IMDb > Richard III (1955)
Richard III
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Richard III (1955) More at IMDbPro »


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Overview

User Rating:
7.7/10   1,268 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
William Shakespeare (play) and
Colley Cibber (textual alterations)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Richard III on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
11 March 1956 (USA) more
Genre:
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
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins more
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)

User Comments:
First Rate Production! A Classic Film! more (32 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
161 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.66 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Recording)
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The first film to have its U.S. premiere in theaters and on TV simultaneously. This occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 1956, when NBC-TV broadcast the film on the same day it had its U.S. premiere in New York. (It had already had its world premiere and first run in London in 1955.) The telecast was the longest single presentation of a film or play (three hours counting the commercials) ever shown on TV up to that time. Classic British films presented by J. Arthur Rank, such as Caesar and Cleopatra (1945), had already made their network TV debuts on an ABC-TV program titled "Famous Film Festival", but many of these were either drastically cut to fit a ninety-minute time slot or shown in two parts. Walt Disney had already begun, on his "Disneyland" (1954) TV program, to telecast some of his theatrical films, but these were shown in two or more one-hour segments, one segment per week, or edited down to one hour, as in the case of Alice in Wonderland (1951) . It was not until CBS showed The Wizard of Oz (1939) in 1956, that an uncut, full-length theatrical film was shown on network TV during prime time in one evening. more
Goofs:
Continuity: For one shot at the end during the battle scene, right around the famous "My kingdom for a horse!" line, Richard's left hand has all five fingers. During the rest of the movie, Richard only has three fingers on his left hand as part of the character's deformities. more
Quotes:
Richard III: Darest thou resolve to kill a friend of mine?
Tyrell: Please you, but I'd rather kill two enemies.
more
Movie Connections:

FAQ

What is the band shown on Richard's leg during the conclusion of the film?
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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful.
First Rate Production! A Classic Film!, 11 December 2005
10/10
Author: Sylvia Marciniak (sylviastel@aol.com) from United States

It is kind of sad to know that this was Lord Laurence Olivier's last film by the works of William Shakespeare simply because it failed in the movie theaters. Besides Olivier's performance, there was Sir John Gielgud, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, and Sir Ralph Richardson in supporting roles. The color is first rate for its time period. The costumes are gorgeous. Claire Bloom gives the best female performance in the film as Lady Anne. This film should have allowed Olivier to do more Shakespeare films like he wanted to do. Instead, he went on to do other roles. This film is worth viewing for the stunning interpretation of William Shakespeare's works. If you seen Olivier's films like Hamlet, he does give remarkable attention to detail. Olivier reminds me of Orson Welles who produced, wrote, directed, and even acted in the number one film of all time, Citizen Kane. I believe Olivier was trying to capture that by doing Shakespeare. I am sure William Shakespeare is proud of the work done by actors like Olivier, Gielgud, Richardson, Welles, Hardwicke, and hundreds of others. This film would be suitable for the classroom and worthy for viewing for historic and entertaining purposes. Please give it a chance.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (32 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Richard III (1955)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Terrible! Laura_Krycek
Richard's first speech imdbcrm114
Kids these days... No respect! funkatizer-101
Criterion DVD andersonfamily1999
Music during coronation? Soap82
very interesting illBeSeeingYou
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