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Richard III (1955 film)
Encyclopedia
Richard III is a 1955 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare
's historical
play of the same name
, also incorporating elements from his Henry VI, Part 3
. It was directed
and produced by Sir Laurence Olivier
, who also played the lead role
. The cast includes many noted Shakespearean actors, including a quartet of acting knights
. The film depicts Richard
plotting and conspiring to grasp the throne from his brother King Edward IV
, played by Sir Cedric Hardwicke
. In the process, many are killed and betrayed, with Richard's evil leading to his own downfall. The prologue of the film states that history without its legends would be "a dry matter indeed", implicitly admitting to the artistic licence
that Shakespeare applied to the events of the time.
Of the three Shakespearean films directed by Olivier, Richard III received the least critical praise at the time, although it was still acclaimed. It was the only one not to be nominated for Best Picture
at the Academy Awards, though Olivier's acting performance
was nominated. The film gained popularity through a re-release in 1966, which broke box office records in many cities. Many critics now consider Olivier's Richard III his best screen adaptation of Shakespeare. The British Film Institute
has pointed out that given the enormous TV audiences it received in 1955, the film "may have done more to popularize Shakespeare than any other single work".
(Sir Cedric Hardwicke
) has been placed on the throne with the help of his brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester
(Sir Laurence Olivier
). After Edward's coronation in the Great Hall with his brothers George and Richard watching, he leaves with his son. Richard contemplates the throne, before advancing towards the audience and then addressing them, delivering a speech that outlines his physical deformities, including a hunched back
and a withered arm. He goes on to describe his jealousy over his brother's rise to power in contrast to his lowly position.
He dedicates himself to task and plans to frame his brother, George, Duke of Clarence (Sir John Gielgud
), for conspiring to kill the King, and to have Clarence sent to the Tower of London
, by claiming George will murder Edward's heirs. He then tells his brother he will help him get out. Having confused and deceived the King, Richard proceeds with his plans after getting a warrant, and enlists two ruffians (Michael Gough
and Michael Ripper
) to carry out his dirty work: Clarence is murdered, drowned in a butt of wine. Though Edward had sent a pardon to Richard, Richard stopped it passing. Richard goes on to woo and seduce the Lady Anne
(Claire Bloom
), and though she hates him for killing her husband
and father
, she cannot resist and ends up marrying him.
Richard then orchestrates disorder in the court, fueling rivalries, and setting the court against the Queen consort, Elizabeth
(Mary Kerridge
). The King, weakened by exhaustion, appoints his brother, Richard, as Lord Protector
, and dies soon after hearing of the death of Clarence. Edward's son, soon to become Edward V
(Paul Huson
), is met by Richard whilst en route to London
. Richard has the Lord Chamberlain, Lord Hastings (Alec Clunes
) arrested and executed, and forces the young King, along with his younger brother the Duke of York
(Andy Shine), to have a protracted stay at the Tower of London.
With all obstacles now removed, Richard enlists the help of his cousin The Duke of Buckingham
(Ralph Richardson
) to alter his public image, and to become popular with the people. In doing so, Richard becomes the people's first choice to become the new King.
Buckingham had aided Richard on terms of being given the title of Earl of Hereford
and the income from the accompanying land grant, but balks at the idea of murdering the two princes. Richard then asks a minor knight, Sir James Tyrrel (Patrick Troughton
), eager for advancement, to have young Edward and the Duke of York killed in the Tower of London. On requesting his earldom at Richard's coronation, Richard (angry at Buckingham for not killing the princes) shouts "I am not in the giving vein today!" Buckingham then fears for his life and joins the opposition against Richard's rule.
Richard, now fearful due to his dwindling popularity, raises an army to defend his throne and the House of York
against the House of Lancaster
, led by Henry, Earl of Richmond
(Stanley Baker
), at Bosworth Field
. Before the battle, however, Buckingham is captured and executed.
On the eve of the battle, Richard is haunted by the ghost
s of all those he has killed in his bloody ascent to the throne, and he wakes screaming. Richard composes himself, striding out to plan the battle for his generals, and gives a motivational speech to his troops.
The two forces engage in battle, with the Lancastarians having the upper hand. Lord Stanley
(Laurence Naismith
), whose loyalties had been questionable for some time, betrays Richard, and allies himself with Henry. Richard sees this and charges into the thick of battle, side-by-side with his loyal companion Sir William Catesby (Norman Wooland
) in order to kill Richmond and end the battle quickly. Eventually Richard spots Richmond and they briefly engage in a duel before being interrupted by Stanley's men. Richard and Catesby are able to escape the oncoming forces, but, in doing so, Richard is knocked off his horse, loses his cherished crown, and becomes separated from Catesby, who is off seeking rescue. Searching desperately for Richmond, whom he has lost sight of, Richard cries out: "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" Catesby finds the king and offers him withdrawal, but Richard refuses to flee. Catesby is then killed by Richmond's men without Richard even noticing.
Richard then spots Lord Stanley, and engages him in single combat. Before a victor can emerge, the Lancastarian troops charge Richard, and fatally wound him. Richard convulses in several spasms and offers his sword to the sky before dying. Stanley orders Richard's body to be taken away, and then finds Richard's crown in a thorn bush. He then proceeds to offer it to Henry, leaving the crown of England in safe hands once again.
and produced by his London Films
, obtaining the required actors was not difficult, as many actors were contractually obliged to London Films. As with most films with ensemble cast
s, all the players were billed on the same tier. However, Olivier played the title character and occupies the majority of screen time and therefore could be considered the lead actor.
When casting the supporting roles, Olivier chose to fortify the already impressive cast with seasoned veterans, such as Laurence Naismith
, and with promising newcomers, such as Claire Bloom
and Stanley Baker
. For the murderers, Olivier originally wanted John Mills
and Richard Attenborough
. However, Mills thought the idea might be regarded as "stunt casting", and Attenborough had to pull out due to a scheduling conflict. The film's marketers in the US picked up on the fact that the cast included four knights (Olivier, Richardson, Gielgud
and Hardwicke
) and used this as a selling point. The four members of the cast who had already achieved British knighthood were all listed as "Sir...." in the film credits.
Of Olivier's three Shakespeare films, Richard III had the longest gestation period: Olivier had created and been developing his vision of the character Richard since his portrayal for the Old Vic Theatre in 1944. After he had made Shakespeare films popular with Henry V
and Hamlet
, the choice of Richard III for his next adaptation was simple, as his Richard had been widely praised on stage. For the stage production, Olivier had modelled some of the crookback king's look on a well-known theatrical producer at the time, Jed Harris
, whom Olivier called "the most loathsome man I'd ever met". Years later Olivier discovered that Walt Disney
had also used Harris as his basis for the Big Bad Wolf
in the film The Three Little Pigs
. Alexander Korda
, who had given Olivier his initial roles on film, provided financial support for the film.
and David Garrick
, including Cibber's line, "Off with his head. So much for Buckingham!". Like Cibber and Garrick, Olivier's film opens with material from the last scenes of Henry VI, Part III, in order to introduce more clearly the situation at the beginning of the story.
