SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

Feature film. A comedy drama set in German-occupied Warsaw in World War II. Stars Jack Benny as Joseph Tura, the principal actor in a Polish troupe performing Hamlet. The film was controversial, not least in the notorious Nazi comment on Tura’s performance ‘what he did to Shakespeare, we are now dong to Poland’. There are also brief readings from The Merchant of Venice. The lines `...if you prick us, do we not bleed?' (III i) are used throughout as a comment on the situation of the Jews.

Language

English

Country

United States

Medium

Film

Technical information

Black-and-white / Sound

Year of release

1942

Duration

99 mins; 8,897 feet

Credits

Director

Ernst Lubitsch

Producer

Ernst Lubitsch

Cinematographer

Rudolph Maté

Screenplay

Edwin Justus Mayer; Ernst Lubitsch; Lengyel Melchior

Music

Miklos Rosza

Cast

Jack Benny	Joseph Tura (Hamlet)
Carole Lombard	Maria Tura

Additional Details

Production type

Fiction Films

Plays

Hamlet; Merchant of Venice, The

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Related items

Jack Benny Show, The [08/03/1942]

To Be or Not to Be

Notes

Notes

Available on DVD region 1 only (9/2007).

Production Company

Name

United Artists

Archive

Name

Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting & Recorded Sound Division

Web

http://catalog.loc.gov/ External site opens in new window

Phone

(20) 707-8572

Fax

(20) 707-237’1

Address

Motion Picture & Television Reading Room
James Madison Building, LM 336
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C.
20540-4690
United States

Distributor (Sale)

Name

British Film Institute

Web

http://www.bfi.org.uk External site opens in new window

Phone

020 7255 1444

Fax

020 7436 7950

Address

21 Stephen Street
London
London
W1T 1LN

Online Retailer

Name

amazon.com

Web

http://www.amazon.com External site opens in new window