Richard III
About Richard III
Frank Benson's company plays Richard's rise from scenes in Henry VI. Richard woos Lady Anne, has the princes killed in the Tower, and takes the crown. On the eve of Bosworth the dead accuse him in a run of dissolves. Richmond, the future Henry VII, outmaneuvers him.
Cast & crew
More about Richard III
The Co-Operative Cinematograph Company filmed Frank Benson's 1910 Stratford production in 1911. Will Barker photographed it from the stalls, one shot of the whole stage per scene, each headed by an intertitle and a short line from the play. The negative is 1,324 feet.
Themes
Making
The camera stays in the auditorium. Barker does not move in for close views, so the film plays as a record of the Stratford staging.
Look
Will Barker shot 35mm black and white from a fixed place in the stalls, one unbroken view per scene.
Technique
Richard's dream before Bosworth is a series of dissolves, one accuser replacing the next.
Preservation
The British Film Institute National Archive holds the film. The BFI DVD Silent Shakespeare includes it, with an optional commentary by Judith Buchanan. That transfer runs 23 minutes.
Notes
- Frank Benson plays Richard and is also credited as producer. He had played the part on stage since 1886.
- Constance Benson is Lady Anne. James Berry is Henry VI. Alfred Brydone is Edward IV. Murray Carrington is Clarence.
- Kathleen Yorke plays Edward, Prince of Wales. Eric Maxon plays Richmond. Moffat Johnston plays Buckingham.
- The same company filmed Benson in Julius Caesar, Macbeth, and The Taming of the Shrew. Those reels are lost.
- BFI Screenonline includes clips of the wooing of Anne, the princes' death, and the nightmare.
Scenes
- Richard woos Lady Anne.
- The princes are murdered, and Tyrrel is shown regretting it.
- Dissolves bring Richard's accusers to him the night before Bosworth.
Influenced by
- Richard III (William Shakespeare)
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-richard-iii)
- DVD: Silent Shakespeare (BFI), with commentary by Judith Buchanan