A key change in the story involved the seduction of Anne. It is split into two scenes instead of one, and an element of perversity is added- whereas in the original play she is following a coffin with the corpse of her father-in-law, in this film the coffin contains the corpse of her husband. John Cottrell has been quoted as saying this makes "the young widow's seduction even more daring and revolting than it is in the original, and giving Anne's capitulation" in the second part after a passionate kiss "a new and neurotic twist" This is accomplished by cutting lines, changing lines, and changing the sequence of some lines.
Olivier makes other small and subtle additions in the stage direction. When Richard's nephew makes a joke about his uncle's hunchback ("you might bear me on your shoulder", Richard spins round and gives the boy a malevolent glare making the boy stagger back. This bit of stage direction is original to Olivier. Olivier also silently mimes some actions spoken of in his soliloquys such as when he whispers insinuations about Clarence into the ear of King Edward.
In general the lengthy play is heavily cut. In an interview with Roger Manvell Olivier discussed how unwieldy and complex the play is.
The character of Queen Margaret
is cut entirely, the Duchess of York (Helen Haye
) is reduced to only one scene, the role of Edward IV's wife Elizabeth (not to be confused with Elizabeth I) is also reduced, and the execution of Clarence and other scenes are abridged.These cuts were made to maintain the pace of the film and to cut down the running time, as a full performance of the play can run upwards of four hours. Richard is made more directly responsible for the death of Edward IV than in the play, as Edward has his fatal attack only moments after Richard informs the assembled nobles that Clarence is dead.
was Olivier's assistant director, on hand to help since Olivier was acting in many, if not most, of the scenes.
Olivier was very precise in getting many of the visual details of the period correct. Actor Douglas Wilmer (Dorset) recounts that when he casually told Olivier that one piece of heraldry on the set was incorrect, that Olivier started pumping as much information out of him as possible as if he was "drilling for oil".
Olivier made the unusual decision to deliver his soliloquies by directly addressing the film audience
, something not often done before in film. Near the beginning of the film Richard's herald drops his coronet, a mistake that Olivier decided to keep in, as part of the motif of accidental loss of the crown continued in the final battle.
Most of the film was shot in at Shepperton Studios
, but the climactic Battle of Bosworth Field
abruptly opens up the setting, as it was shot outdoors, in the Spanish countryside. During one sequence therein, Olivier suffered an arrow
wound to the shin when his horse jerked forwards. Fortunately, it was on the leg Richard was supposed to limp on, allowing the scene to continue.
Wilmer also notes
During filming, Olivier's portrait was painted by Salvador Dalí
. The painting remained one of Olivier's favourites until he had to sell it to pay for his children's school fees.
for the film was by Otto Heller
, who had worked on many European films before coming to the UK in the early 1940s. The film uses the Technicolor
process, which Olivier had earlier rejected for his Hamlet after a row with the company. The use of Technicolor
resulted in bright, vibrant colours. Korda had suggested that Olivier also use the new extreme widescreen
format, CinemaScope
, but Olivier thought it was nothing more than a gimmick designed to distract the audience from the true quality of the film, and chose the less extreme VistaVision
format instead.
, who worked on all of the films Olivier directed except The Prince and the Showgirl
. He composed a score
described in Chandos' record catalog as "rousing" and "filled with pomp and circumstance, to add to the feel of pageantry". The music was conducted by Muir Mathieson
, who collaborated on all of films Olivier directed, except for Three Sisters. The film's music was also used for a set of readings of speeches from the play on audio CD
featuring John Gielgud
. The Chandos catalog notes that Walton used the main theme throughout the film, especially towards the closing scenes.
in the U.S. for $500,000 and the film was released in the U.S. on Sunday, 11 March 1956. The release was unique in that the film had it U.S. premiere on the same day both on television and in cinemas, the first instance ever of this being done. It was not shown during prime time
, but rather in the afternoon, and quite likely was the first three-hour telecast of a film ever to be shown. The film, although slightly cut for television, was generally well received by critics, with Olivier's performance earning particular notice, but due to its simultaneous release through television and cinemas in the U.S., it was a box office failure. However, the airing on U.S. television received excellent ratings, estimated at between 25 and 40 million. In addition, when the film was reissued in 1966, it broke box office records in many US cities.
The review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
records that 100 percent of its collected reviews of the film are positive. However, the reviewer for the AllMovie website criticizes Olivier's direction for being far more restricted in its style in comparison to the bold filming of Henry V, or the moody photography of Hamlet, and Olivier the actor for dominating the production too much (although the character of Richard certainly dominates Shakespeare's original play). There were some complaints about geographical inaccuracies in the film. (The Battle of Bosworth Field was filmed in a region of Spain that does not resemble any locations in England.) In response, Olivier wrote in The New York Times
: "Americans who know London may be surprised to find Westminster Abbey
and the Tower of London
to be practically adjacent. I hope they'll agree with me that if they weren't like that, they should have been."
The film's failure at the U.S. box office, however, along with Korda's death, ended Olivier's career as a Shakespeare film director. Olivier had been planning to make Macbeth
, but one of his other major backers, producer Mike Todd
, died in a plane crash.
. It was Olivier's fifth nomination in the category, though the award was won by Yul Brynner
for his performance in The King and I
. Richard III was the second film to have won both Best Film
awards at the BAFTAS
. It dominated that year's awards ceremony, winning, in addition to the two Best Film awards, the award for Best British Actor. It was also the first winner of the newly created Golden Globe Award for Best English - Language Foreign Film
, which had been split from the Best Foreign Film Award. Other awards won by the film include the Silver Bear Award at the 6th Berlin International Film Festival
and the David di Donatello Award
for Best Foreign Production. The Jussi Award was given to Olivier for Best Foreign Actor.
Olivier's performance as Richard III was ranked 39th in Premiere magazine's
"100 Greatest Performances of All Time"
, the 25–40 million viewers during its airing on US television, "would have outnumbered the sum of the play's theatrical audiences over the 358 years since its first performance."
Johnny Rotten
from the Sex Pistols
stated in his autobiography, Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs, that Olivier's performance as Richard had a large influence on him. Scenes from the film were used in the Sex Pistols' documentary The Filth And The Fury
.
The film was the inspiration and source of parody for the BBC
Television series, Blackadder
. For instance, Peter Cook
's performance in the first episode
of The Black Adder
was a parody of Olivier's Richard III. The crown motif shown throughout the film is also quoted. "Additional Dialogue by William Shakespere" was a credit to the bard that lasted until Season 3.
several times, but these releases are copies of the unrestored and cropped film. In 2004, Criterion
digitally restored
the film in its original widescreen
format and re-constructed it to match the release script. It was released in a 2-disc special edition, including an essay by film and music historian Bruce Eder, an interview with Olivier, and other numerous special features. The DVD is subtitled in English, with a Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono audio track. The DVD also contains a commentary by Russell Lees and John Wilders. The second disc of the DVD features a 1966 BBC interview with Olivier by Kenneth Tynan
entitled Great Acting: Laurence Olivier. It also contains a gallery of posters, production stills and two trailers
.
