He began his film career with "The Devil" (1921), followed by "Disraeli" and four other silent films. Today, only "The Devil", "Disraeli", "$20 a Week", and "The Green Goddess" (1923), based on the hit stage play in which he had starred, are known to have survived. He remade both "The Green Goddess" and "Disraeli" in sound in 1929 (and won the Best Actor Academy Award for "Disraeli"), converting successfully at the age of 61 from a star of the legitimate theatre, and then silent films, to sound films.