THE IRON DUKE (1934)

Here I go, learning more history from Hollywood, or in this case, from London. It's 1815 and with Napoleon imprisoned at Elba, Europe is at peace, but with the drawing up of treaties, Prussia, Russia and Austria are plotting to keep France weak, partly by restoring Louis XVIII as King, so French unrest may stir. The Duke of Wellington (George Arliss) is sent from England to the Congress of Vienna to press the case for fair treatment for France, but soon Napoleon escapes. Wellington advises the King to leave, but the King's advisor Marie Thérèse (daughter of Marie Antoinette, known as Madame) doesn't trust Wellington, and indeed is still seeking revenge against, well, practically everyone. In the meantime, the Duchess of Richmond introduces Wellington to Lady Frances, a young woman who has a big case of hero worship for him, which frequently seems on the verge of becoming a romantic obsession even though she's married. At the battle of Waterloo, Wellington sees Napoleon ("Boney" as he calls him) from afar but won't let his men aim for him: "Not sporting—generals don't kill generals in cold blood." But even after Boney's final defeat, Wellington has problems in his relations with the French. Madame refuses to return art that Napoleon had stolen, and Wellington's friend Marshal Ney is threatened with execution for treason. A bigger worry, at least as far as public relations go, is that Madame spreads the rumor that the married Wellington is having an affair with the married Lady Frances. The latter part of the film centers on how Wellington rises above all this. Arliss can do no wrong in my eyes, though I don't necessarily like all his movies equally. But this is a strong entry in his series of biographical films, though like most of them, I wouldn't trust this to be terribly accurate. Arliss gives a fine performance, and he is matched well by the wonderful Gladys Cooper (pictured with Arliss) as Madame; her part is not large, but she makes every scene count.  Other cast standouts include Emlyn Wiliams as a reporter and Norma Varden as the Duchess of Richmond. A good one for Arliss fans. [DVD]