Janus Films
also released the film on DVD under its Essential Art House label.
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's historical
Shakespearean history
In the First Folio, the plays of William Shakespeare were grouped into three categories: comedies, histories, and tragedies. This categorisation has become established, although some critics have argued for other categories such as romances and problem plays. The histories were those plays based on...
play of the same name
Richard III (play)
Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified...
, also incorporating elements from his Henry VI, Part 3
Henry VI, part 3
Henry VI, Part 3 or The Third Part of Henry the Sixt is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1591, and set during the lifetime of King Henry VI of England...
. It was directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and produced by Sir Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
, who also played the lead role
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
. The cast includes many noted Shakespearean actors, including a quartet of acting knights
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
. The film depicts Richard
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
plotting and conspiring to grasp the throne from his brother King Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
, played by Sir Cedric Hardwicke
Cedric Hardwicke
Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke was a noted English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly fifty years...
. In the process, many are killed and betrayed, with Richard's evil leading to his own downfall. The prologue of the film states that history without its legends would be "a dry matter indeed", implicitly admitting to the artistic licence
Artistic licence
Artistic licence is a colloquial term, sometimes euphemism, used to denote the distortion of fact, alteration of the conventions of grammar or language, or rewording of pre-existing text made by an artist to improve a piece of...
that Shakespeare applied to the events of the time.
Of the three Shakespearean films directed by Olivier, Richard III received the least critical praise at the time, although it was still acclaimed. It was the only one not to be nominated for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
at the Academy Awards, though Olivier's acting performance
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
was nominated. The film gained popularity through a re-release in 1966, which broke box office records in many cities. Many critics now consider Olivier's Richard III his best screen adaptation of Shakespeare. The British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
has pointed out that given the enormous TV audiences it received in 1955, the film "may have done more to popularize Shakespeare than any other single work".
Plot
King Edward IV of EnglandEdward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
(Sir Cedric Hardwicke
Cedric Hardwicke
Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke was a noted English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly fifty years...
) has been placed on the throne with the help of his brother, Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Richard III of England
Richard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
(Sir Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
). After Edward's coronation in the Great Hall with his brothers George and Richard watching, he leaves with his son. Richard contemplates the throne, before advancing towards the audience and then addressing them, delivering a speech that outlines his physical deformities, including a hunched back
Hunchback
Hunchback may refer to one of the following.*A derogatory term for a person who has severe kyphosis*The Hunchback of Notre Dame*Hunchback , an arcade and computer game from the 1980s*The Hunchback, a 1914 film featuring Lillian Gish...
and a withered arm. He goes on to describe his jealousy over his brother's rise to power in contrast to his lowly position.
He dedicates himself to task and plans to frame his brother, George, Duke of Clarence (Sir John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
), for conspiring to kill the King, and to have Clarence sent to the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, by claiming George will murder Edward's heirs. He then tells his brother he will help him get out. Having confused and deceived the King, Richard proceeds with his plans after getting a warrant, and enlists two ruffians (Michael Gough
Michael Gough
Michael Gough was an English character actor who appeared in over 150 films. He is perhaps best known to international audiences for his roles in the Hammer Horror films from 1958, and for his recurring role as Alfred Pennyworth in all four movies of the Burton/Schumacher Batman franchise,...
and Michael Ripper
Michael Ripper
Michael Ripper was an English character actor born in Portsmouth.He began his film career in quota quickies in the 1930s and until the late 1950s was virtually unknown; he was seldom credited. He played one of the two murderers in Richard III. Ripper became a mainstay in Hammer Film Productions...
) to carry out his dirty work: Clarence is murdered, drowned in a butt of wine. Though Edward had sent a pardon to Richard, Richard stopped it passing. Richard goes on to woo and seduce the Lady Anne
Anne Neville
Lady Anne Neville was Princess of Wales as the wife of Edward of Westminster and Queen of England as the consort of King Richard III. She held the latter title for less than two years, from 26 June 1483 until her death in March 1485...
(Claire Bloom
Claire Bloom
Claire Bloom is an English film and stage actress.-Early life:Bloom was born in the North London suburb of Finchley, the daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales...
), and though she hates him for killing her husband
Edward of Westminster
Edward of Westminster , also known as Edward of Lancaster, was the only son of King Henry VI of England and Margaret of Anjou...
and father
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick
Richard Neville KG, jure uxoris 16th Earl of Warwick and suo jure 6th Earl of Salisbury and 8th and 5th Baron Montacute , known as Warwick the Kingmaker, was an English nobleman, administrator, and military commander...
, she cannot resist and ends up marrying him.
Richard then orchestrates disorder in the court, fueling rivalries, and setting the court against the Queen consort, Elizabeth
Elizabeth Woodville
Elizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans...
(Mary Kerridge
Mary Kerridge
Mary Kerridge was an English actress, married to John Counsell, the managing director of the Theatre Royal, Windsor, with whom she worked at the theatre for many years. Their daughter is actress Elizabeth Counsell....
). The King, weakened by exhaustion, appoints his brother, Richard, as Lord Protector
Lord Protector
Lord Protector is a title used in British constitutional law for certain heads of state at different periods of history. It is also a particular title for the British Heads of State in respect to the established church...
, and dies soon after hearing of the death of Clarence. Edward's son, soon to become Edward V
Edward V of England
Edward V was King of England from 9 April 1483 until his deposition two months later. His reign was dominated by the influence of his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who succeeded him as Richard III...
(Paul Huson
Paul Huson
Paul Huson is a British-born author and artist currently living in the United States. In addition to writing several books about occultism and witchcraft he has worked extensively in the film and television industries.-Family:...
), is met by Richard whilst en route to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Richard has the Lord Chamberlain, Lord Hastings (Alec Clunes
Alec Clunes
Alexander "Alec" Demoro Sherriff Clunes was an English actor and stage manager.Among the plays he presented were Christopher Fry's famous play The Lady's Not For Burning. He gave the actor and dramatist Sir Peter Ustinov his first break with his production The House of Regrets. His film career was...
) arrested and executed, and forces the young King, along with his younger brother the Duke of York
Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York
Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York, 1st Duke of Norfolk, 1st Earl of Norfolk, Earl Marshal was the sixth child and second son of King Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. He was born in Shrewsbury....
(Andy Shine), to have a protracted stay at the Tower of London.
With all obstacles now removed, Richard enlists the help of his cousin The Duke of Buckingham
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, KG played a major role in Richard III of England's rise and fall. He is also one of the primary suspects in the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower...
(Ralph Richardson
Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
) to alter his public image, and to become popular with the people. In doing so, Richard becomes the people's first choice to become the new King.
