Internet Shakespeare Editions

Shakespeare in Performance: Film

Tragedy of Othello (1950)

TitleTragedy of Othello
Year1950
Release LocationsGB
MediumVideo
Length2 hrs, 15 mins
Play ConnectionsOthello (teleplay)

Description

What better way to celebrate Shakespeare's birthday than with a Sunday evening performance of Othello? Perhaps As You Like It might have been more appropriate for the occasion but nevertheless the BBC must be credited for having remembered England's national poet. A relatively generous budget of £1,652 must also have cheered up the producers (CHM). The presence of Margaretta Scott as Emilia glanced backward to the very first 1937 BBC Shakespeare production, and of Laurence Harvey as Cassio, forward to his glamorous screen career. The program lists a gaggle of special effects from the BBC sound and vision archives, to include a cheering crowd, sea sounds, weather, a bell, and a gun

Description from Shakespeare on Screen : an International Filmography and Videography by Kenneth S. Rothwell and Annabelle Henkin Melzer. ©1990 Kenneth S. Rothwell. Cited by permission. — Added 2008-11-14

Cast Overview

DukeArthur Wontner
BrabantioFrank Birch
SenatorCharles Doran
GratianoGeorge Skillan
LodovicoPatrick Macnee
OthelloAndre Morell
CassioLaurence Harvey
IagoStephen Murray
RoderigoAlan Wheatley
MontanoBrian Coleman
DesdemonaJoan Hopkins
EmiliaMargaretta Scott
BiancaPamela Arliss
SailorDonovan Winter
MessengerJohn Biggerstaff
GentlemenKenneth McLeod
AttendantLisa Bodington
CastDavid Askey
CastJohn Benson
CastDennis Harkin

Production Team and Crew Overview

ProducerGeorge More O'Ferrall
ProducerKevin Sheldon
Fight CoordinatorMaurice Jones
ScreenplayGeorge Skillan
Stage ManagerDavid Askey
ProductionBarry Learoyd
Studio ManagerGil Calder
Studio ManagerMichael Philips

Production information courtesy of: Kenneth Rothwell