''The King's Vacation'' is a 1933 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship guidelines, popularly known ...

romance film starring

George Arliss George Arliss (born Augustus George Andrews; 10 April 1868 – 5 February 1946) was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award – which he ...

and Marjorie Gateson and directed by

John G. Adolfi John Gustav Adolfi (February 19, 1888 – May 11, 1933) was an American silent film director, actor, and screenwriter who was involved in more than 100 productions throughout his career. An early acting credit was in the recently restored 1912 f ...

. The supporting cast features

Dick Powell Richard Ewing Powell (November 14, 1904 – January 2, 1963) was an American actor, musician, producer, director, and studio head. Though he came to stardom as a musical comedy performer, he showed versatility, and successfully transformed into ...

Patricia Ellis Patricia Ellis (born Patricia Gene O'Brien; died March 26, 1970) was an American film actress of the 1930s. Early years Born in Birmingham, Michigan, most likely in 1915 (although she gave her year of birth to the Social Security Administration ...

Florence Arliss Florence Kate Arliss (née Montgomery; 29 July 1870 – 12 March 1950)Gerald Lawrence, revised by K. D. Reynolds, "Arliss, George eal name Augustus George Andrews(1868–1946)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Pre ...

Dudley Digges Sir Dudley Digges (19 May 1583 – 18 March 1639) was an English diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1610 and 1629. Digges was also a "Virginia adventurer," an investor who ventured his capital in the Virginia ...

and

O. P. Heggie Oliver Peters Heggie ( Otto Peters Heggie; 17 September 1877 – 7 February 1936), billed as O. P. Heggie, was an Australian film and theatre actor best known for portraying the hermit who befriends the Monster in the film ''Bride of Frankenstei ...

. The film has been preserved in the Library of Congress collection.''Catalog of Holdings The American Film Institute Collection and The United Artists Collection at The Library of Congress'', (<-book title) page 97 c.1978 by The American Film Institute

Plot

Phillip (Arliss), the figurehead monarch of an unnamed country, is unharmed in an assassination attempt. In a conversation with his attempted murderer, Anderson, it becomes clear that the king's sympathies are with the downtrodden people. As unrest builds, Phillip abdicates to avoid bloodshed. Phillip had come to the throne unexpectedly 18 years before, and had been forced to give up his commoner wife Helen (Gateson) and their infant daughter and marry Margaret (played by Arliss's real-life wife Florence). He is prepared to remain married, but Margaret (aware of his lost love) informs him that she too had someone she loved. She refuses to reveal the man's identity, referring to him only as "Mr. X". His conscience salved, he is free to seek out Helen. He finds her wealthy and, in an ironic twist, she has made it clear to their daughter Millicent that she believes that Millicent's love, mechanic and inventor John Kent (Powell), is too far beneath her socially to marry. Phillip is favorably impressed by John, but is unable to persuade Helen to change her mind. When Helen wants a tiara, Phillip reluctantly goes to purchase it (despite its resemblance to a crown). On the trip, he encounters Margaret and visits her. He is pleasantly surprised by many things he never knew about her, and misses the last train back to Helen's mansion. He sends a wire notifying Helen; she decides to attend a party anyway, escorted by longtime admirer Barstow. On the way back, Barstow informs her that, with the impending marriage, he is going away. Meanwhile, the royalists are ready to seize back the country, with the army and navy at their side. However, Phillip refuses to participate. When Barstow comes to bid Helen farewell for the last time, she is shocked, having believed he was only joking. Phillip sees that she is truly in love with Barstow, and suggests they call off the wedding. Then he goes to see Margaret. Having ascertained that she has received no visits from her supposed lost love (and suspecting that she made him up), he announces himself as "Mr. X".

Cast

as Phillip * Marjorie Gateson as Helen *

as Lord Chamberlain *

as Millicent *

as Margaret *

as John Kent *

as Thorpe * Vernon Steele as Barstow * James Bell as Anderson

References

External links

* * * American romance films American black-and-white films Films directed by John G. Adolfi Warner Bros. films 1930s romance films 1930s English-language films 1930s American films Films scored by Bernhard Kaun Films about royalty Films about assassinations {{1930s-romance-film-stub