Buckingham had aided Richard on terms of being given the title of Earl of Hereford
Earl of Hereford
The title of Earl of Hereford was created six times in the Peerage of England. See also Duke of Hereford, Viscount Hereford. Dates indicate the years the person held the title for.-Earls of Hereford, First Creation :*Swegen Godwinson...
and the income from the accompanying land grant, but balks at the idea of murdering the two princes. Richard then asks a minor knight, Sir James Tyrrel (Patrick Troughton
Patrick Troughton
Patrick George Troughton was an English actor most widely known for his roles in fantasy, science fiction and horror films, particularly in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966 to 1969,...
), eager for advancement, to have young Edward and the Duke of York killed in the Tower of London. On requesting his earldom at Richard's coronation, Richard (angry at Buckingham for not killing the princes) shouts "I am not in the giving vein today!" Buckingham then fears for his life and joins the opposition against Richard's rule.
Richard, now fearful due to his dwindling popularity, raises an army to defend his throne and the House of York
House of York
The House of York was a branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet, three members of which became English kings in the late 15th century. The House of York was descended in the paternal line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, the fourth surviving son of Edward III, but also represented...
against the House of Lancaster
House of Lancaster
The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...
, led by Henry, Earl of Richmond
Henry VII of England
Henry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
(Stanley Baker
Stanley Baker
Sir Stanley Baker was a Welsh actor and film producer.-Early career:William Stanley Baker was born in Ferndale, Rhondda Valley, Wales. In the mid-1930s his parents moved to London, where Baker spent most of his formative years...
), at Bosworth Field
Battle of Bosworth Field
The Battle of Bosworth Field was the penultimate battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York that raged across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 August 1485, the battle was won by the Lancastrians...
. Before the battle, however, Buckingham is captured and executed.
On the eve of the battle, Richard is haunted by the ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s of all those he has killed in his bloody ascent to the throne, and he wakes screaming. Richard composes himself, striding out to plan the battle for his generals, and gives a motivational speech to his troops.
The two forces engage in battle, with the Lancastarians having the upper hand. Lord Stanley
Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby
Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, KG was titular King of Mann, an English nobleman and stepfather to King Henry VII of England...
(Laurence Naismith
Laurence Naismith
Laurence Naismith was an English actor.Naismith appeared in films such as Carrington VC , Richard III , Sink the Bismarck! , Jason and the Argonauts , and Diamonds Are Forever . He also starred in a children's ghost film The Amazing Mr Blunden...
), whose loyalties had been questionable for some time, betrays Richard, and allies himself with Henry. Richard sees this and charges into the thick of battle, side-by-side with his loyal companion Sir William Catesby (Norman Wooland
Norman Wooland
Norman Wooland was a German-born British character actor who appeared in many major films, notably in several Shakespearean ones....
) in order to kill Richmond and end the battle quickly. Eventually Richard spots Richmond and they briefly engage in a duel before being interrupted by Stanley's men. Richard and Catesby are able to escape the oncoming forces, but, in doing so, Richard is knocked off his horse, loses his cherished crown, and becomes separated from Catesby, who is off seeking rescue. Searching desperately for Richmond, whom he has lost sight of, Richard cries out: "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" Catesby finds the king and offers him withdrawal, but Richard refuses to flee. Catesby is then killed by Richmond's men without Richard even noticing.
Richard then spots Lord Stanley, and engages him in single combat. Before a victor can emerge, the Lancastarian troops charge Richard, and fatally wound him. Richard convulses in several spasms and offers his sword to the sky before dying. Stanley orders Richard's body to be taken away, and then finds Richard's crown in a thorn bush. He then proceeds to offer it to Henry, leaving the crown of England in safe hands once again.
Cast
Olivier cast only British actors. Since the film was financed by Alexander KordaAlexander Korda
Sir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British producer and film director. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.-Life and career:The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent...
and produced by his London Films
London Films
London Films is a British film production company founded in 1932 by Alexander Korda originally based at London Film Studios in Denham, Buckinghamshire, England. The company's productions included The Private Life of Henry VIII , Things to Come , Rembrandt , The Four Feathers , The Thief of Bagdad ...
, obtaining the required actors was not difficult, as many actors were contractually obliged to London Films. As with most films with ensemble cast
Ensemble cast
An ensemble cast is made up of cast members in which the principal actors and performers are assigned roughly equal amounts of importance and screen time in a dramatic production. This kind of casting became more popular in television series because it allows flexibility for writers to focus on...
s, all the players were billed on the same tier. However, Olivier played the title character and occupies the majority of screen time and therefore could be considered the lead actor.
When casting the supporting roles, Olivier chose to fortify the already impressive cast with seasoned veterans, such as Laurence Naismith
Laurence Naismith
Laurence Naismith was an English actor.Naismith appeared in films such as Carrington VC , Richard III , Sink the Bismarck! , Jason and the Argonauts , and Diamonds Are Forever . He also starred in a children's ghost film The Amazing Mr Blunden...
, and with promising newcomers, such as Claire Bloom
Claire Bloom
Claire Bloom is an English film and stage actress.-Early life:Bloom was born in the North London suburb of Finchley, the daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales...
and Stanley Baker
Stanley Baker
Sir Stanley Baker was a Welsh actor and film producer.-Early career:William Stanley Baker was born in Ferndale, Rhondda Valley, Wales. In the mid-1930s his parents moved to London, where Baker spent most of his formative years...
. For the murderers, Olivier originally wanted John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
and Richard Attenborough
Richard Attenborough
Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi...
. However, Mills thought the idea might be regarded as "stunt casting", and Attenborough had to pull out due to a scheduling conflict. The film's marketers in the US picked up on the fact that the cast included four knights (Olivier, Richardson, Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
and Hardwicke
Cedric Hardwicke
Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke was a noted English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly fifty years...
) and used this as a selling point. The four members of the cast who had already achieved British knighthood were all listed as "Sir...." in the film credits.
The House of York
- Sir Laurence OlivierLaurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
as Richard, Duke of Gloucester (later King Richard IIIRichard III of EnglandRichard III was King of England for two years, from 1483 until his death in 1485 during the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty...
), the malformed brother of the King, who is jealous of his brother's new power, and plans to take it for himself. Olivier had created his interpretation of the Crookback King in 1944, and this film transferred that portrayal to the screen. This portrayal earned Olivier his fifth Oscar nomination, and is generally considered to be one of his greatest performances; some consider it his best performance in a Shakespeare play.
- Sir Cedric HardwickeCedric HardwickeSir Cedric Webster Hardwicke was a noted English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly fifty years...
as King Edward IV of EnglandEdward IV of EnglandEdward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
, the newly-crowned King of England, who, with the aid of his brother, Richard, has secured his position by wresting it from Henry VIHenry VI of EnglandHenry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
of the House of Lancaster. Hardwicke was a stage actor who had moved to the U.S. to pursue a film career. He was mainly known for supporting roles in Hollywood. This marked his only appearance in a film version of a Shakespeare play.
