Taming of the Shrew, The

Synopsis
Condensed version of The Taming of the Shrew concentrating on the wooing and winning of Katharina by Petruchio. Ball (op cit. p. 286) is underwhelmed by the film finding the camera stationary, the acting too theatrical and over-burdened with intertitles. He notes...`the effect is both over-literary and uncinematic, especially in the crowded first reel. Inaudible speeches usually supersede the function of the camera, and except for the cross-cutting there is hardly a trace of recognition of the true nature of the motion picture medium’.
Series
Gems of Literature
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Film
Technical information
Black-and-white / Silent
Year of release
1923
Duration
22 mins; 2,022 feet

Credits

Director
Edwin J. Collins
Producer
Edward Godal
Writer
William Shakespeare
Cast
Dacia DeaneKatherina
Lauderdale MaitlandPetruchio
M. Gray MurrayBaptista Minola
Cynthia MurtaghBianca
Roy BeardLucentio
Somers BellamyGremio

Additional Details

Production type
Fiction Films
Plays
Taming of the Shrew, The
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

Notes
The BFI National Archive holds a complete preservation copy (2,022ft) but only 939ft (10 mins) of viewing material (7/2007).
General
A good example of many cheap short films based on literary classics that were made in Britain in the 1920s by the many producers who could not afford to make full-length feature films.
Reviews
Ball, Robert Hamilton. Shakespeare on Silent Film: A Strange Eventful History. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1968 (p284-6, 377). Barbara Hodgdon, The Shakespeare Trade: Performances and Appropriations. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998. (p. 10-1). Hodgdon believes the intertitles function as an authoritative male voice.

Production Company

Name

British and Colonial Kinematograph

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

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

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Taming of the Shrew, The". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av68701 (Accessed 26 Nov 2024)