British Universities Film & Video Council

moving image and sound, knowledge and access

Midsummer Night’s Dream, A

Synopsis
A film based on the Broadway production by Max Reinhardt. A combination of German expressionism and Hollywood realism. Hal Mohr’s cinematography is ‘astonishing, a surreal visual fantasy of dancing sprites and flying unicorns’ (The Guardian, 2019).
Language
English
Country
United States
Medium
Film
Technical information
Black-and-white / Sound
Year of release
1935
Duration
132 mins; 10,495 feet

Credits

Director
William Dieterle
Producer
Max Reinhardt
Cinematographer
Hal Mohr
Writer
William Shakespeare
Screenplay
Charles Kenyon; Mary McCall
Cast
Ian HunterTheseus
Verree TeasdaleHippolyta
Victor JoryOberon
Anita LouiseTitania
Mickey RooneyPuck (Robin Goodfellow)
Catherine FreyPeaseblossom
Dewey RobinsonSnug
Dick PowellLysander
Frank McHughPeter Quince
Fred SaleMoth
Grant MitchellEgeus
Helen WestcottCobweb
Hobart CavanaughPhilostrate
Hugh HerbertTom Snout
James CagneyNick Bottom
Jean MuirHelena
Joe E. BrownFrancis Flute
Olivia De HavillandHermia
Otis HarlinRobin Starveling
Ross AlexanderDemetrius
Sheila BrownChangeling Boy

Additional Details

Production type
Fiction Films
Plays
Midsummer Night’s Dream, A
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
drama in English; performances; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)
Related items
Dream Comes True, A
Midsummer Night’s Dream, A

Notes

Notes
Estimated budget $1.5m.

The New York Public Library, Driscoll Media Center, holds a 16mm copy which is a shortened version of the film. The major cuts are in the final act, where Bottom does return to Quince’s workshop because they are all at the palace.

A 12-minute study extract is available for hire from the British Film Institute Film & Video Library. A unicorn and some fairies materialise as Puck and a fairy discuss Titania’s little Indian boy. Titania awakes, Oberon arrives and demands the child. Titania refuses. Enraged, Oberon calls on Puck to make Titania fall in love with the first creature she sees on waking up.

The Folger Library holds a photocopy of dialogue transcripts (15 reel version) with Robert H. Ball’s annotations, photostat of dialogue transcript (12 reel version) photocopy of shooting script,(German and English versions obtained from the Max Reinhardt Archive in Binghamton, NY.

Birmingham Shakespeare Library holds a typescript.

A theatrical trailer is offered as an extra on the DVD which is available Region 1 only (1/2009).
General
Film-maker Kenneth Anger in some sources, taking the lead from Anger’s own assertion, is cited as playing the Changeling Boy; however archive papers at Warner Brothers prove the part was played by Sheila Brown. Child actor Mickey Rooney plays the part of Puck aged fourteen turning fifteen.

Tagline: Three hundred years in the making.
Awards
Academy Award 1936 - Best Cinematography and Best Editing (Ralph Dawson).

Production Company

Name

Warner Bros Pictures

Archive

Name

BFI National Archive

Web
http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7255 1444
Fax
020 7436 0165
Address
21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN

Distributor (Hire)

Name

Filmbankmedia

Email
info@filmbankmedia.com
Web
https://www.filmbankmedia.com/ External site opens in new window
Phone
+44 (0) 20 3866 6525
Address
1st Floor, 67-74 Saffron Hill
London
EC1N 8QX
UK
Notes
The main source in the UK for hire of feature films for non-theatrical presentations. The extensive catalogue includes vintage classics, independent films and big blockbusters. Available on 16mm as well as VHS and DVD. Also provides advice on contractual matters.

Online Retailer

Name

amazon.com

Web
http://www.amazon.com External site opens in new window

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