- Sir John GielgudJohn GielgudSir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
as George, Duke of Clarence, brother of the new King. Gielgud's standing as the great stage Shakespearean of the decades immediately preceding Olivier's career was a cause of a certain enmity on the part of Olivier, and it was known that he disapproved of Gielgud's "singing" the verse (i.e. reciting it in an affected style that resembles singing). Gielgud's casting in this film can be seen as a combination of Olivier's quest for an all-star cast, and the fact that Olivier had rejected Gielgud's request to play the Chorus in Olivier's 1944 adaptationHenry V (1944 film)Henry V is a 1944 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The on-screen title is The Cronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France . It stars Laurence Olivier, who also directed. The play was adapted for the screen by Olivier, Dallas...
of Henry V.
- Sir Ralph RichardsonRalph RichardsonSir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
as the Duke of BuckinghamHenry Stafford, 2nd Duke of BuckinghamHenry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, KG played a major role in Richard III of England's rise and fall. He is also one of the primary suspects in the disappearance of the Princes in the Tower...
, a corrupt official, who sees potential in Richard's plans and eventually becomes a fellow conspirator when Richard goes too far. Richardson was a lifelong friend of Olivier's, and was one of the great four theatrical knights of the 20th century along with Alec GuinnessAlec GuinnessSir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE was an English actor. He was featured in several of the Ealing Comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets in which he played eight different characters. He later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Colonel Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai...
, Gielgud and Olivier. At first, Olivier wanted Orson WellesOrson WellesGeorge Orson Welles , best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio...
as Buckingham, but felt an obligation towards his longtime friend. (Olivier later regretted this choice, as he felt that Welles would have added an element of conspiracy to the film.)
- Paul HusonPaul HusonPaul Huson is a British-born author and artist currently living in the United States. In addition to writing several books about occultism and witchcraft he has worked extensively in the film and television industries.-Family:...
as the Prince of Wales (later, for a brief while, King Edward V), the eldest son of the King, who holds many strong beliefs, and wishes one day to become a Warrior King. This was Huson's only performance on screen, as he went on to become an artist and an author.
- Andy Shine as the Duke of YorkRichard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of YorkRichard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York, 1st Duke of Norfolk, 1st Earl of Norfolk, Earl Marshal was the sixth child and second son of King Edward IV of England and Elizabeth Woodville. He was born in Shrewsbury....
, the younger son of the King. This was Shine's second and last on-screen performance, after his role in That LadyThat LadyThat Lady is a 1955 film directed by Terence Young. It stars Olivia de Havilland, Gilbert Roland and Paul Scofield.The film is based on the 1946 historical novel by Kate O'Brien, which was published in North America under the title For One Sweet Grape. The novel was also produced as a play in 1949....
.
- Helen HayeHelen HayeHelen Haye was a British stage and film actress.She began acting on the stage in 1898 and debuted in London in 1911 as Gertrude in Hamlet. Her film career began in 1917. She often worked with director Alexander Korda...
as the Duchess of YorkCecily NevilleCecily Neville, Duchess of York was the wife of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and the mother of two Kings of England: Edward IV and Richard III....
, the mother of the King. Haye worked regularly for Alexander KordaAlexander KordaSir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British producer and film director. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.-Life and career:The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent...
. Her character's role is severely cut in the film from the play.
- Pamela Brown as Mistress ShoreJane ShoreElizabeth "Jane" Shore was one of the many mistresses of King Edward IV of England, the first of the three whom he described respectively as "the merriest, the wiliest, and the holiest harlots" in his realm...
, the King's mistress. Brown primarily worked in British films, until she branched out into Hollywood in the 1960s with roles in such films as CleopatraCleopatra (1963 film)Cleopatra is a 1963 British-American-Swiss epic drama film directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The screenplay was adapted by Sidney Buchman, Ben Hecht, Ranald MacDougall, and Mankiewicz from a book by Carlo Maria Franzero. The film starred Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Rex Harrison, Roddy...
. Her character is only mentioned in Shakespeare's play, never seen.
- Alec ClunesAlec ClunesAlexander "Alec" Demoro Sherriff Clunes was an English actor and stage manager.Among the plays he presented were Christopher Fry's famous play The Lady's Not For Burning. He gave the actor and dramatist Sir Peter Ustinov his first break with his production The House of Regrets. His film career was...
as The Lord HastingsWilliam Hastings, 1st Baron HastingsWilliam Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings KG was an English nobleman. A follower of the House of York, he became a close friend and the most important courtier of King Edward IV, whom he served as Lord Chamberlain...
(Lord Chamberlain), a companion and friend of Richard who is accused of conspiracy by Richard and is abruptly executed. Clunes was primarily a stage manager, giving people such as Peter UstinovPeter UstinovPeter Alexander Ustinov CBE was an English actor, writer and dramatist. He was also renowned as a filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, author, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter...
their big break.
- Laurence NaismithLaurence NaismithLaurence Naismith was an English actor.Naismith appeared in films such as Carrington VC , Richard III , Sink the Bismarck! , Jason and the Argonauts , and Diamonds Are Forever . He also starred in a children's ghost film The Amazing Mr Blunden...
as The Lord StanleyThomas Stanley, 1st Earl of DerbyThomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, KG was titular King of Mann, an English nobleman and stepfather to King Henry VII of England...
. Stanley has a certain dislike for Richard and is not totally willing in his cooperation with him. Stanley eventually betrays Richard at Bosworth and engages him in a one-on-one duel. Naismith was a veteran actor, known mostly in the film industry for bit parts and supporting roles.
- Norman WoolandNorman WoolandNorman Wooland was a German-born British character actor who appeared in many major films, notably in several Shakespearean ones....
, Esmond KnightEsmond KnightEsmond Penington Knight was an English actor.He was an accomplished actor with a career spanning over half a century. For much of his career Esmond Knight was virtually blind...
, John LaurieJohn LaurieJohn Paton Laurie was a British actor born in Dumfries, Scotland. Although he is now probably most recognised for his role as Private James Frazer in the sitcom Dad's Army , he appeared in hundreds of feature films, including films by Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell and Laurence Olivier...
, Patrick TroughtonPatrick TroughtonPatrick George Troughton was an English actor most widely known for his roles in fantasy, science fiction and horror films, particularly in his role as the second incarnation of the Doctor in the long-running British science-fiction television series Doctor Who, which he played from 1966 to 1969,...
, and John PhillipsJohn Phillips-18th century and earlier:* John Phillips , Bishop of Sodor and Man in the Church of England* John Phillips , author and secretary to John Milton* John Phillips -18th century and earlier:* John Phillips (bishop of Sodor and Man) (1605–1633), Bishop of Sodor and Man in the Church of England* John...
as Sir William CatesbyWilliam CatesbyWilliam Catesby, esq. was one of Richard III of England's principal councillors. He also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Speaker of the House of Commons during Richard's reign....
, Sir Richard RatcliffeRichard RatcliffeSir Richard Ratcliffe was a close confidant of Richard III of England. He came from a gentry family in the Lake District, and became a companion of Richard when the latter was still Duke of Gloucester. He was one of Richard's trustees in the lordship of Richmond, and was named steward of Barnard...
