''The Real Thing at Last'' is a "lost"

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

silent movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical silent comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in summer 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and S ...

based on the play ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

''. It was written in 1916 by

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...

creator and playwright

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

as a parody of the American entertainment industry. The film was made by the newly created British Actors Film Company in response to news that American filmmaker

D. W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the n ...

intended to honor the 300th anniversary of

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 ...

's death by producing of a film version of the play. It was subtitled ''A Suggestion for the Artists of the Future''. It was screened at a charity benefit attended by the royal family, but was not widely distributed, and no copies are known to survive.

Plot

Fictional American film producer Rupert K. Thunder (played on stage by

Edmund Gwenn Edmund Gwenn (born Edmund John Kellaway; 26 September 1877 – 6 September 1959) was an English actor. On film, he is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas film ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), for which he won t ...

) hosted the 30-minute film live, commenting on it as it played. It parodies the sensationalism of the American film industry of the day, including a controversial earlier adaptation of ''Macbeth'', contrasting it with more reserved and understated British sensibilities. It loosely follows the plot of the play, but two versions of each depicted scene are shown:

In the British version,
Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth is a leading character in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Macbeth'' (). As the wife of the play's tragic hero, Macbeth (a Scottish nobleman), Lady Macbeth goads her husband into committing regicide, after which she becomes quee ...
wiped a small amount of blood from her hands; in the American she had to wash away gallons of the stuff. In the British, the witches danced around a small cauldron; in the American the witches became dancing beauties cavorting around a huge cauldron. In the British,
Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
and Macduff fought in a ditch; in the American Macbeth falls to his death from a skyscraper.

The endings also differed:

The British version ended with typical coy understatement: 'The elegant home of the Macbeths is no longer a happy one', while the American version blithely opted for closure of a different kind: 'The Macbeths repent and all ends happily.'

The piano accompaniment for the closing scene of Macbeth and Macduff reconciling is "Life's Too Short to Quarrel".

Cast

as Rupert K. Thunder (live host),

* Nelson Keys as

Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth is a leading character in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Macbeth'' (). As the wife of the play's tragic hero, Macbeth (a Scottish nobleman), Lady Macbeth goads her husband into committing regicide, after which she becomes quee ...

Godfrey Tearle Sir Godfrey Seymour Tearle (12 October 1884 – 9 June 1953) was a British actor who portrayed the quintessential British gentleman on stage and in both British and US films. Biography Born in New York City and brought up in United Kingdom of ...

as Macduff *

Owen Nares Owen Ramsay Nares (11 August 1888 – 30 July 1943) was an English stage and film actor. Besides his acting career, he was the author of ''Myself, and Some Others'' (1925). Early life Educated at Reading School, Nares was encouraged by his m ...

as General

Banquo Lord Banquo , the Thane (Scotland), Thane of Lochaber, is a semi-historical character in William Shakespeare's 1606 play ''Macbeth''. In the play, he is at first an ally of Macbeth (character), Macbeth (both are generals in the King's army) an ...

* Norman Forbes as Duncan * Caleb Porter as Witch * George Kelly as Witch * Ernest Thesiger as Witch * Gladys Cooper as American Witch * Teddie Gerard as American Witch * Pauline Chase as American Witch *

Frederick Volpe Frederick Volpe (31 July 1865 – 7 March 1932), sometimes printed Volpé, was an English actor. He made his stage debut in his early twenties. From 1894 until his death he was a familiar figure on the West End theatre, West End stage, generally ...

as Murderer * Moya Mannering as Messenger * A.E. Matthews as Murdered * Marie Lohr as Murdered *

Frederick Kerr Frederick Kerr (born Frederick Grinham Keen, 11 October 1858 – 3 May 1933) was an English actor who appeared on stage in both London and New York and in British and American films; he also worked as a major theatrical manager in London. Early ...

as Murdered * Irene Vanbrugh as Lady * Eva Rowland as Lady *

Arthur Shirley Arthur Shirley (31 August 1886 – 24 November 1967) was an Australian actor, writer, producer, and director of theatre and film. He experienced some success as a film actor in Hollywood between 1914 and 1920. Biography Early life Born Hen ...

as Courtier * Leslie Henson as

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

, Page * Florence Alliston as Child

Production

Although nominally directed by L. C. MacBean, Barrie took an active role in its direction. The film featured several popular British stage actors of the period, and thus served as the film debuts of

, Marie Lohr, Ernest Thesiger, and

. Pauline Chase had been part of the original cast of Barrie's ''

'' and played the title role for seven years; she came out of retirement for this, her only screen performance.

Release

The film was presented at the

London Coliseum The London Coliseum (also known as the Coliseum Theatre) is a theatre in St Martin's Lane, City of Westminster, Westminster, built as one of London's largest and most luxurious "family" variety theatres. Opened on 24 December 1904 as the Lond ...

as part of a benefit for the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

raising money to entertain the troops serving in the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. This was attended by Queen Mary, Princess Mary, and

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

(later King George VI).

References

External links

*
The Bioscope
{{DEFAULTSORT:Real Thing at Last, The 1916 short films 1916 comedy films 1916 films British black-and-white films Films based on Macbeth 1916 lost films Lost British comedy films 1910s British films Silent British comedy short films Lost silent films