The House of Rothschild
The house of Rothschild 1934
The House of Rothschild
The House of Rothschild (1934) is an American film written by Nunnally Johnson from the play by George Hembert Westley, and directed by Alfred L. Werker. It chronicles the biographical story of the rise of the Rothschild family of European bankers.
Summary
The film begins at the home of Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1812) and his wife Guttle Schnapper (1770–1812). As one of their sons sees the taxman coming, they hurry and hide their wealth, including currency, silver, etc. However, the taxman finds some of it hidden in the basement, and decides to charge Rothschild less than the amount due, but keep the money with him. Later, as Mayer Amschel Rothschild is lying on his deathbed, he instructs his five sons to start banks in different countries across Europe: Amschel Mayer Rothschild (1773-1855) in Germany, Salomon Mayer von Rothschild (1774-1855) in Austria, Nathan Mayer Rothschild (1777-1836) in England, Carl Mayer von Rothschild (1788-1855), and James Mayer de Rothschild (1792-1868) in France. As they fund the Napoleonic Wars of 1803–1815, they aim to gain respectability from the European nobility, who shuns them and refuses to treat them as equals because they are Jews. However, at the end of the film, they have attained respect and dignity thanks to the power of money.
Cinematography
Its final sequence was one of the first shot in the three-strip Technicolor process, along with the MGM musical The Cat and the Fiddle, released in February 1934.
Cast:
George Arliss – Mayer Rothschild / Nathan Rothschild
Boris Karloff – Count Ledrantz
Loretta Young – Julie Rothschild
Robert Young – Captain Fitzroy
C. Aubrey Smith – Duke of Wellington
Arthur Byron – Baring
Helen Westley – Gudula Rothschild
Reginald Owen – Herries
Florence Arliss – Hannah Rothschild
Alan Mowbray – Prince Metternich
Holmes Herbert – Rowerth
Paul Harvey – Solomon Rothschild
Ivan F. Simpson – Amschel Rothschild (as Ivan Simpson)
Noel Madison – Carl Rothschild
Murray Kinnell – James Rothschild
