SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

Feature film. A farce parodying Romeo and Juliet (and strongly referencing Cukor’s 1936 film version) starring Cantinflas, the celebrated Mexican comedian (real name Mario Moreno). Lanier (op cit) notes that the film’s narrative follows Shakespeare’s closely, Cantinflas playing Romeo as slapstick comedy while ‘central also to the comedy is Cantinflas’ inimitable idiom, a combination of goofy rhymed couplets, street slang, working-class fast talk, anachronisms and silly word play’. [Lanier].

Language

Spanish (Mexico)

Country

Mexico

Medium

Film

Technical information

Black-and-white / Sound

Year of release

1943

Duration

100 mins

Credits

Director

Miguel M. Delgado

Producer

Jacques Gelman; Santiago Reachi

Cinematographer

Jack Draper

Screenplay

Jaime Salvador

Music

Manuel Esperon

Cast

Cantinflas	Romeo
Maria Elena Marqués	Juliet
Angel Garasa	Fray Lorenzo (Friar Laurence)
Andrés Soler	Capulet
Emma Roldán	Lady Capulet
Jose Baviera	Paris

Additional Details

Production type

Fiction Films

Plays

Romeo and Juliet

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

History

Released in the US in 1944 distributed by Aztec Films.

Reviews

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. 269, entry 1133).

Vela, Richard. Literature/Film Quarterly. vol. 30, no, 3, 2002 (pp 231-238). The article discusses the relationship between Shakespeare, Hollywood and Mexico.

Production Company

Name

Posa Films

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 & 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

Online Retailer

Name

amazon.com

Web

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