George and Robert have a lot in common. Not only did they both make their débuts in the same year, 1927, but they are also both considered by many to be the ‘Godfathers’ of Suits, the American TV show. The characters of George and Robert Falconer first appeared in the 1927 stage play Bel Ami, written by Émile Zola. The play was originally entitled Nana, after the protagonist. The film adaptation was released in 1931 and starred Barbara Hutton as Nanie and Clark Gable as Monsieur Dargent. The following year saw the release of the second Gable film, The Big House, in which George and Robert appeared as guests. In the 1936 film Suits Bluff, Arthur Hinton plays J. Ward Macon, a character loosely based on George, while Thomas Mitchell plays an ambitious attorney based on Robert.
The Characters Are Essentially The Same
The characters of George and Robert are very similar. Both are successful, charming men who are deeply admired for their good looks. Where they differ is in their styles: while George is somewhat of a playboy, Robert is a family man who values his time with his wife. Still, both men are considered irresistible to the opposite sex. In the 1927 play, Robert is described as having “a magnetic personality and magnetism itself. He draws all the men in his orbit. They are all his disciples.”
Another striking similarity between the two men is that they both love to gamble. In Zola’s original play, George is seen playing cards with various women, while Robert is seen at the roulette table with Marie, a Frenchwoman. Later on in the play, George and Robert play a game of petit-beurre, a variation of rummy, with Madame Jusserand. During this game, Robert notices that George is missing one of his gold teeth and decides to have it replaced by a diamond. Unfortunately for Robert, the tooth turns out to be fake. But by then, it is too late; he has already lost a lot of money. The women he bets with are also not pleased that he did not notice the mistake sooner, as it makes him even more attractive to them. Indeed, Madame Jusserand states that no woman can resist his charms.
There are also many other parallels between the two men. Both men are proud of their good looks and have a deep love for luxury. While Robert is more reserved, George is a gregarious extrovert who always seems to have plenty to say. The two men are also both perfectionists who value their privacy. Like many of Zola’s characters, George and Robert are both married. But their wives do not know it; they think their husbands are single. While Robert’s wife, Estelle, does not appear in the movie adaptations of the play, George’s wife, Anne, does. Anne is portrayed by Alice De Lange in the 1931 movie, by Emily Fitzmaurice in the 1936 movie, and by Margaux Welch in the 1950 movie. She states in all three movies that she does not know her husband is married as she thinks George is single. Still, Mrs. George Falconer seems to respect her husband’s wife, as she always greets Anne warmly.
Each Man Is At The Peak Of His Career
The characters of George and Robert are at the peak of their careers. Both men are highly sought-after and admired for their work. In a 1927 issue of The New York Times, George is described as “one of the most prominent men in Paris,” and in The New York Times Magazine, Robert is hailed as “one of the most intriguing and unusual men in America.” In addition, The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine write that “few men are more fascinating than George and Robert Falconer.”
George and Robert are both involved in various philanthropic activities. George is the president of the board of the French Hospital in New York City and is a member of the American Legion, the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks, and the Metropolitan Club of New York. He is also the chairman of the U.S. Committee for the Protection of French Culture in America and is a governor of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. George has a strong sense of history and uses his position as a means of promoting French culture in America. For instance, he helped finance the restoration of the Tuileries Palace in Paris.
Robert is a member of the Advisory Council of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and the board of directors of the American Institute of Stress. He is also a governor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Los Angeles Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the San Francisco Museum of Art. Additionally, Robert is the founder and chairman of the Committee for Cultural Freedom and an adviser to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
The success of the characters of George and Robert Falconer is a testament to the effectiveness of the sophisticated charm that Émile Zola imparted to them. Although the characters were created over a hundred years ago, they remain as popular as ever. Indeed, the 1927 play Bel Ami remains one of the best-selling French plays in history. It was initially performed at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris before moving to London’s West End.
It would be remiss of me not to mention that the character of George, played by John Halliday, is named after the first Baron Denham, who lived from 1847 to 1931. And since the Falconers are essentially the same characters as the characters played by Halliday and Gable, it is clear that the ‘Godfathers’ of Suits bear some resemblance to real-life people. While the characters of George and Robert Falconer are fictitious, it is nevertheless interesting to note that in a similar situation, these men would undoubtedly come up with similar strategies to win the affection of the opposite sex.
Do you think that George and Robert would make a good match?