Romeo And Juliet (1936)

 

Romeo And Juliet - 1936

Coming up next we have 1936's "Romeo And Juliet", William Shakespeare's classic tale of two young people who should have been mortal enemies, but had the misfortune of falling in love.

The film's cast includes Norma Shearer, Leslie Howard, John Barrymore, Edna May Oliver, Basil Rathbone, C. Aubrey Smith, Andy Devine, Henry Kolker, Reginald Denny, Violet Kemble Cooper, and Katherine DeMille.

As the story begins, the Prince of Verona gives us a brief introduction.  You know the story warring families in fair Verona ("where we lay our scene") and their offspring who became famous for their unhappy love story.  "From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-crossed lovers take their life," says the Prince.

The two families are the Capulets and the Montagues, very rich families living within the borders of Verona.  The servants of both are quick to defend their masters' honor and won't hesitate to start a brawl.

Their children are the lovely Juliet and the handsome Romeo.  Both are searching for love.

Sparks fly instantly as soon as they lay eyes on one another at a party thrown by Juliet's father.  Both Juliet and Romeo are disappointed to learn that they must dislike each other based solely upon their family names.

They decide to purse love instead of hate.  Romeo sneaks into the Capulet household and listens to Juliet pour out her heart on her balcony.  "What light through yonder window breaks?" asks Romeo.  Juliet speaks into the night, "Romeo, Romeo, where for art thou, Romeo?"  After making his presence known, Romeo finds himself falling for Juliet even harder.  And the feeling is entirely mutual.

They decide to get married in a secret ceremony the next day.  The officiant is a  trusted priest, Friar Laurence.

Well, you know what happens next.  Romeo kills Juliet's cousin Tybalt in revenge for killing his good friend Mercutio.  Romeo is banished from Verona, and Juliet is beside herself with grief, both for her cousin and her husband.

The newlyweds spend one night together, before bidding each other farewell.

After an arranged marriage threatens to see her wed to another, Juliet devises a plan with Friar Laurence.  She will take a potion which will cause her to sleep as though she were dead.  When she awakens, she and Romeo will be together and can leave Verona as a couple.

Everything goes according to plan, except for one thing.  Romeo is never given the message and he assumes Juliet is really dead when he hears of her demise from a servant.

Romeo goes to Juliet's resting place and takes some poison, dying right next to her.  Juliet awakens and sees her husband dead.  She takes his dagger and stabs herself.

After the demise of their children, Capulet and Montague shake hands in friendship and reconciliation, "for never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo".

Cast rundown:

   Norma Shearer...................................Juliet

   Leslie Howard.....................................Romeo

   John Barrymore..................................Mercutio

   Edna May Oliver..................................Nurse

   Basil Rathbone....................................Tybalt

   C. Aubrey Smith.................................Lord Capulet

   Andy Devine.......................................Peter

   Henry Kolker.......................................Friar Laurence

   Reginald Denny...................................Benvolio

   Violet Kemble Cooper...........................Lady Capulet

   Katherine DeMille................................Rosaline

And that's it for Romeo And Juliet.  At the time of filming, Leslie Howard was 43 and Norma Shearer was 34.  One of the complaints made by fans of the play was that they were too old to play teenage lovers.  However, according to Leonard Maltin, they are "so good that one can forget they are too old for the roles".  This is definitely my favorite adaptation of the story, and the casting was perfect.

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The Crusades (1935)

 

The Crusades - 1935

Coming up next we have 1935's "The Crusades", a sweeping epic by Cecil B. DeMille that sees King Richard the Lionheart of England fight for Christianity and the right to worship God in Jerusalem.  While fighting for the followers of Christ, he is also fighting to save the woman he loves.

The film's cast includes Loretta Young, Henry Wilcoxon, Ian Keith, C. Aubrey Smith, Katherine DeMille, Joseph Schildkraut, Alan Hale, C. Henry Gordon, George Barbier, Montagu Love, Ramsay Hill, Mischa Auer, and Ian Hunter.

