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Romeo and Juliet Overview:

Romeo and Juliet (1936) was a Drama - Romance Film directed by George Cukor and produced by Irving Thalberg.

SYNOPSIS

MGM production chief Thalberg lavished his personal attention on this reverent treatment of Shakespeare's classic love story as his wife, Shearer, was cast in the lead. Shearer and Howard make an earnest pair, but the fizz in the production comes from Barrymore's delightful Mercutio. Interesting as a comparison of the classic acting style of the '30s with the more naturalistic treatment of the 1968 British-Italian version directed by Franco Zeffirelli.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Academy Awards 1936 --- Ceremony Number 9 (source: AMPAS)

AwardRecipientResult
Best Supporting ActorBasil RathboneNominated
Best ActressNorma ShearerNominated
Best Art DirectionCedric Gibbons, Fredric Hope, Edwin B. WillisNominated
Best PictureMetro-Goldwyn-MayerNominated
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Romeo and Juliet BlogHub Articles:

Romeo and Juliet (1968)

By Beatrice on Jan 25, 2020 From Flickers in Time

Romeo and Juliet Directed by Franco Zefferelli Written by Franco Brusati, Masalino D’Amico, and Franoco Zefferelli from Shakespeare’s play 1968/UK/Italy https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063518/reference Repeat viewing/Amazon Instant This dreamy, romantic, lush film has held up beautifully o... Read full article

Romeo and Juliet (1936) (2)

By Beatrice on Aug 24, 2013 From Flickers in Time

Romeo and Juliet Directed by George Cukor Adapted by Talbot Jennings from the play by William Shakespeare 1936/USA Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer First viewing This lavish production of the Shakespearian tragedy has a lot going for it but is marred by some inappropriate casting.  With Leslie Howard as Romeo... Read full article

Romeo and Juliet (1936) (1)

By RBuccicone on Aug 27, 2011 From MacGuffin Movies

Romeo and Juliet (1936) Romeo and Juliet (1936)      I have been avoiding the various incarnations of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” for a number of years based on the conclusion that the story is far too compelling and therefore horribly depressing. My aversion, to put it si... Read full article

Romeo and Juliet (1)

By Alyson on Aug 9, 2011 From The Best Picture Project

Franco Zeffirelli’s Romeo and Juliet is usually the more favored film version of Shakespeare’s play.  The filming feels wonderfully modern, while only showing us a long ago period.  The actors are young, full of uninhibited youthful energy, just as their characters are.  Best of all, this... Read full article

Romeo and Juliet (1936) (3)

By Judy on Sep 18, 2010 From Movie Classics

The last Shakespeare production I wrote about was Orson Welles’ moody take on Macbeth.  George Cukor’s movie of Romeo and Juliet was made only 12 years earlier, but seems to belong to another world. Where Welles’ Poverty Row film looks rough around the edges, Cukor’s gives t... Read full article

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Romeo and Juliet Quotes:

Juliet: Romeo. Romeo. Wherefore art thou Romeo?
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Romeo and Juliet Facts
An autographed copy of the script adaptation, containing the signatures of 27 cast and crew members (including Rathbone, Howard and Shearer) was donated to the University of Idaho library by Talbot Jennings in 1939.
The role of Romeo was turned down by Robert Donat.
Because she wanted to play the Nurse in this film, Edna May Oliver turned down Universal's offer to reprise her stage role of Parthy Ann Hawks in the 1936 film version of Show Boat. The Nurse turned out to be Oliver's only Shakespearean role.
The film's literary consultant was Professor William Strunk Jr., co-author of the famous treatise on the English language, Strunk and White's "The Elements of Style." Producer Irving Thalberg hired Strunk to work with the screenwriters to make sure that the Hollywood adaption of Shakespeare's play stayed true and respectful to its original source. Thalberg told Strunk, "Your job is to protect Shakespeare from us."
One minor complaint about this film version, according to many fans of the play, would be that Leslie Howard and Norma Shearer were physically too old to portray teenage lovers. At the time of this film's release, Howard was 43 years old; Shearer was 34 years old.
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