Signs of War

Synopsis
Seventh episode in a fifteen-part televised series comprising Shakespeare’s history plays from Richard II to Richard III (the two tetralogies), effectively presenting a chronological history of British royalty from 1377 to 1485. This episode covers Henry V, Acts I-III.
Series
Age of Kings, An
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Television
Transmission details
21 Jul 1960 at 21:00 (Channel: BBC)
Duration
60 mins

Credits

Director
Michael Hayes
Producer
Peter Dews
Writer
William Shakespeare
Music
Christopher Whelen
Art Direction
Stanley Morris
Contributor
Arthur Bliss; Eric Crozier; Lionel Salter
Cast
Robert HardyKing Henry V
William SquireChorus
Cyril LuckhamArchbishop of Canterbury
Judi DenchKatherine
John WarnerDauphin
Adrian BrineDuke of Bourbon
Alan RoweKing Charles VI of France
Angela BaddeleyHostess, formerly Mistress Quickly
Anthony ValentineEnglish Herald
Brian SmithHenry, Lord Scroop of Masham
David AndrewsNim
Derek Ware 
Frank WindsorRichard, Earl of Cambridge
George A. CooperPistol
George SelwayConstable of France
Gordon GostelowBardolph
Jane Howell 
Jeremy BisleyGower
Jerome WillisDuke of Orleans
Joby BlanshardJamy
John RinghamHumphrey (Duke of Gloucester)
John Scott 
Julian GloverEarl of Westmoreland
Kenneth FarringtonFluellen
Leon ShepperdsonLord Rambures
Michael Graham CoxMacmorris
Noel JohnsonDuke of Exeter
Patrick GarlandDuke of Bedford
Robert LangMontjoy
Stephanie BidmeadQueen Isabel
Terence LodgeMessenger
Terry Wale 
Timothy HarleyBoy (Falstaff’s page)
Tony GarnettSir Thomas Grey
Yvonne CouletteAlice

Additional Details

Production type
Television and Radio Drama
Historical period
Medieval
Plays
Henry V
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Related items
Eternity of Kings, An

Notes

Notes
According to Rothwell/Melzer, this was one of the more expensive episodes with production expenses of £3.993 and a cast of 46. For more production details see entry 178, pp. 96 -97 in Shakespeare on Screen: An International Filmography and Videography (London: Mansell, 1990).
Commercially available on DVD as part of a 5-disc box set from BBC Warner (released March 2009). A written transcript of the series is being held at the Birmingham Central Library as part of their Shakespeare Collection.
General
As Michael Brooke notes, this production was "the most conceptually ambitious Shakespeare project ever attempted for either film or television." Each episode involved expenses of £4.000 and a cast total of 600. The rehearsal period took thirty weeks.

`During HENRY V we had to cut 35 minutes actually on the air during a live transmission, because we’d forgotten that it was the Queen Mother’s sixtieth birthday and so we couldn’t have our usual over-run’. ‘Interview: Robert Hardy - The Classical Style’ The Times (26 April 1982 p.11)
History
The first US transmission was on PBS’s WNEW-TV channel 21 February 1961.
Awards
Directors Guild of Great Britain Award for Excellence in Directing (Peter Dews)

1962 The George Foster Peabody Award
Textual information
Script editor Michael Cozier cut the texts into 60 -75 minute episodes which, for the most part, comprised half a complete play.
Reviews
Michael Brooke, "Age of Kings, An (1960)", http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/527213/index.html

Online Availability

Online URL
http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/527213/index.html

Production Company

Name

BBC

Notes
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Archive

Name

BFI National Archive

Web
http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7255 1444
Fax
020 7436 0165
Address
21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Signs of War". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av36793 (Accessed 06 Oct 2024)