The Holy Land is overrun with Muslim forces.  Saladin, the Sultan of Islam, enslaves all the Christians living there.  A hermit emerges and vows to rally the armies of the kingdoms of Europe to fight for the Christian cause.  Saladin tells the hermit to go.  He will be waiting with his own armies when he returns.

The hermit's first stop is France, where he enlists the help of King Philip II.  The king's sister, Princess Alice, is engaged to King Richard of England, and travels with her brother to safeguard against an attack on France by Richard.

Richard warmly welcomes Philip to Windsor, but he is less than enthusiastic about Alice's arrival.

When the hermit arrives in England, Richard sees a change to escape his engagement to Alice.  He eagerly joins the Crusade and pledges his armies to help with the fight for Christianity.

Richard leaves the kingdom in the hands of his brother, Prince John, who plots to have his brother removed from the throne.

While the Crusade begins in glory, it runs out of steam when the reach the Kingdom of Navarre.  A food shortage stops the armies of England in its tracks.  Richard negotiates with Sancho, King of Navarre, for the supplies his army needs.  In return for the supplies, Richard will marry the king's daughter, Berengaria.

Berengaria is not well disposed towards Richard, especially when he refuses to attend their marriage ceremony and sends his sword (carried by his minstrel) as his proxy.  Berengaria is furious.

When Berengaria joins the Crusade, no one is more surprised than Alice of France.  "I am Alice of France, betrothed to King Richard.  Who are you?" asks Alice in an annoyed manner.  "I'm his wife," replies Berengaria.

When Richard finally arrives in the Holy Land, he introduces Berengaria to the rest of the gathered kings as the Queen of England.  They are astonished, especially Philip II of France, whose alliance with England is now broken.

Saladin, Sultan of Islam, arrives for talks with the kings of the Crusade.  He wants nothing more than their surrender and departure from the land.

The gathered kings refuse, and the result is open war between the forces of Islam and the forces of Christianity.

Before he returns to his army, Saladin is quite impressed with Berengaria when she demonstrates a certain poise and bravery.

As the battle between Christians and Muslims rages on, Richard and Berengaria begin to fall in love.  What began as an arrangement of convenience has now blossomed into romance.

Berengaria attempts to go to Saladin to ask for peace.  En route, she is shot by an arrow and collapses.  Saladin rescues her and brings her to his palace.

There, while Richard engages harder and more persistent than ever to find "the Christian queen", Saladin tends to Berengaria's wounds and enjoys having her near him.

When a plot to end Richard's life is uncovered, Berengaria pleads with Saladin to save him.  She agrees to remain with him as his captive if he will agree to spare Richard's life.

Richard is furious when he finds out.  However, Saladin also offers peace terms.  Christians except Richard will be allowed to enter Jerusalem, and all Christian captives will be freed if Richard agrees.  For the cause of peace, Richard agrees and bids farewell to Berengaria.

As he overlooks the city of Jerusalem, Richard prays that somehow Berengaria will be returned to him.

He is delighted the next morning when he sees Berengaria being carried in a litter towards the entrance to Jerusalem.  She tells him that per Saladin's agreement, she was given her freedom because she was a Christian captive.  Berengaria promises to return to Richard, but first she must do something.

She enters Jerusalem and offers Richard's sword to Christ.  Berengaria begins to pray as the hymns of Christians rise up toward heaven.

Cast rundown:

   Loretta Young............................Princess Berengaria

   Henry Wilcoxon..........................King Richard

   Ian Keith...................................Saladin, Sultan of Islam

   C. Aubrey Smith........................The Hermit

   Katherine DeMille.......................Princess Alice

   Joseph Schildkraut......................Conrad, Marquis of Montferrat

   Alan Hale..................................Blondel

   C. Henry Gordon........................King Philip II

   George Barbier...........................King Sancho

   Montagu Love............................The Blacksmith

   Ramsay Hill...............................Prince John

   Mischa Auer...............................Monk

   Ian Hunter.................................2nd Pleading Knight

And that's all for The Crusades.  Cecil B. DeMille used his daughter Katherine in the role of Princess Alice of France.  He gave her the role as a Christmas gift.  During a battle scene with hundreds of extras, DeMille had real firemen dressed in costume to help extinguish any fire that threatened to get out of control.

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