By Glenn Erickson
Old English
Brief Synopsis
A bankrupt businessman risks everything to provide for his grandchildren.
Cast & Crew
Read More
Alfred E. Green
Director
George Arliss
Sylvanus Heythorp
Leon Janney
Jock
Doris Lloyd
Mrs. Larne
Betty Lawford
Phyllis Larne
Ivan Simpson
Joe Phillin
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Release Date
Sep
27,
1930
Premiere Information
New York premiere: 21 Aug 1930
Production Company
Warner Brothers Pictures
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel Old English by John Galsworthy (London, 1924).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 28m
Sound
Vitaphone
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7,926ft
(11 reels)
Synopsis
Sylvanus Heythorp, past 80, and known about Liverpool as "Old English," is unable to pay his debts although he is the director of numerous companies and chairman of a shipbuilding firm. He tries to persuade his creditors to accept an allotment from his salary and not to force him into disgrace--all but Charles Ventnor agree. Rosamund Larne, widow of Heythorp's illegitimate son, and her two children, Phyllis and Jock, arrive requesting funds above her regular allowance; Heythorp refuses but decides to establish a fund for Phyllis, whom he loves devotedly. Joe Phillin, whose son Bob loves Phyllis, is induced to sell his ships to Heythorp for £760,000 and turn over a 10 percent commission to Heythorp's grandchildren. Ventnor, learning Heythorp's secret, demands an audience and threatens to expose him. Old English orders a great dinner of his favorite dishes and wines and against the wishes of his servants gorges himself with abandon. When Phyllis and Bob return from the theater they find he has died in his easy chair by the fire.
Director
Alfred E. Green
Director
Cast
George Arliss
Sylvanus Heythorp
Leon Janney
Jock
Doris Lloyd
Mrs. Larne
Betty Lawford
Phyllis Larne
Ivan Simpson
Joe Phillin
Harrington Reynolds
Farney
Reginald Sheffield
Bob Phillin
Murray Kinnell
Charles Ventnor
Ethel Griffies
Adela Heythorp
Henrietta Goodwin
Letty
Crew
Film Details
Genre
Drama
Release Date
Sep
27,
1930
Premiere Information
New York premiere: 21 Aug 1930
Production Company
Warner Brothers Pictures
Country
United States
Screenplay Information
Based on the novel Old English by John Galsworthy (London, 1924).
Technical Specs
Duration
1h 28m
Sound
Vitaphone
Color
Black and White
Theatrical Aspect Ratio
1.37 : 1
Film Length
7,926ft
(11 reels)
Articles
Old English -
Early talkies were in awe of the fabled actor George Arliss, who was born in 1868 and was still going strong in the 1930s. His third talking feature Old English (1930) isn't about a great statesman, but instead the Dickens- like character Sylvanus Heythorp, a creaky old Liverpool ship builder who holds his failing company together by ignoring advice and bluffing his way through financial difficulties. The original 1924 play is by John Galsworthy, whose most lasting work is his 1906 novel The Forsyte Saga. Almost a solo acting showcase, Old English lets the play unspool in interior sets, staying focused on its star. Critics from the time fawned over Arliss' every move and gesture, marveling at how beautifully the actor captured the hesitant way that old people move. The critic for Variety wondered in print if director Alfred E. Green was really necessary on an Arliss film. Heythorp's shady financial tricks are designed to hide the fact that he's bankrupt, and secure a steady income for his beloved grandchildren, some of them the progeny of his illegitimate affairs. When his business enemy Charles Ventnor (Murray Kinnell) discovers his chicanery Heythorp realizes he can only 'win' if he's dead, and so spends his last evening gorging himself on all the rich food his doctors have forbidden him to touch. Old English was given prestige status in New York cinemas, with first-run bookings asking top prices. Arliss boasted that the play, which he had performed on the New York stage, was sold to Hollywood only because he would appear in it. Arliss would continue acting until his Doctor Syn in 1937; he's credited with promoting the career of Bette Davis, when Warner Bros. saw little promise in the actress. His Old English co-star Doris Lloyd would enjoy a long and fruitful film career as a character actress, with late-career roles in The Time Machine (1960) and The Sound of Music (1965).
By Glenn Erickson
By Glenn Erickson
Old English -
Early talkies were in awe of the fabled actor George Arliss, who was born in 1868 and was still going strong in the 1930s. His third talking feature Old English (1930) isn't about a great statesman, but instead the Dickens- like character Sylvanus Heythorp, a creaky old Liverpool ship builder who holds his failing company together by ignoring advice and bluffing his way through financial difficulties. The original 1924 play is by John Galsworthy, whose most lasting work is his 1906 novel The Forsyte Saga. Almost a solo acting showcase, Old English lets the play unspool in interior sets, staying focused on its star. Critics from the time fawned over Arliss' every move and gesture, marveling at how beautifully the actor captured the hesitant way that old people move. The critic for Variety wondered in print if director Alfred E. Green was really necessary on an Arliss film. Heythorp's shady financial tricks are designed to hide the fact that he's bankrupt, and secure a steady income for his beloved grandchildren, some of them the progeny of his illegitimate affairs. When his business enemy Charles Ventnor (Murray Kinnell) discovers his chicanery Heythorp realizes he can only 'win' if he's dead, and so spends his last evening gorging himself on all the rich food his doctors have forbidden him to touch. Old English was given prestige status in New York cinemas, with first-run bookings asking top prices. Arliss boasted that the play, which he had performed on the New York stage, was sold to Hollywood only because he would appear in it. Arliss would continue acting until his Doctor Syn in 1937; he's credited with promoting the career of Bette Davis, when Warner Bros. saw little promise in the actress. His Old English co-star Doris Lloyd would enjoy a long and fruitful film career as a character actress, with late-career roles in The Time Machine (1960) and The Sound of Music (1965).
By Glenn Erickson
