Richard III (1911)

Richard of Gloucester is determined to gain the throne. Through deceit, manipulation, and murder, he does become King ...but at what cost? And can he keep what he has taken?

More importantly, can the magnificence and grandeur of Shakespeare be successfully rendered into a runtime of under 27 minutes? Director/actor Frank R. Benson certainly gives it his absolute best try, and with the help of the intertitles absolutely captures the essence of the play-very difficult with so little dialogue. Benson also does double duty in this feature by playing the titular villain himself.

I must applaud Benson's directorial choice to keep Richard III in scenes that he was not normally present in during most staged productions-keeping the character in the background definitely helps the audience follow both the plot and the villain's responsibility for his crimes, and in part corrects the lack of dialogue...Silent, B&W.