''Becket'' is a 1924 British silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

George Ridgwell George Ridgwell (sometimes spelt Ridgewell; 1867–1935) was a British screenwriter and film director of the silent film era. Biography George Ridgwell was born in Woolwich in 1867. He directed around 70 films including a series of adaptations o ...

and starring

Frank R. Benson Sir Francis Robert Benson (4 November 1858 – 31 December 1939) was an English actor-manager. He founded his own company in 1883 and produced all but two of William Shakespeare, Shakespeare's plays. His thirty-year association with the Royal Sh ...

A.V. Bramble Albert Victor Bramble (1884–1963) was an English actor and film director. He began his acting career on the stage. He started acting in films in 1914 and subsequently turned to directing and producing films. He died on 17 May 1963. Backgrou ...

and

Bertram Burleigh Bertram Burleigh (1890 – 1961) was a British actor of the silent era. After early theatrical roles, Burleigh performed in leading roles in a series of British films from 1914 to 1927. He retired from acting in the late 1920s, after which ...

. It depicts the fatal encounter between

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

and the Archbishop of Canterbury

Thomas Becket Thomas Becket (), also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and later Thomas à Becket (21 December 1119 or 1120 – 29 December 1170), served as Lord Chancellor from 1155 to 1162, and then as Archbishop of Canterbury fr ...

. The film is based on the 1884 play of the same title by

Alfred Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...

. It was produced by

Stoll Pictures Stoll Pictures was a British film production and distribution company of the silent era, founded in April 1918. Background During the early to mid-1920s it was the largest film company in Britain and one of the biggest in Europe. Its major dome ...

, Britain's largest film company of the era, at the

Cricklewood Studios Cricklewood Studios, also known as the Stoll Film Studios, were British film studios located in Cricklewood, London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and t ...

in London. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Walter Murton Walter Murton was a British art director, who worked from the 1920s until the 1940s. During his early career in the 1920s Murton was the regular set designer on the silent film series '' The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' and '' The Myst ...

Cast

as Thomas Becket *

as Henry II *

as Lord Leicester *

Arthur Burne Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

as Grim *

Mary Clare Mary Clare Absalom (17 July 1892 – 29 August 1970) was a British actress of stage, film and television. Biography Daughter of George Alfred Absalom, Clare was educated at Wood Green secondary school, first worked in an office but a loan ...

as Queen

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine ( or ; ; , or ; – 1 April 1204) was Duchess of Aquitaine from 1137 to 1204, Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, and Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II. As ...

* Clive Currie as Herbert of Bosham *

Bert Daley Bert or BERT may refer to: Persons, characters, or animals known as Bert *Bert (name), commonly an abbreviated forename and sometimes a surname *Bert, a character in the poem "Bert the Wombat" by The Wiggles; from their 1992 album ''Here Comes a ...

as De Tracey * Sydney Folker as De Broc * Alex G. Hunter as John of Salisbury *

Gladys Jennings Gladys Jennings (5 August 1903 – October 1994) was an English actress. Selected filmography * ''The Lady Clare (1919 film), The Lady Clare'' (1919) * ''The Face at the Window (1920 film), The Face at the Window'' (1920) * ''The Shuttle of Lif ...

as Rosamund de Clifford *

William Lugg William Lugg (4 June 1852 – 5 December 1939) was an English actor and singer of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. He had a long stage career beginning with roles in several Gilbert and Sullivan operas and continuing for over four decades ...

as John of Oxford *

C. Hargrave Mansell C. or c. may refer to: * Century, sometimes abbreviated as ''c.'' or ''C.'', a period of 100 years * Letter C, the third letter in the alphabet. * Cent (currency), abbreviated ''c.'' or ''¢'', a monetary unit that equals of the basic unit of man ...

as Theobald of Canterbury *

Sidney Paxton Sydney Paxton (25 June 1860 in London, England, UK – 13 October 1930 in Montauk, New York, USA) was an English stage and film actor. Partial filmography * '' A Man's Shadow'' (1920) * '' The Bachelor's Club'' (1921) * '' The Rotters'' (1921) ...

as Archbishop of York *

Percy Standing Percy Standing was an English film actor of the silent era. Selected filmography * '' Life Without Soul'' (1915) * ''My Four Years in Germany'' (1918) * ''To the Highest Bidder'' (1918) * '' Should a Husband Forgive?'' (1919) * ''The Great Da ...

as Sir Reginald Fitzurse *

Harry J. Worth Harry J. Worth (6 February 1903 – 3 November 1975), was a British-born actor, who appeared in British productions from 1916 to 1929 and later appeared in a number of feature films after moving to Hollywood in 1935 to 1963. He was generally cr ...

as De Brito

References

Bibliography

* Goble, Alan. ''The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film''. Walter de Gruyter, 1999. * Low, Rachael. ''The History of British Film (Volume 3): The History of the British Film 1914 – 1918''. Routledge, 2013.

External links

* 1924 films 1920s historical drama films Films based on works by Alfred, Lord Tennyson Films directed by George Ridgwell Films set in London Films set in Kent Films set in the 12th century Cultural depictions of Thomas Becket Cultural depictions of Eleanor of Aquitaine British black-and-white films British silent feature films Martyrdom in fiction 1924 drama films Stoll Pictures films Films shot at Cricklewood Studios 1920s English-language films 1920s British films Silent British historical drama films English-language historical drama films Cultural depictions of Henry II of England {{1920s-UK-film-stub