A Midsummer Night's Dream (1909)

In ancient Athens, four young lovers escape into the woods. Meanwhile, tradesmen rehearse a play. All of them suffer from the shenanigans of mischievous fairies.

Directors:

Charles Kent, J. Stuart Blackton

Writers:

Eugene Mullin (scenario), William Shakespeare (play)

Stars:

Walter Ackerman, Charles Chapman, Dolores Costello

Cast

Credited cast:
Walter Ackerman	...	Demetrius
Charles Chapman	...	Quince
Dolores Costello	...	Fairy
Helene Costello	...	Fairy
Maurice Costello	...	Lysander
Julia Swayne Gordon	...	Helena
Gladys Hulette	...	Puck
William Humphrey
Elita Proctor Otis	...	Hippolyta
William V. Ranous	...	Bottom
William Shea	...	Mechanical
Rose Tapley	...	Hermia
Florence Turner	...	Titania
Clara Kimball Young	...	Penelope
James Young

Storyline

The Duke of Athens, on the eve of his wedding to Hippolyta, decrees that Hermia shall marry Demetrius, as per her father's wishes. Demetrius and Hermia's father are the only ones happy about this arrangement. Hermia is in love with Lysander. And a fourth lover, Helena, is in love with Demetrius. Hermia and Lysander elope into the woods; Demetrius follows them. And Helena follows Demetrius. Meanwhile, Titania, the queen of the fairies, quarrels with Penelope, who gets her revenge by enlisting Puck to find a magic herb that, when placed upon the eyes of a sleeper, will cause him to fall in love with the first person he sees upon waking. Puck's mischief soon involves the four young lovers as well as a group of tradesmen rehearsing for a play. The weaver among them finds himself with the head of an ass. Stranger still, Titania falls in love with him.

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Plot Keywords:

love | fairy | play | duke | weaver | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Short

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 December 1909 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vitagraph Company of America

Technical Specs

Runtime:

12 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

[first title card]
Title Card: The Duke of Athens, soon to be married to Hippolyta, decrees that his subject, Hermia, shall give up her lover, Lysander, and marry Demetrius whom her father has chosen. The lovers decide to elope. They are followed by Demetrius and Helena in love with Demetrius.

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Connections

Version of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1946)

User Reviews

Fall In Love with what You See

I'm becoming convinced that it is extremely difficult to bring Shakespeare to film without doing some major translations, at least using modern notions. There's just too much invested in the spoken language itself from whence all the stuff flows that is normally associated with the cinematic.

I've been looking at several silent treatments. Naturally enough, they fall flat. But this one doesn't because it emphasizes the play of the "mechanicals." The abstraction of that play on film, the jumping and gesticulating is along the same lines as ALL the acting of that day, but double.

If you were going to try a film, the best plot device is the play within the play (of any of his plays that have this). And the best abstraction strategy is to just take his existing exaggeration and exaggerate it.

It is all a matter of what you are tricked into falling in love with.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.