, Lord Francis LovellFrancis Lovell, 1st Viscount LovellFrancis Lovell, 9th Baron Lovell, 6th Baron Holand, later 1st Viscount Lovell was an English nobleman. He probably knew the later King Richard III of England from a young age, and was to become his lifelong friend and staunch ally....
, Sir James TyrrellJames TyrrellSir James Tyrell was an English knight, a trusted servant of King Richard III of England. He is known for 'confessing' to the murders of the Princes in the Tower under Richard's orders. However, his statement may have been taken under torture, so the confession might not be genuine...
, and John, Duke of NorfolkJohn Howard, 1st Duke of NorfolkJohn Howard, 1st Duke of Norfolk, KG, Earl Marshal was an English nobleman, soldier, and the first Howard Duke of Norfolk...
, loyal companions of Richard.
The House of Lancaster
- Mary KerridgeMary KerridgeMary Kerridge was an English actress, married to John Counsell, the managing director of the Theatre Royal, Windsor, with whom she worked at the theatre for many years. Their daughter is actress Elizabeth Counsell....
as Queen ElizabethElizabeth WoodvilleElizabeth Woodville was Queen consort of England as the spouse of King Edward IV from 1464 until his death in 1483. Elizabeth was a key figure in the series of dynastic civil wars known as the Wars of the Roses. Her first husband, Sir John Grey of Groby was killed at the Second Battle of St Albans...
, Queen Consort of Edward. Kerridge did not make many screen appearances, though she did sometimes work for Alexander KordaAlexander KordaSir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British producer and film director. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.-Life and career:The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent...
.
- Clive MortonClive MortonClive Morton was an English actor who made many screen appearances, especially on television. In 1955, he appeared in Laurence Olivier's Richard III and is recalled by fans of Doctor Who for his role as Trenchard in The Sea Devils in 1972...
as The Lord RiversAnthony Woodville, 2nd Earl RiversAnthony Woodville, 2nd Earl Rivers was an English nobleman, courtier, and writer.He was the eldest son of Richard Woodville, 1st Earl Rivers and Jacquetta of Luxembourg. Like his father, he was originally a Lancastrian, fighting on that side at the Battle of Towton, but later became a Yorkist...
, brother of the Queen Consort. Morton was a British actor who mainly played supporting roles on screen.
- Dan CunninghamDan CunninghamDan Cunningam was an actor who made few screen appearances but was a noted professional stage actor, performing at Eichstätt. In 1955, he appeared in Laurence Olivier's Richard III.-References:**...
as The Lord GreyRichard GreySir Richard Grey was an English knight and the half-brother of King Edward V of England.Grey was the younger son of Sir John Grey of Groby and Elizabeth Woodville, later Queen Consort of King Edward IV...
, youngest son of the Queen Consort and stepson of the King. Cunningham's role in Richard III was one of his few screen appearances.
- Douglas WilmerDouglas Wilmer-Early life:Wilmer was born in London and educated at King's School, Canterbury and Stonyhurst College. He trained at RADA but was called up to the Army in World War II. Posted to an antitank battery in the Royal West African Frontier Force, he was invalided out after he acquired tuberculosis. He...
as the Marquess of DorsetThomas Grey, 1st Marquess of DorsetThomas Grey, 7th Baron Ferrers of Groby, 1st Earl of Huntingdon and 1st Marquess of Dorset, KG , was an English nobleman, courtier and a man of mediocre abilities pushed into prominence by his mother Elizabeth Woodville's second marriage to the king, Edward IV.-Family:Thomas was born about 1455,...
, eldest son of the Queen Consort and stepson of the King. Wilmer had several supporting roles in Hollywood blockbusters and was a noted Sherlock HolmesSherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
on British television.
- Claire BloomClaire BloomClaire Bloom is an English film and stage actress.-Early life:Bloom was born in the North London suburb of Finchley, the daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales...
as The Lady AnneAnne NevilleLady Anne Neville was Princess of Wales as the wife of Edward of Westminster and Queen of England as the consort of King Richard III. She held the latter title for less than two years, from 26 June 1483 until her death in March 1485...
, a widow and an orphan thanks to the acts of Richard, though she cannot resist his charms and eventually becomes his wife. Bloom became a celebrated Shakespearean actress, and made several screen appearances.
- Stanley BakerStanley BakerSir Stanley Baker was a Welsh actor and film producer.-Early career:William Stanley Baker was born in Ferndale, Rhondda Valley, Wales. In the mid-1930s his parents moved to London, where Baker spent most of his formative years...
as Henry, Earl of Richmond (later Henry VIIHenry VII of EnglandHenry VII was King of England and Lord of Ireland from his seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, as the first monarch of the House of Tudor....
, first of the House of Tudor). Henry, Richard's enemy, and Lord Stanley's stepson claims his right to the throne, and briefly duels Richard at Bosworth. This was one of Baker's first roles as a hero, which was followed by a strong film career, including a role in The Guns of NavaroneThe Guns of Navarone (film)The Guns of Navarone is a 1961 British-American Action/Adventure war film based on the 1957 novel of the same name about the Dodecanese Campaign of World War II by Scottish thriller writer Alistair MacLean. It stars Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn, along with Anthony Quayle and Stanley...
and the leading role in ZuluZulu (film)Zulu is a 1964 historical war film depicting the Battle of Rorke's Drift between the British Army and the Zulus in January 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War....
.
Background
Henry V (1944 film)
Henry V is a 1944 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The on-screen title is The Cronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France . It stars Laurence Olivier, who also directed. The play was adapted for the screen by Olivier, Dallas...
and Hamlet
Hamlet (1948 film)
Hamlet is a 1948 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, adapted and directed by and starring Sir Laurence Olivier. Hamlet was Olivier's second film as director, and also the second of the three Shakespeare films that he directed...
, the choice of Richard III for his next adaptation was simple, as his Richard had been widely praised on stage. For the stage production, Olivier had modelled some of the crookback king's look on a well-known theatrical producer at the time, Jed Harris
Jed Harris
Jed Harris was a renowned Austrian-American theater producer and director, and writer of film.-Personal history:...
, whom Olivier called "the most loathsome man I'd ever met". Years later Olivier discovered that Walt Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
had also used Harris as his basis for the Big Bad Wolf
Big Bad Wolf
The Big Bad Wolf is a term used to describe a fictional wolf who appears in several precautionary folkloric stories, including some of Aesop's Fables and Grimm's Fairy Tales.-Interpretations:...
in the film The Three Little Pigs
Three Little Pigs (film)
Three Little Pigs is an animated short film released on May 27, 1933 by United Artists, produced by Walt Disney and directed by Burt Gillett. Based on a fairy tale of the same name, Three Little Pigs won the 1934 Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons. In 1994, it was voted #11 of the 50...
. Alexander Korda
Alexander Korda
Sir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British producer and film director. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.-Life and career:The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent...
, who had given Olivier his initial roles on film, provided financial support for the film.
