The Man Who Played God

Just one moment of courage is all it takes. Distraught after losing his hearing, renowned pianist Montgomery Royle teeters on his window ledge, high above Central Park. His manservant saves him, then hands him binoculars to view the world he nearly left. Royle reads the lips of a troubled young couple and realizes other people suffer — and that he has the resources to help them. As Royle, George Arliss reprises one of his best-known silent roles. He personally selected Bette Davis, whose career was stalled, to play his fiancee, more in awe of the older man than in love with him — and thus began her legendary career at Warner Bros. Forever grateful to Arliss, Davis was delighted to reteam with him the next year in The Working Man. Two more cast members also went on to Hollywood fame: a fresh-faced, uncredited Ray Milland as one of the people Royle aids, and soon-to-be gossip columnist Hedda Hopper as a Santa Barbara socialite.