George Arliss Subject?

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 91, 11 January 1935, Page 14

George Arliss Subject?

TD Mr. George Arliss accepts an invitation that is being extended him by the Gaumont-British Picture Corporation Ltd., the star who is at present en route for Hollywood will appear as Dr. Livingstone in a film dealing with the life of.the famous explorer. It has already been announced that Mr. Arliss is to return to Shepherd’s Bush studios in 1935 to make further pictures for Gaumont. The decision to offer this role to Mr. Arliss has been reached following the result of a nation-wide competitiqn in which members of the public were invited to choose the famous characters to be “brought to life’ by the great actor. It is the first occasion on which filmgoers have been made responsible for the choice of a vehicle for a favourite star. “There is an angle to the Livingstone story which should prove particularly acceptable to American audiences,” remarked Mr Michael Balcan, Gaumont-British Director of Productions, “This is in the strong American associations of Stanley, who succeeded in finding Livingstone in the heart of Africa and who was second protaganist in the. famous ‘Dr. Livingstone, I presume?’ incident. Even if Mr. Arliss is unable to make the picture,” adds Mr. Balcan, "we shall still produce a film based on the Livingstone story; expert scenarists will, in fact, start preliminary work on the subject shortly.”