British Universities Film & Video Council

moving image and sound, knowledge and access

Stratford Adventure, The

Synopsis
Documentary telling the story of the founding of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival by Stratford-born journalist Tom Patterson. Patterson got together a committee of local people and invited Tyrone Guthrie to advise on the Festival and direct the plays. A fund was set up, an Elizabethan stage built, and Alec Guinness and Irene Worth were signed to perform alongside Canadian actors in Richard III and All’s Well That Ends Well. Four clips from the film may be downloaded from the Canadian Adaptations of Shakespeare website (http://www.canadianshakespeares.ca/multimedia/video/m_v_4.cfm). The clips are:
Tom Patterson. Tom Patterson dreams of establishing a Shakespearean theatre in his home town and talks to two men in a rowing boat.
Alec Guinness. Guinness gives a lesson in breath control when speaking Shakespeare to Timothy Findley.
Tyrone Guthre. Directs the entrance of the ghosts in Richard III (V v). The whistle of a train passing by interrupts and anoys him.
Battle Scene from the Opening Nght of Richard III, 1953. Illustrates the elaborately designed and choreographed sets.
Language
English
Country
United States
Medium
Film
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Year of release
1954
Duration
45 mins

Credits

Director
Morton Parker
Producer
Guy Glover
Writer
Gudrun Parker
Contributor
Alec Guinness; Irene Worth; Michael Bates; Timothy Findley; Tom Patterson; Tyrone Guthrie

Additional Details

Production type
Documentary/Educational/News
Plays
Richard III
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Verse speaking; Rehearsals; Stratford (Ontario) Shakespeare Festival
Related items
Music of the ‘Speare

Notes

Notes
The BFI National Archive holds preservation material only, no viewing copy (2005).

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
Name

Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting & Recorded Sound Division

Web
http://catalog.loc.gov/ External site opens in new window
Phone
(20) 707-8572
Fax
(20) 707-237’1
Address
Motion Picture & Television Reading Room
James Madison Building, LM 336
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C.
20540-4690
United States

Distributor

Name

National Film Board of Canada

Email
customerservice@nfb.ca
Web
http://www.nfb.ca External site opens in new window
Phone
(514) 283 9000
Fax
(514) 283-7564
Address
Sales and Customer Service (D-10)
PO Box 6100
Station Centre-Ville
Montreal
QC H3C 3HS
Canada

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