A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909 film)

A Midsummer Night's Dream
PLAY film; runtime 00:11:07
Directed by	Charles Kent J. Stuart Blackton (co-director)
Written by	Eugene Mullin (scenario) [1] William Shakespeare (play)
Based on	A Midsummer Night's Dream 1600 play by William Shakespeare
Produced by	J. Stuart Blackton
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.^{[ citation needed ]} The movie was made during summer 1909, but not released until December 25. ^[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).

Meanwhile, the town tradesmen 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 (Clara Kimball Young), who avenges herself by sending Puck (Gladys Hulette) away with a magic herb. When dabbed on the eyes of a sleeping person, the herb shall make the "victim" fall in love with the first person to appear after awakening.

Soon, Lysander and Demetrius are smitten with the wrong women, 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

• Walter Ackerman as Demetrius ^[2]
• Dolores Costello as a fairy ^[2]
• Helene Costello as a fairy ^[2]
• Maurice Costello as Lysander ^[2]
• Rose Tapley as Hermia ^[2]
• Julia Swayne Gordon as Helena ^[2]
• Florence Turner as Titania ^[1]
• Clara Kimball Young as Penelope ^[2]
• Gladys Hulette as Puck ^[2]
• Elita Proctor Otis as Hippolyta^{[ citation needed ]}
• William Humphrey ^{[ citation needed ]}
• William V. Ranous as Bottom ^[2]
• William Shea as Mechanical ^[3]
• Charles Chapman as Quince ^[2]
• Charles Kent as Theseus ^[1]

References

Notes

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

Bibliography

• 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. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
• Buchanan, Judith (2009). Shakespeare on Silent Film: An Excellent Dumb Discourse. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN   9780521871990.

Further reading

• Bennett, Carl (March 7, 2011). "A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909)". Silent Era. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
• Bennett, Carl (n.d.). "Silent Shakespeare: The Milestone Collection 2000 DVD edition". Silent Era. Retrieved May 13, 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 May 12, 2018.
• Grutchfield, Michael (April 11, 2014). "A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909)". The Century Film Project. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
• "A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909, Charles Kent)". Shakespeare in Performance: Film. Internet Shakespeare Editions. n.d. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
• Kaufman, J.B. (April 2016). "A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909)". jbkaufman.com. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
• Kramer, Fritzi (October 19, 2014). "A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909): A Silent Film Review". Movies Silently. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
• Kramer, Fritzi (November 21, 2016). "Fun Size Review: A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909)". Movies Silently. Retrieved May 12, 2018.
• Lang, Fritz (August 24, 2010). "1909 - A Midsummer Night's Dream - Charles Kent & J. Stuart Blackton". FilmAbInitio.blogspot.com. Retrieved May 12, 2018.

External links

• A Midsummer Night's Dream at IMDb
• A Midsummer Night's Dream at the TCM Movie Database
• A Midsummer Night's Dream at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909) - full film on YouTube