Screenplay
Most of the dialogue is taken straight from the play, but Olivier also drew on the 18th century adaptations by Colley CibberColley Cibber
Colley Cibber was an English actor-manager, playwright and Poet Laureate. His colourful memoir Apology for the Life of Colley Cibber describes his life in a personal, anecdotal and even rambling style...
and David Garrick
David Garrick
David Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century and was a pupil and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson...
, including Cibber's line, "Off with his head. So much for Buckingham!". Like Cibber and Garrick, Olivier's film opens with material from the last scenes of Henry VI, Part III, in order to introduce more clearly the situation at the beginning of the story.
A key change in the story involved the seduction of Anne. It is split into two scenes instead of one, and an element of perversity is added- whereas in the original play she is following a coffin with the corpse of her father-in-law, in this film the coffin contains the corpse of her husband. John Cottrell has been quoted as saying this makes "the young widow's seduction even more daring and revolting than it is in the original, and giving Anne's capitulation" in the second part after a passionate kiss "a new and neurotic twist" This is accomplished by cutting lines, changing lines, and changing the sequence of some lines.
Olivier makes other small and subtle additions in the stage direction. When Richard's nephew makes a joke about his uncle's hunchback ("you might bear me on your shoulder", Richard spins round and gives the boy a malevolent glare making the boy stagger back. This bit of stage direction is original to Olivier. Olivier also silently mimes some actions spoken of in his soliloquys such as when he whispers insinuations about Clarence into the ear of King Edward.
In general the lengthy play is heavily cut. In an interview with Roger Manvell Olivier discussed how unwieldy and complex the play is.
The character of Queen Margaret
Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou was the wife of King Henry VI of England. As such, she was Queen consort of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471; and Queen consort of France from 1445 to 1453...
is cut entirely, the Duchess of York (Helen Haye
Helen Haye
Helen Haye was a British stage and film actress.She began acting on the stage in 1898 and debuted in London in 1911 as Gertrude in Hamlet. Her film career began in 1917. She often worked with director Alexander Korda...
) is reduced to only one scene, the role of Edward IV's wife Elizabeth (not to be confused with Elizabeth I) is also reduced, and the execution of Clarence and other scenes are abridged.These cuts were made to maintain the pace of the film and to cut down the running time, as a full performance of the play can run upwards of four hours. Richard is made more directly responsible for the death of Edward IV than in the play, as Edward has his fatal attack only moments after Richard informs the assembled nobles that Clarence is dead.
Filming
Gerry O'HaraGerry O'Hara
Gerry O'Hara is an English film and television director.O'Hara was an assistant director on Laurence Olivier's film,Richard III; the Carol Reed film, Our Man in Havana and the Academy Award-winning Tom Jones....
was Olivier's assistant director, on hand to help since Olivier was acting in many, if not most, of the scenes.
Olivier was very precise in getting many of the visual details of the period correct. Actor Douglas Wilmer (Dorset) recounts that when he casually told Olivier that one piece of heraldry on the set was incorrect, that Olivier started pumping as much information out of him as possible as if he was "drilling for oil".
Olivier made the unusual decision to deliver his soliloquies by directly addressing the film audience
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
, something not often done before in film. Near the beginning of the film Richard's herald drops his coronet, a mistake that Olivier decided to keep in, as part of the motif of accidental loss of the crown continued in the final battle.
Most of the film was shot in at Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
, but the climactic Battle of Bosworth Field
Battle of Bosworth Field
The Battle of Bosworth Field was the penultimate battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York that raged across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 August 1485, the battle was won by the Lancastrians...
abruptly opens up the setting, as it was shot outdoors, in the Spanish countryside. During one sequence therein, Olivier suffered an arrow
Arrow
An arrow is a shafted projectile that is shot with a bow. It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other.- History:...
wound to the shin when his horse jerked forwards. Fortunately, it was on the leg Richard was supposed to limp on, allowing the scene to continue.
Wilmer also notes
During filming, Olivier's portrait was painted by Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
. The painting remained one of Olivier's favourites until he had to sell it to pay for his children's school fees.
Cinematography
The cinematographyCinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
for the film was by Otto Heller
Otto Heller
Otto Heller, B.S.C. was a Czech cinematographer. He worked on almost 200 films, including the Ealing comedy The Ladykillers and the thriller Peeping Tom....
, who had worked on many European films before coming to the UK in the early 1940s. The film uses the Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
process, which Olivier had earlier rejected for his Hamlet after a row with the company. The use of Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
resulted in bright, vibrant colours. Korda had suggested that Olivier also use the new extreme widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
format, CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
, but Olivier thought it was nothing more than a gimmick designed to distract the audience from the true quality of the film, and chose the less extreme VistaVision
VistaVision
VistaVision is a higher resolution, widescreen variant of the 35mm motion picture film format which was created by engineers at Paramount Pictures in 1954....
format instead.
Music
The score was composed by Sir William WaltonWilliam Walton
Sir William Turner Walton OM was an English composer. During a sixty-year career, he wrote music in several classical genres and styles, from film scores to opera...
, who worked on all of the films Olivier directed except The Prince and the Showgirl
The Prince and the Showgirl
The Prince and the Showgirl is a 1957 American film produced at Pinewood Studios starring Marilyn Monroe and co-starring Laurence Olivier who also served as director and producer.The film was released on 13 June 1957...
. He composed a score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
described in Chandos' record catalog as "rousing" and "filled with pomp and circumstance, to add to the feel of pageantry". The music was conducted by Muir Mathieson
Muir Mathieson
James Muir Mathieson was a Scottish conductor and composer. Mathieson was almost always described as a "Musical Director" on a large number of British films.-Career:...
, who collaborated on all of films Olivier directed, except for Three Sisters. The film's music was also used for a set of readings of speeches from the play on audio CD
Audio book
An audiobook or audio book is a recording of a text being read. It is not necessarily an exact audio version of a book or magazine.Spoken audio has been available in schools and public libraries and to a lesser extent in music shops since the 1930s. Many spoken word albums were made prior to the...
featuring John Gielgud
John Gielgud
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...
. The Chandos catalog notes that Walton used the main theme throughout the film, especially towards the closing scenes.
Reception
Richard III was released in the UK on 16 April 1955, with Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip attending the premiere. Alexander Korda had sold the rights to the film to NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in the U.S. for $500,000 and the film was released in the U.S. on Sunday, 11 March 1956. The release was unique in that the film had it U.S. premiere on the same day both on television and in cinemas, the first instance ever of this being done. It was not shown during prime time
Prime time
Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast programming during the middle of the evening for television programing.The term prime time is often defined in terms of a fixed time period—for example, from 19:00 to 22:00 or 20:00 to 23:00 Prime time or primetime is the block of broadcast...
, but rather in the afternoon, and quite likely was the first three-hour telecast of a film ever to be shown. The film, although slightly cut for television, was generally well received by critics, with Olivier's performance earning particular notice, but due to its simultaneous release through television and cinemas in the U.S., it was a box office failure. However, the airing on U.S. television received excellent ratings, estimated at between 25 and 40 million. In addition, when the film was reissued in 1966, it broke box office records in many US cities.
