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Richard III (1955)
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Overview
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Director:
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Release Date:
11 March 1956 (USA)
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Plot:
Shakespeare's powerful tale of the wicked deformed king and his conquests, both on the battlefield and in the boudoir. full summary | full synopsis
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Awards:
Nominated for Oscar.
Another 7 wins
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NewsDesk:
(6 articles)
News: Movie Legend In 2009 Specials?
(From Kasterborous. 29 April 2009, 3:10 PM, PDT)
Seven Scores: Michael J. Lewis - Upon This Rock
(From Daily Film Music Blog. 4 February 2009, 8:31 AM, PST)
(From Kasterborous. 29 April 2009, 3:10 PM, PDT)
Seven Scores: Michael J. Lewis - Upon This Rock
(From Daily Film Music Blog. 4 February 2009, 8:31 AM, PST)
User Comments:
The Summit of Acting Nobility
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Cedric Hardwicke | ... | King Edward IV of England |
| Nicholas Hannen | ... | Archbishop |
 | Laurence Olivier | ... | Richard III |
| Ralph Richardson | ... | Duke of Buckingham |
 | John Gielgud | ... | George, Duke of Clarence |
| Mary Kerridge | ... | Queen Elizabeth |
| Pamela Brown | ... | Jane Shore |
| Paul Huson | ... | Edward, Prince of Wales |
| Stewart Allen | ... | Page to Richard |
| Claire Bloom | ... | The Lady Anne |
| Russell Thorndike | ... | First Priest |
| Wallace Bosco | ... | Monk (as Wally Bosco) |
| Norman Fisher | ... | Monk |
| Andrew Cruickshank | ... | Brackenbury |
| Clive Morton | ... | The Lord Rivers |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
161 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Certification:
Filming Locations:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
In the opening of the film, Richard accidentally drops the Duke's coronet after the royal party leaves. It was an accidental mistake that Olivier made but left in the film. However, it became a running joke throughout the film and later, you can see the same gag again.
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Goofs:
Audio/visual unsynchronized: When Richard and Buckingham are standing over Edward IV's deathbed, and Buckingham says 'To part the Queen's proud kindred from the princes', Ralph Richardson's lips are out of sync.
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Quotes:
The Lord Hastings:
The cat, the rat, and Lovell the dog / Rule all England under the hog.
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FAQ
What is the band shown on Richard's leg during the conclusion of the film?more
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| Richard III | Henry V | Hamlet | The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France | The Tragedy of Macbeth |
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It's quite a gap that Laurence Olivier covers between his portrayal of heroic Henry V and the evil Richard III. But he certainly does cover it well.
In fact this production boasts the talents of five knighted thespians in its cast, Olivier as Richard, John Gielgud as Clarence, Ralph Richardson as Buckingham, Cedric Hardwicke as Edward IV and Stanley Baker as the Earl of Richmond. That is probably some kind of record.
Once seen you will not forget the heavily made up Olivier with a shylock type nose and hunchbacked form. Unlike in Henry V and in Hamlet the title character's soliliquys are delivered straight to the audience rather than in voice-over. I think Olivier like Shakespeare wanted to emphasize the evilness of Richard as opposed to the tormenting doubts that Henry and Hamlet suffer. No doubts here, he's got his evil course well planned and he's very matter of factly telling his audience what's in store.
Of course when Shakespeare wrote this he was gearing up the Tudor dynasty propaganda machine. Stanley Baker's Earl of Richmond becomes Henry VII grandfather of the Queen whose patronage Shakespeare enjoyed. It was in Tudor family interest to blacken Richard's name to support their own dynastic claims. There have been several plausible theories put forth to claim the murders of Edward V and his brother were done by others.
One guy who in all the stories about Richard III who gets a whitewash is the Duke of Clarence. As portrayed by John Gielgud, Clarence is an innocent sacrificed in Richard's march for the throne. Actually Clarence was quite the schemer himself. He was in communication with Louis XI of France looking for aid in some plotting he was doing. Edward IV overlooked an incredible amount of treachery with him.
One very big flaw is that the film opens with Edward IV being restored to the throne again in 1471 and he has his son with him. Edward IV died in 1483 and the sons have not aged a mite. I believe they were 12 and 9 when they were put to death in the Tower of London in 1483. I'm surprised Olivier had that in his film.
Still and all it's a fabulous production and one should never miss a chance of seeing all that acting nobility in one film.