Real Thing at Last, The

Synopsis: A burlesque of Macbeth which imagines how the play would be adapted and filmed by an American producer. The New York Times critic, reviewing the London screening, noted ‘The drama ends happily with a touching reconciliation between Macbeth and Macduff, and Macbeth embracing his wife, while the piano plays "Life’s Too Short to Quarrel."
Country: Great Britain
Medium: Film
Technical information: Black-and-white / Silent
Year of release: 1916
Recording date: 8 Mar 1916
Duration: Unknown
Availability: Presumed a lost film

Production type: Fiction Films
Plays: Macbeth
Subjects: Drama
Keywords: satire; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); United States of America; burlesgues

Notes: The typescript of the Barrie screenplay is held by the Beinecke Library, Yale University.
General: Barrie’s contention was that picture theatres had been ignored by the committee which had the Shakespeare tercentenary celebrations in hand, so the actors have a celebration of their own. The contradictions in evidence for the cast of some minor roles are outlined by Ball p223-4.
History: THE REAL THING AT LAST was first shown at a Royal Command Performance at the London Coliseum on March 7 1916 as part of a charity show to provide funds for concerts for British troops.
Reviews: Ball, Robert Hamilton. Shakespeare on Silent Film: A Strange Eventful History. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1968 (p.223-6, 360-1).

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British Universities Film & Video Council