facial expressions, which convey more subtlety than he could have produced on stage and show him a continued master of comedic timing.

Although only a few sets are used, they are well done and up to the usual Warner Bros. standards of the early thirties.

George Arliss was a senior stage and movie actor by the time sound came to motion pictures. But in "A Successful Calamity", he shows why he was one of the leading actors of his time that included the first three decades of filmdom. He still has a touch of the hammy in this film, where he seems to pan for the camera with subtle glances or short stops. Those were trademarks of silent films. Actors had to emote more in facial expressions and physical gestures to convey the scene's story sans sound. That was true also, though less obviously, for stage plays. But his panning in "A Successful Calamity" isn't so serious that it detracts from the film. Instead, we begin to see the great actor who was a master at conveying moods, thoughts, and feelings by his expressions and facial movements.

Arliss was British. He made most of his silent films in England, but most of his films with sound in Hollywood. In this film, Arliss plays a prominent financier, Henry Wilton. He has a fine supporting cast that includes Mary Astor as his young wife, Emmy "Sweetie," Evalyn Knapp as daughter Peggy, and William Janney as son Eddie. Some other actors – a young Randolph Scott as a polo coach, Grant Mitchell as Wilton's butler, and others add nice flavor to the film. But the heart of this movie is Wilton and his family.

The plot is very good. Arliss and Astor are excellent in their roles, but the acting of the youngsters in this film is pretty amateurish. The production qualities suffer some. Still, it's a good family story that should delight most movie buffs. To paraphrase Wilton in a scene toward the end, one never had so much fun as when one had so little to distract himself or herself from the important things in life. This is a nice film with a nice tale. Because Arliss was already a senior (age 64 in 1932) at the time of this film, he would only be in movies a few more years.