A MIDSUMMER NIGHTS DREAM (1935) A highly ambitious film. Its an American film of William Shakespeares play, Max Reinhardts legendary Hollywood Bowl production of Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream was transferred to the screen by Warner Bros. in 1935. directed by Max Reinhardt and William Dieterle, and starring Ian Hunter, James Cagney, Mickey Rooney, Olivia de Havilland, Joe E. Brown, Dick Powell, and Victor Jory. A star was born, Olivia de Havilland originally played the role of Hermia in Max Reinhardts Hollywood Bowl stage production of the play. Although the cast of the stage play was mostly replaced by Warner Brothers contract players, de Havilland and Mickey Rooney were chosen to reprise their original roles. This was the film debut of Olivia de Havilland. She would be signed to a Wb contract. Austrian-born director Max Reinhardt did not speak English at the time of the films production. He gave orders to the actors and crew in German with William Dieterle acting as his interpreter. The film was banned in Nazi Germany because of the Jewish backgrounds of Reinhardt and composer Felix Mendelssohn. The shooting schedule had to be rearranged after Mickey Rooney broke his leg while skiing. According to Rooneys memoirs, Jack Warner was furious and threatened to kill him and then break his other leg. Felix Mendelssohns music was used, but re-orchestrated by Erich Wolfgang Korngold. At the time, cinemas had a right to cancel within a specified period of time. Cancellations usually ran between 20 and 50. This film established a new record with 2,971 cancellations. Booking agents had failed to correctly identify the film. They did know what audiences would be viewing the film. These type of films are more popular in the city as apposed to the country. The film failed at the box office and received mixed reviews, However the opinion oi the audience has changes over the years. The film won two Academy Awards. Here again Warner Bros dared to go into uncharted waters this time with Shakespeare. FILM HERE:
Posted on: Sat, 18 Oct 2014 17:32:07 +0000
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