SHAKESPEARE

Alternative title

Measure for Measure

Synopsis

Feature film version of Measure for Measure. Lavish sets, lush costumes and hundreds of extras fail to redeem the film. Variety, reviewing the US release, notes bad lighting, poor sound and unhelpful English sub-titles.

Language

Italian (Standard)

Country

Italy

Medium

Film

Technical information

Black-and-white / Sound

Year of release

1942

Duration

83 mins

Availability

No archive copy found (2006)

Credits

Director

Marco Elter

Cinematographer

Antonio Marzari

Screenplay

Enrico Ribulsi; Guglielmo Usellini

Music

Giovanni Fusco

Production Design

Piero Filippone

Cast

Alfredo Varelly	Vincentio, Duke of Vienna
Carlo Tamberlani	Angelo
Caterina Boratto	Isabella
Osvaldo Genazzani	Claudio
Loredana	Juliet
Memo Benassi	Lucio
Nelly Corradi	Mariana

Additional Details

Production type

Fiction Films

Plays

Measure for Measure

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

General

Very little is known about the film. Peter Morris in ‘Shakespeare on Film’, Films In Review 24:3 (1973);132-163 believes it to be ‘lost’ . The papers donated by Professor Ball to the Folger Shakespeare Library however note that he saw the film on 8 September 1948 when it was screened for him by the US distributor, Jack Hoffberg. His notes state that this is a loose adaptation which retains the broad outline of the plot but loses a great deal of dialogue.

History

Released in the US 1951.

Reviews

Variety (2 January 1952).

Production Company

Name

Atlas Film

Address

Italy