Internet Shakespeare Editions

Shakespeare in Performance: Film

The Taming of the Shrew (1956, Robert Hartung)

TitleThe Taming of the Shrew
Year1956
Release LocationsUSA
DirectorRobert Hartung
MediumColor video
Length1 hrs, 30 mins
LanguagesEnglish
Audiencegeneral public
Play ConnectionsThe Taming of the Shrew (teleplay)
SeriesHallmark Hall of Fame

Description

Hallmark Hall of Fame television adaptation of Taming of the Shrew transmitted originally in color and but now preserved only in black and white. The show was an "Easter program" in Holy Week. In a clever opening device, the characters are presented by means of cue cards. Then Grumio sums up the Sly Induction scene by pointing out that the actors are players. He ends his speech with Sly's words, "Let's let the world slip by." There is then a cut to dancers and jugglers and the plot is mimed, commedia style. Quick editing follows in which there is an immediate movement, for example, to the Bianca plot. The lighting occasionally presents difficulties when characters become difficult to identify. The director himself felt that the colors were 'extraordinary' with a white floor and white set and transitions shot with bright red chiffon scarves floating in front of the lens. All the more pity that it survives only in black-and-white Kinescope

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

KatharineLilli Palmer
BiancaDiane Cilento
BaptistaPhilip Bourneuf
VincentioRobinson Stone
LucentioJohn Colicos
PetruchioMaurice Evans
HortensioDouglas Watson
BiondelloRonald Long
GrumioJerome Kilty
CurtisWill B. Able
TailorJack Fletcher
DancersPaul Godkin
CastMara Lynn

Production Team and Crew Overview

DirectorRobert Hartung
DirectorAdrienne Luraschi
DirectorGeorge Schaefer
ProducerMildred Freed Alberg
ProducerJoseph Cunneff
ProducerMaurice Evans
ComposerLehman Engel
ChoreographyTony Charmoli
Technical DirectorRobert Long
Adaptor/TranslatorMichael Hogan
Adaptor/TranslatorWilliam Nichols
HairErnest Adler
CostumesJames Glenn
MakeupDick Smith
CostumesRouben Ter-Arutunian
LightingWilliam Knight
AudioPhil Falcone
Unit ManagerBrice Howard
ProductionRouben Ter-Arutunian

Production information courtesy of: Kenneth Rothwell