A biopic of the legendary Benjamin Disraeli, his rise from a foppish young novelist to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and confidante of Queen Victoria.A biopic of the legendary Benjamin Disraeli, his rise from a foppish young novelist to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and confidante of Queen Victoria.A biopic of the legendary Benjamin Disraeli, his rise from a foppish young novelist to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and confidante of Queen Victoria.
- Earl of Carnarvon
- (uncredited)
- Lady Blessington
- (uncredited)
- Baroness Lehzen
- (uncredited)
- Bismarck
- (uncredited)
- Miss Sheridan
- (uncredited)
- Miss Sheridan
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis is a World War II propaganda film akin to The Young Mr. Pitt (1942) with Disraeli meant to represent Winston Churchill. The scene in which Disraeli observes Victoria receiving the news that she is now Queen was based on an 1880 painting by Henry Tamworth Wells.
- GoofsIn the scene where the news of the Russian invasion reaches the House of Commons, the members pass the news down the rows, one by one. However, several of the members start sharing the news before they could possibly have heard it from anyone next to them. The scene looks good, but doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
- Quotes
Benjamin 'Dizzy' Disraeli, aka Lord Beaconsfield- Disraeli: In an autocracy, the leader is the people. Europe is at the mercy of the most ruthless band of autocrats the world has yet seen. I know these dictators, these men of blood and iron, they have one weakness; they are always in a hurry. Their god is power, and its kingdom is on this Earth. They are men without humility and without hearts. The virtues we hold dear they call weaknesses, and what we love they despise. They hold themselves a race apart, divinely ordained to rule the world to the exclusion of all others. That is a form of madness that must eventually destroy the world or be destroyed, it cannot be appeased by soft words or good neighbourliness. All civilised methods of approach to international agreement are signs of weakness to these men. They recognise one argument, and one argument alone - FORCE!
- Alternate versionsThe British version runs 15-20 minutes longer than the version shown in the USA and has a different cast ordering. The ordering in IMDb is based on the American version as shown on the Turner Classic Movies channel.
- SoundtracksFrühlingsstimmen (Voices of Spring) op. 410
(1882) (uncredited)
Music by Johann Strauss
Arranged by Jack Beaver
Played by the orchestra for dancing at Count D'Orsay's party
Very ham-fisted in its message, you almost want to start arguing with the screen, not because its particularly inaccurate in its portrayal of Disraeli, just that its essentially a war-time propaganda film, and nothing can be that cut and dried.
Gielgud is fascinating to watch as always, but even he seems to begin to grate towards the end.
*1/2 out of ****
Details
- Runtime1 hour 34 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1