The Life and Death of King Richard III
About The Life and Death of King Richard III
Frederick Warde plays the Duke of Gloucester, who takes the English crown by betrayal and murder. The picture includes two scenes from Henry VI, Part 3: the killing of Prince Edward and Richard's murder of Henry VI. It opens with Warde, in modern dress, stepping out from a curtain to bow, and it ends with the same bow.
Cast & crew
More about The Life and Death of King Richard III
André Calmettes and James Keane directed. Keane wrote the script and plays Richmond. J. Stuart Blackton and M. B. Dudley produced it. The text mixes Shakespeare's Richard III with Colley Cibber's 1699 version. It was shot around Westchester, New York, and on City Island in Long Island Sound, and released through states-rights exchanges.
Themes
In film history
It is the oldest surviving American feature-length film, and it is thought to be the first feature-length Shakespeare film.
Making
Warde often appeared in person at American screenings, spoke briefly, and read extracts during the reel changes. The print begins and ends with him bowing in contemporary clothes.
Music
The picture is silent. Ennio Morricone composed a score for the Kino DVD issued on June 26, 2001.
Preservation
In 1996 William Buffum, a former projectionist at the Bluebird Theatre in Portland, Oregon, gave his print to the American Film Institute. The AFI transferred it off nitrate and retouched the original hand tinting.
Notes
- Robert Gemp plays Edward IV, Albert Gardner the Prince of Lancaster, Howard Stuart Edward V, and Violet Stuart Lady Anne.
- Carey Lee plays Queen Elizabeth and Carlotta De Felice Princess Elizabeth. George Moss plays Tressel. Virginia Rankin plays York.
- On tour, Warde lectured and read from the play while the reels, billed as acts, were changed.
- He found it cheaper to travel with the film than with a stage company.
- By 1922 the film was thought lost.
Scenes
- Warde bows in modern dress before a curtain, then the play begins.
- Richard kills Henry VI, a scene taken from Henry VI, Part 3.
- Warde bows again and steps back behind the curtain.
Influenced by
- Richard III (Shakespeare)
- Richard III (Colley Cibber)
Also available
- Internet Archive (silent-the-life-and-death-of-king-richard-iii)
- Kino International DVD (June 26, 2001), with Ennio Morricone's score and the 17-minute film Rediscovering Richard
