SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

Feature film. Richard Burton portrays Edwin Booth, the 19th century American actor. Booth is helped to success by his wife, Mary. When his brother, John Wilkes, assassinates President Lincoln, Edwin faces hostility. Mary dies but Booth goes on to triumph in New York. Burton as Booth acts scenes from Richard III, Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet and there are many more off-stage citations.

Language

English

Country

United States

Medium

Film

Technical information

Colour / Sound

Year of release

1955

Duration

102 mins

Credits

Director

Philip Dunne

Producer

Philip Dunne

Cinematographer

Charles C. Clarke

Writer

Eleanor Ruggles

Screenplay

Moss Hart

Music

Bernard Herrman

Cast

Richard Burton	Romeo
John Derek	John Wilkes Booth
Maggie McNamara	Mary Devlin Booth
Richard Burton	Edwin Booth
Richard Burton	Richard, Duke of Gloucester, later King Richard

Additional Details

Production type

Fiction Films

Plays

Hamlet; Richard III; Romeo and Juliet

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Booth, Edwin

Notes

Notes

Released on DVD in 2016 in the 20th Century Fox Cinema Archives series.

General

Dunne, in his directorial debut, was assisted in the staging of the Shakespearean scenes by actress and producer Eva La Galliene.

Reviews

Bosley Crowther ‘PRINCE OF PLAYERS Bows at the Rivoli’ in The New York Times (January 12 1955). The Shakespeare scenes are detailed in Lanier, Douglas ‘Film Spin-Offs and Citations’ in Burt, Richard (ed). Shakespeares After Shakespeares: an Encyclopedia of the Bard in Mass Media and Popular Culture. 2 vols. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2006. (p. 344-5, entry 1452).

Monthly Film Bulletin. v.22. n. 255 (1 April 1955). p. 52

Production Company

Name

20th Century Fox

Archive

Name

Folger Shakespeare Library

Email

reference@folger.edu

Web

http://www.folger.edu External site opens in new window

Phone

(202) 544 4600

Fax

(202) 544 4623

Address

201 East Capitol Street, SE
Washington
DC 20003
USA

Name

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

Web

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

Phone

(202) 707-7833

Address

Recorded Sound Reference Centre
101 Independence Avenue, S.E.
Room LM-113
Washington, DC 20540

Distributor

Name

odlies.com

Email

http://www.oldies.com/about/contact.cfm

Web

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

Phone

1-610-649-7565 (customers outside the US).

Address

P.O. Box 77
Norberth
PA
19072-0077, USA