''Richard III'' (also known as ''The Life and Death of King Richard III'') is a 1912 silent

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

, co-directed by French filmmaker André Calmettes and American playwright James Keane, and starring Frederick Warde as the title character. The 55-minute film, an

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint vent ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

the United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, was produced by Film d'Art and released through the independent

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film distribution Film distribution, also called film exhibition or film distribution and exhibition, is the process of making a film available for viewing to an audience. This is normally the task of a professional film distributor, who would determine the marketin ...

system. ''Richard III'' was adapted from Shakespeare's original and Colley Cibber's 1699 adaptation of the same name. The film was written by Keane, who also appears as Richmond. Filming took place around

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and City Island

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.p.19 Rothwell, Kenneth S. ''A History of Shakespeare on Screen: A Century of Film and Television'' Cambridge University Press, 28 Oct. 2004

Release and rediscovery

When the film was released in the U.S., actor Frederick Warde would often appear at screenings, giving a short lecture, and then reading extracts from the play during the changing of the reels, which were then called "acts". The film itself begins with Warde, in modern dress, emerging from behind a theatrical curtain and bowing, and concludes with him bowing again, and returning behind the curtain. A traveling actor, Warde discovered it was more economical to single-handedly tour with the film rather than perform the play with an entire theatrical company. The film also features two scenes from '' 3 Henry VI'' (the murder of Prince Edward and Richard's murder of Henry VI). It is the oldest surviving American feature-length film, and is also thought to be the first feature-length Shakespearean adaptation ever made. As early as 1922, the film was thought lost. It was not until 1996 that a print was discovered, when William Buffum, former

projectionist A projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector, particularly as an employee of a movie theater. Projectionists are also known as "operators". Historical background N.B. The dates given in the subject headings are approximate. Early ...

at the Bluebird Theatre in

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, donated his copy to the

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...

. The AFI restored the print, transferring it from its

nitrate film Nitrocellulose (also known as cellulose nitrate, flash paper, flash cotton, guncotton, pyroxylin and flash string, depending on form) is a highly flammable compound formed by nitration, nitrating cellulose through exposure to a mixture of nitri ...

stock and retouching the hand tinting effect used in the original 1912 release. On June 26, 2001,

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released the film on

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, with a newly composed score by

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

, and a 17-minute

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

"Rediscovering ''Richard'': Looking Back on a Forgotten Classic".

Cast

* Frederick Warde as Richard, Duke of Gloucester *Robert Gemp as King Edward IV *Albert Gardner as Prince Edward of Lancaster *James Keane as Henry Tudor, 2nd Earl of Richmond *George Moss as Tressel *Howard Stuart as King Edward V *Virginia Rankin as York *Violet Stuart as Lady Anne Plantagenet *Carey Lee as Queen Elizabeth *Carlotta De Felice as Princess Elizabeth

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1912 films 1912 drama films 1910s American films 1910s English-language films 1910s rediscovered films American black-and-white films American silent feature films City Island, Bronx Cultural depictions of Edward IV Cultural depictions of Edward V Cultural depictions of Elizabeth of York Cultural depictions of Henry VII of England Films based on Richard III (play) French silent feature films Rediscovered American films Silent American drama films Surviving American silent films Films about disability Cultural depictions of Elizabeth Woodville

Release and rediscovery

Cast

See also

References

Further reading

External links