A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909 film)

A Midsummer Night's Dream
Directed by Charles Kent
J. Stuart Blackton (co-director)
Produced by J. Stuart Blackton
Written by
Starring Walter Ackerman
Charles Chapman
Dolores Costello
Helene Costello
Distributed by Vitagraph Studios
Release date
  • December 25, 1909 (1909-12-25)
Running time
 1 reel
Country United States
Language Silent film

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a 1909 American film directed by Charles Kent and J. Stuart Blackton, and starring Walter Ackerman and Charles Chapman.[2] It was the first film adaptation of the eponymous play by William Shakespeare. The movie was made during summer 1909, but not released until 25 December.[3]

Plot

The Duke of Athens decrees that Hermia (Rose Tapley) shall forsake Lysander (Maurice Costello) in favour of her father's choice, Demetrius (Walter Ackerman). The lovers elope into the woods, quickly followed by Demetrius and his love, Helena (Julia Swayne Gordon). The town tradesmen, meanwhile, rehearse a play in honour of the duke's betrothal to Hippolyta. Back in the forest, Titania, Queen of Fairies (Florence Turner), quarrels with Penelope, who avenges herself by sending Puck (Gladys Hulette) away with a magic herb, which, dabbed on the eyes of a sleeping person, shall make the "victim" fall in love with the first person to appear after awakening. Soon, Lysander and Demetrius are smitten with the wrong girls and Titania has fallen in love with Bottom, the egotistical leader of the tradesmen, whom Puck has turned into an ass (donkey). When Penelope discovers all this mischief, she lifts the spell and the wedding of the duke and Hippolyta can proceed.

Cast

References

  1. 1 2 3 Buchanan 2009, pp. 130–131.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 BFI: A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909) n.d.
  3. 1 2 Ball 1968, pp. 52–56.

Sources

  • Ball, Robert Hamilton (2013) [first published 1968]. Shakespeare on Silent Film: A Strange Eventful History. Routledge Library Editions: Film and Literature. Routledge. ISBN 9781134980987.
  • "A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909)". Film Forever. British Film Institute. n.d. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  • Buchanan, Judith (2009). Shakespeare on Silent Film: An Excellent Dumb Discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521871990.

Further reading

  • Bennett, Carl (7 March 2011). "A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909)". Silent Era. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  • Bennett, Carl (n.d.). "Silent Shakespeare: The Milestone Collection 2000 DVD edition". Silent Era. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  • Chaudhuri, Sukanta (2017). A Midsummer Night's Dream. The Arden Shakespeare, third series. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 38. ISBN 9781408142776.
  • "A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909)". A Cinema History. June 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  • Grutchfield, Michael (11 April 2014). "A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909)". The Century Film Project. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  • "A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909, Charles Kent)". Shakespeare in Performance: Film. Internet Shakespeare Editions. n.d. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  • Kaufman, J.B. (April 2016). "A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909)". jbkaufman.com. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  • Kramer, Fritzi (19 October 2014). "A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909): A Silent Film Review". Movies Silently. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  • Kramer, Fritzi (21 November 2016). "Fun Size Review: A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909)". Movies Silently. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  • Lang, Fritz (24 August 2010). "1909 - A Midsummer Night's Dream - Charles Kent & J. Stuart Blackton". Film: Ab Initio. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
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