SHAKESPEARE

Alternative title

Merchant of Venice, The Shylock

Synopsis

Fiction film of The Merchant of Venice directed by Henri Desfontaines with Harry Baur as Shylock. The film greatly abbreviates the play and omits the Jessica subplot and other incidents. Ball comments ‘The direction is ordinary or worse ... The photography is clear, but the settings, indoors and the simulated outdoors, are theatrical or badly planned in terms of light and dark, and the costumes do not stand out from the scenery. What is lacking is cinematic sense and taste’.

Country

France

Medium

Film

Technical information

Black-and-white / Silent

Year of release

1913

Recording date

21 Feb 1913

Duration

23 mins; 2108 feet

Credits

Director

Henri Desfontaines

Producer

Clément-Maurice

Screenplay

Louis Mercanton

Cast

Harry Baur	Shylock
Romauld Joubé	Antonio
Jean Hervé	Bassanio

Additional Details

Production type

Fiction Films

Plays

Merchant of Venice, The

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

Notes

Ball gives a detailed scene-by-scene analysis of the BFI National Archive print (1,970ft with English titles). The copy held at the Library of Congress is a 16mm print at 1151ft (32 mins).

Reviews

Ball, Robert Hamilton. Shakespeare on Silent Film: A Strange Eventful History. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1968 (pp177-83, 252, 348).

Production Company

Name

Eclipse

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

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