The review aggregator
Review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services . This system stores the reviews and then uses them for purposes such as: creating a website for users to view the reviews, selling information to third parties about consumer tendencies and creating databases for...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
records that 100 percent of its collected reviews of the film are positive. However, the reviewer for the AllMovie website criticizes Olivier's direction for being far more restricted in its style in comparison to the bold filming of Henry V, or the moody photography of Hamlet, and Olivier the actor for dominating the production too much (although the character of Richard certainly dominates Shakespeare's original play). There were some complaints about geographical inaccuracies in the film. (The Battle of Bosworth Field was filmed in a region of Spain that does not resemble any locations in England.) In response, Olivier wrote in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
: "Americans who know London may be surprised to find Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
and the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
to be practically adjacent. I hope they'll agree with me that if they weren't like that, they should have been."
The film's failure at the U.S. box office, however, along with Korda's death, ended Olivier's career as a Shakespeare film director. Olivier had been planning to make Macbeth
Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
, but one of his other major backers, producer Mike Todd
Mike Todd
Michael Todd was an American theatre and film producer, best known for his 1956 production of Around the World in Eighty Days, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture...
, died in a plane crash.
Awards
In contrast to Olivier's previous work, Richard III was only nominated for a single Academy Award: Academy Award for Best ActorAcademy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...
. It was Olivier's fifth nomination in the category, though the award was won by Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
for his performance in The King and I
The King and I (1956 film)
The King and I is a 1956 musical film made by 20th Century Fox, directed by Walter Lang and produced by Charles Brackett and Darryl F. Zanuck. The screenplay by Ernest Lehman is based on the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical The King and I, based in turn on the book Anna and the King...
. Richard III was the second film to have won both Best Film
BAFTA Award for Best Film
This page lists the winners and nominees for the BAFTA Award for Best Film, BAFTA Award for Best Film not in the English Language and Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film for each year, in addition to the retired earlier versions of those awards...
awards at the BAFTAS
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
. It dominated that year's awards ceremony, winning, in addition to the two Best Film awards, the award for Best British Actor. It was also the first winner of the newly created Golden Globe Award for Best English - Language Foreign Film
Golden Globe Award for Best English - Language Foreign Film
Golden Globe Award for Best English-Language Foreign Film was a Golden Globe award that was split from Best Foreign Film in 1957. It was discontinued in 1973.-Winners:* 1957 - Richard III * 1958 - Woman in a Dressing Gown...
, which had been split from the Best Foreign Film Award. Other awards won by the film include the Silver Bear Award at the 6th Berlin International Film Festival
6th Berlin International Film Festival
-Jury:* Marcel Carné* Bill Luckwell* Giuseppe Vittorio Sampieri* Koichi Kawakita* Leo J. Horster* Ilse Urbach* Ludwig Berger-Films in competition:* ...erwachsen sein dagegen sehr by Wolf Hart* Autumn Leaves by Robert Aldrich...
and the David di Donatello Award
David di Donatello
David di Donatello, named after Donatello's David, is a movie award assigned each year for cinematic performances and production by Ente David di Donatello, part of Accademia del Cinema Italiano. It is the Italian equivalent to the Academy Award. There are 24 categories as of 2006.- History :The...
for Best Foreign Production. The Jussi Award was given to Olivier for Best Foreign Actor.
Olivier's performance as Richard III was ranked 39th in Premiere magazine's
Premiere (magazine)
Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there.-History:The magazine originally...
"100 Greatest Performances of All Time"
Influence
The British film institute suggests Olivier's Richard III may have done more to popularize Shakespeare than any other piece of work. According to the British Film InstituteBritish Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
, the 25–40 million viewers during its airing on US television, "would have outnumbered the sum of the play's theatrical audiences over the 358 years since its first performance."
Johnny Rotten
John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon , also known by the former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a singer-songwriter and television presenter, best known as the lead singer of punk rock band the Sex Pistols from 1975 until 1978, and again for various revivals during the 1990s and 2000s...
from the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
stated in his autobiography, Rotten: No Irish, No Blacks, No Dogs, that Olivier's performance as Richard had a large influence on him. Scenes from the film were used in the Sex Pistols' documentary The Filth And The Fury
The Filth and the Fury
The Filth and the Fury is a 2000 rockumentary film about the Sex Pistols directed by Julien Temple.-About the film:The Filth and the Fury is the second movie Julien Temple made about The Sex Pistols. His first effort was The Great Rock and Roll Swindle, which was released in British cinemas on 15...
.
The film was the inspiration and source of parody for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Television series, Blackadder
Blackadder
Blackadder is the name that encompassed four series of a BBC1 historical sitcom, along with several one-off instalments. All television programme episodes starred Rowan Atkinson as anti-hero Edmund Blackadder and Tony Robinson as Blackadder's dogsbody, Baldrick...
. For instance, Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
's performance in the first episode
The Foretelling
"The Foretelling" was the first episode of the first series of the BBC sitcom Blackadder . It introduces Edmund Blackadder , and opens with a narrative dispelling the popular depiction of King Richard III of England as a scheming murderer...
of The Black Adder
The Black Adder
The Black Adder is the first series of the BBC situation comedy Blackadder, written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd...
was a parody of Olivier's Richard III. The crown motif shown throughout the film is also quoted. "Additional Dialogue by William Shakespere" was a credit to the bard that lasted until Season 3.
Home media
The film has been released outside the U.S. on DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
several times, but these releases are copies of the unrestored and cropped film. In 2004, Criterion
The Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection is a video-distribution company selling "important classic and contemporary films" to film aficionados. The Criterion series is noted for helping to standardize the letterbox format for home video, bonus features, and special editions...
digitally restored
Film preservation
thumb|300px|Stacked containers filled with reels of [[film stock]]The film preservation, or film restoration, movement is an ongoing project among film historians, archivists, museums, cinematheques, and non-profit organizations to rescue decaying film stock and preserve the images which they contain...
the film in its original widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
format and re-constructed it to match the release script. It was released in a 2-disc special edition, including an essay by film and music historian Bruce Eder, an interview with Olivier, and other numerous special features. The DVD is subtitled in English, with a Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono audio track. The DVD also contains a commentary by Russell Lees and John Wilders. The second disc of the DVD features a 1966 BBC interview with Olivier by Kenneth Tynan
Kenneth Tynan
Kenneth Peacock Tynan was an influential and often controversial English theatre critic and writer.-Early life:...
entitled Great Acting: Laurence Olivier. It also contains a gallery of posters, production stills and two trailers
Trailer (film)
A trailer or preview is an advertisement or a commercial for a feature film that will be exhibited in the future at a cinema. The term "trailer" comes from their having originally been shown at the end of a feature film screening. That practice did not last long, because patrons tended to leave the...
.
Janus Films
Janus Films
Janus Films is a film distribution company. It was one of the first distributors to bring what are now regarded as masterpieces of world cinema to the United States...
also released the film on DVD under its Essential Art House label.
See also
- Shakespeare on screen: Other performances and adaptations of Richard III
- Chronology of stage, film and television performances given by Laurence Olivier