Richard III (1955)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Laurence Olivier

Writers:

William Shakespeare (play) and
Colley Cibber (textual alterations)

Release Date:

11 March 1956 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Plot:

Shakespeare's powerful tale of the wicked deformed king and his conquests, both on the battlefield and in the boudoir.

Plot Keywords:

Shakespeare | Murder | Dead Children | Brother Brother Relationship | Psychopath

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins

Cast

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

Runtime:

161 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

La Mancha, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain

Company:

L.O.P.

Trivia:

During the Battle of Bosworth an archer shoots at Richard, on his horse, from a gully below. One of the UK's top archers was employed for this stunt. The horse was padded, but the arrow missed its mark and wounded Laurence Olivier in the lower leg.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The opening credits read "Laurence Olivier present's" (with an apostrophe) rather than "Laurence Olivier presents".

Quotes:

Richard III: Shine out, fair sun, till I have bought a glass; that I may see my shadow as I pass.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Final Sacrifice (#10.10)" (1998)

the masterpiece of the master.... phenomenal

Henry V was said to be Laurence Olivier's greatest screen role for British Propaganda reasons... he inspired England etc. during World War 2; there is no denying it, his Henry is brilliant. But he surpasses his own genius as Richard.

"Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this son of York" just seeing Richard's stooped, deformed figure hobble to the camera like some monstrous spider; to hear those bitter words delivered with such articulate power, and to be penetrated by that stony, constant glare is enough to know that this is no ordinary actor... this is a thespian whose legend will leave generations and generations of actors to come hopeless (teeth gritted) Whatever people say, Kenneth Brannagh will NOT be the next Laurence Olivier!!!

This movie has a fantastic cast: get this! Ralph Richardson AND John Geilgud AND Claire Bloom! Claire Bloom is especially exquisite and I think she plays the soulfully lamenting Lady Anne to perfection. Her scenes with Olivier are great; there is such agitation and irony between the two. I especially like it when he woos her by her husband's tomb... just goes to show how even in a tyrannical role Olivier can still steal a woman's heart with his irresistible seductiveness. She is beautiful and a most accomplished actress; I wonder why she is not better known... is Richard the only Shakespeare film she did????

Geilgud is wonderful as the doomed Clarence, done to death by the scheming Richard; my only disappointment was in Buckingham, played by Ralph Richardson. Richardson left me with a completely wrong impression of Buckingham, who (or so I learn from the play) is not all that different in character from Richard; but is scheming and devious also. Sad to say, (and I have read Olivier admits it so himself) Richardson was cast wrongly as the Duke of Buckingham... he acts too innocent and unsuspecting.

I must also give a technical comment on the camera angle; I would have preferred to be nearer Olivier at some parts of his scenes... that said, I must say I liked the scenes theatrical as such... why are other reviewers always moaning about the costumes and the settings? The costumes I liked, the settings I liked, the music by william walton was great (olivier had good taste in music though he was definitely not a musician himself) and really suited the swiftly changing reflective to agitated moods of the characters.

That said, I believe Laurence Olivier's Richard III to be (with perhaps the exception of his Henry V) the most worthily majestic film ever made in England. The greatest of course, would have been to see such a master of his incandescent talent on stage as Richard since Olivier was finest on stage live, but to be realistic, there is not much of his stage performances recorded, if any, and to be left this masterpiece that Shakespeare himself would have been proud to see performed, is a tribute to the most incredible actor of this century, and most probably, of all time.