bkoganbing This was the second of two films that a young Bette Davis made with the great English actor George Arliss. In both films this one and The Man Who Played God, Arliss plays an older man who enjoys manipulating events and people for their own good as he sees it. In fact that other title is rather self explanatory.The Working Man casts Arliss as a wealthy shoe manufacturer who is taking a long needed vacation and he leaves his nephew Hardie Albright in charge of the company. While on that vacation he meets the children of a recently deceased rival who are nice kids, but are wastrels and spendthrifts without a thought as to how the money they spend is made. In fact dad's company is tobogganing into bankruptcy due to bad management.Bette Davis and Theodore Newton could have been his kids. The great manipulator gets him appointed the man who administers their trust and installs some discipline in both their lives. The end absolutely rights itself.Bette Davis was never known for praising her colleagues save for a few. But George Arliss was one of the few who saw some of the talent and the fire in that woman to succeed and said so loudly and publicly to the brothers Warner. She writes in her memoirs how ever grateful she was to him for the rest of her life.The fire in Davis burns rather brightly here because it contrasts with both Theodore Newton and Hardie Albright, a pair of young actors who give good performances, but really are rather bland next to Davis.And Arliss is always a delight in comedy or drama. You've got to love that foxy old guy. And love The Working Man as well.

Michael_Elliott Working Man, The (1933) *** (out of 4) Extremely far-fetched but entertaining tale of a millionaire shoe maker (George Arliss) who decides to go work undercover at his rival's shoe factory. He wants to see if his nephew can really take care of the business but while undercover he begins to feel for the kids (Bette Davis, Theodore Newton) of the other shoe owner so he wants to teach them how to properly run a business even if that means he's going against his own. THE WORKING MAN has a very stupid story and I think the ending is pretty silly but at the same time Arliss is just so wonderful in the leading part that you can overlook the flaws with the story. I'm really not sure what the goal of the film was as it could have been to show young people what hard work is all about but it might also just be a story about one man caring for other people when he doesn't have any kids of his own. The story is very far-fetched but at the same time you can't help but enjoy watching Arliss play both sides against one another and in the end making everyone see what the most important things are. Needless to say, it's Arliss that steals the film with a remarkable and rather restrained performance. I really enjoyed how good Arliss was in regards to everything that the role called for. At times he had to be a strong disciplinary while the next scene might call for him to be a loving father type. He has to scream and shout to get the business going but then be caring enough to do what's best for these kids. Arliss nailed everything the screenplay called for and this was certainly a role the actor did justice for. Davis was still making a mark for herself so one shouldn't come to this film and expect to see that classic Davis. With that said she's still quite good here as you have no problem believing her in the part. Newton, Gordon Westcott and Hardie Albright add some nice support and horror fans will be happy to see Edward Van Sloan in a small role. THE WORKING MAN is certainly a message movie but while that message might get lost in some of the wackiness of the screenplay, what does stand is the strong performance by Arliss and that's reason alone to check this film out.

Ron Oliver THE WORKING MAN appointed to watch over the inheritance of a couple of young wastrels, unbeknownst to them, is actually the old tycoon once in love with their late mother.This is a very well produced little comedy from Vitaphone/Warner Bros., featuring another splendid performance from the old master of character acting, Mr. George Arliss. This was an actor who could fascinate an audience merely by sitting still, letting his face act for him. Here, playing a great shoe manufacturer, Arliss is tremendous fun, whether haranguing his salesmen, or, switching sides, working for his own biggest competitor with equal gusto. It is doubtful that Arliss ever gave anything less than an entertaining cinematic performance. It is a shame that this wonderful actor is nearly forgotten today.Arliss is given good support by a trio of young actors: Hardie Albright as his stuffy, conceited nephew - ‘The Young Napoleon of Shoes;' as well as Theodore Newton and a very pert & pretty Bette Davis as the spendthrift offspring of his late rival. Miss Davis always credited Mr. Arliss for giving her an important hands-up at this early stage in her screen career.J. Farrell MacDonald is very down-to-earth as Arliss' fishing buddy in Maine; Edward Van Sloan appears briefly, but effectively, as Arliss' company auditor.

Arthur Hausner I've always immensely enjoyed comedies involving deception of sorts, where the audience is in on who a person really is, while most of the cast in the movie are not (The Devil and Miss Jones (1941) comes to mind as an example). This film is one of the best of that type, with wealthy shoe manufacturer George Arliss overhearing his nephew (Hardie Albright) saying he should retire so he can run the business and do it better. A little angry, Arliss goes on a fishing vacation to Maine where his old buddy J. Farrell MacDonald lives, and quite by accident meets up with the heirs (Bette Davis and Theodore Newton) of his chief competitor, who had just died. Arliss uses an alias, and they think he is somewhat of a bum when they take him back to New York with them because of a minor injury to his hand. There Arliss sees the sorry state their finances are in and how their shoe plant is purposely being run down by Gordon Westcott, who wants to buy it at a cheap price. Arliss somehow convinces the trustees of the estate to make him Davis' and Newton's guardian, and the fireworks begin as he takes charge of his competitor's shoe plant. Only MacDonald knows who he really is, and he keeps Arliss informed about any mail sent by Albright, who thinks he still is on vacation in Maine. So Arliss plays both ends against the middle, so to speak, and in the process teaches Davis, Newton and Albright a thing or two about life and business.The real joy in the film is the very clever screenplay, but George Arliss is also terrific in the lead, with Davis and Newton not far behind. Arliss knew the role well having done it in the 1924 silent called "$20 a Week." And Gordon Westcott makes a good heavy. This is a very underrated gem of a comedy.