Shakespeare in Performance: Film
Richard II (1954, George Schaefer)
| Title | Richard II |
|---|---|
| Year | 1954 |
| Release Locations | USA |
| Director | George Schaefer |
| Medium | Black & white video |
| Length | 2 hrs |
| Languages | English |
| Audience | general public |
| Play Connections | Richard II (teleplay) |
| Series | Hallmark Hall of Fame |
Description
One of the several Hallmark greeting cards productions of Shakespeare (for other Shakespeare programs in the Hallmark series, see 102, 126, 305, 309, 593, 594, 613, and 649). This one was broadcast "live" on television to 55 cities. The risks and perils of going "live" before a tv camera added to the charms of that genre by making it almost as much a theatrical as a cinematic event. The entire production cost $175,000 of which a major share went into 2500 hours needed for construction of the sets. The copy that remains in the Folger is a videotape of a Kinescope recording ("Kinescope" recordings, crude black-and-white records of productions, were made largely for legal purposes.) The Folger copy is listed as having "audio problems." In an interview, Mr. Evans revealed that the face of King Richard's corpse in the coffin at the end of the play was actually a bronze bust of Mr. Evans as Hamlet, a bizarre touch ("Maurice Evans Stars [w. still]." NYT 24 Jan. 1954: X 13)
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
Production Team and Crew Overview
| Director | George Schaefer |
|---|---|
| Producer | Maurice Evans |
| Producer | Albert McCleery |
| Composer | Herbert Menges |
| Conductor | William Brooks |
| Production | Richard Sylbert |
| Production | Noel Taylor |
Production information courtesy of: Kenneth Rothwell