A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)

Theseus, Duke of Athens, is going to marry Hyppolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Demetrius is engaged with Hermia, but Hermia loves Lysander. Helena loves Demetrius. Oberon and Titania, of the ... See full summary »

Directors:

William Dieterle, Max Reinhardt

Writers:

William Shakespeare (by), Charles Kenyon (arranged for the screen by)

Stars:

James Cagney, Dick Powell, Ian Hunter

Won 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ian Hunter	...	Theseus - Duke of Athens
Verree Teasdale	...	Hippolyta - Queen of the Amazons - Betrothed to Theseus
Hobart Cavanaugh	...	Philostrate - Master of Revels to Theseus
Dick Powell	...	Lysander - In Love with Hermia
Ross Alexander	...	Demetrius - In Love with Hermia
Olivia de Havilland	...	Hermia - In Love with Lysander (as Olivia de Haviland)
Jean Muir	...	Helena - In Love with Demetrius
Grant Mitchell	...	Egeus - Father to Hermia
Frank McHugh	...	Quince - the Carpenter
Dewey Robinson	...	Snug - the Joiner
James Cagney	...	Bottom - the Weaver
Joe E. Brown	...	Flute - the Bellows-Mender
Hugh Herbert	...	Snout - the Tinker
Otis Harlan	...	Starveling - the Tailor
Arthur Treacher	...	Epilogue

Storyline

Theseus, Duke of Athens, is going to marry Hyppolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Demetrius is engaged with Hermia, but Hermia loves Lysander. Helena loves Demetrius. Oberon and Titania, of the kingdom of fairies have a slight quarrel about whether or not the boy Titania is raising will join Titania's band or Oberon's, so Oberon tries to get him from her by using some magic. But they're not alone in that forest.Lysander and Hermina have there a rendezvous, Helena and Demetrius are there, too as well as some actors, who are practicing a play for the ongoing wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta. Due to some misunderstandings by Puck, the whole thing becomes a little bit confused...

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Plot Keywords:

boyfriend girlfriend relationship | play rehearsal | romantic rivalry | multiple wedding | bare chested male | 

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Taglines:

Three hundred years in the making!

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 October 1935 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ein Sommernachtstraum

Filming Locations:

Stage 11, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

133 min 117 min (edited) 142 min (with overture and exit music)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Noted film choreographers Busby Berkeley and Bobby Connolly visited the set to watch Bronislava Njinska at work. They behaved disruptively and Njinska asked them to be barred from the set.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Theseus - Duke of Athens: Hippolyta, I wooed you with my sword and won your love, doing thee injuries. But, I will wed you in another key: with pomp, with triumph, and with reveling.

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Crazy Credits

The fairies Pease-Blossom, Cobweb, Moth and Mustard-Seed are onscreen in the character list, but not the actors who portrayed them.

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Alternate Versions

The original 132-minute roadshow version of this film has been restored, shown on cable, and issued on videocassette and DVD. For many years, though, this film was shown only in its general release version, a 117-minute version painstakingly edited by the studio (so that the cuts would not be noticeable), which shifted the order of some sequences and eliminated others.The 2007 DVD release also restores the Intermission title card, not seen since the film's original roadshow release in 1935, as well as including the overture and exit music.

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Connections

Version of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1947)

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Soundtracks

Kinderstucke (Pieces for Children) no.1:Allegro non troppo
(uncredited)
Music by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Lyrics by William Shakespeare
Sung by James Cagney

User Reviews

A True Classic

The movie is dated, true. In fact, seeing 30's Hollywood's version of Shakespearian England's version of Athenian costuming is a delight in itself. But the actors in this rendition are just amazing. Not only is the cast impressive (Cagney, Brown, Rooney, D'Havilland, Powell), but they are doing the roles with the right mixture of buffoonery and dedication to Shakespeare's love of high and low comedy together.

The casting of Cagney as Bottom was brilliant, his mixture of swagger and obliviousness is perfect, especially when played off of the great Joe E. Brown, who's rubber faced quiet performance is uproarious. Young Mickey Rooney is a wonderful puck, light and athletic, it may be his finest work. The special effects manage to give off the feeling of faerie, without overpowering what is going on. And the weaving of the two stories together works as well as might be hoped for.

I consider this to be the classic definitive Midsummer's Night Dream films. No other can ever measure up.