David Lloyd George: The Movie Mystery

David Lloyd George: The Movie Mystery

I was looking for something else and stumbled across this book, or rather a catalog listing of this book. I'm not familiar with the book itself or with other offerings from its publisher, but the book's subject is just offbeat enough (and obscure enough) I thought I'd toss it up here for anybody who might be interested.

David Lloyd George: The Movie Mystery, edited by Dave Berry and Simon Horrocks, 1998 paperback, ISBN 0-7083-1371-X.

From the University of Wales Press:

This is the incredible story of a silent film, made in 1918, but not screened in public until 1996. The central figure in this drama - on and off screen - is the charismatic prime minister, David Lloyd George. Completed in the last months of the First World War, The Life Story of David Lloyd George was suddenly and mysteriously withdrawn before its first trade screening; solicitors, presumably acting for the government or for the Liberal party, paid to remove the film from the offices of Ideal, the film's production company. It was long thought that both copies had been lost or destroyed, and then in 1994 the complete negative was found amongst material supplied by Viscount Tenby (Lloyd George's grandson) for examination by the Wales Film and Television Archive.

The first section of the book focuses on the reasons behind the film's suppression, while the second section concentrates on the painstaking and fascinating process of restoration. The concluding section discusses the feature as a film per se and assesses its contribution to the development of British cinema. The text is well illustrated and includes frame enlargements from the film.

www.amazon.co.uk has this synopsis:

This text presents the story of a silent film completed in 1918, but never released and long thought to be lost or destroyed. The film biography was made with the co-operation of David Lloyd George but suppressed following an allegation that executives of the film company were of German origin. Twenty thousand pounds was paid to the film makers in compensation and the film was confiscated. In 1994 the complete feature was rediscovered amongst material supplied by Viscount Tenby (Lloyd George's grandson). The film has been restored and this book serves as a critical guide to the film. Illustrations include frame enlargements from the film and reproductions of trade advertisements and photographs of Lloyd George.